Adani Electricity Mumbai Infrastructure Ltd (AEMIL), a subsidiary of Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), has announced the commissioning of a 1,000-megawatt (MW) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link between Kudus and Aarey.
The link enables Mumbai and the MMR to draw more electricity from outside the city, including renewable energy generated in other regions.
The project, comprising a 30-km overhead line and a 50-km underground corridor, has been designed to operate within the constraints of a densely built urban environment. It also features the world’s first compact High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substation, according to the company statement.
According to the company statement, the project reflects a broader push to strengthen grid resilience and reliability, since the link was conceived after the October 2020 Mumbai blackout, which had exposed vulnerabilities in the city’s power supply.
The project has deployed Hitachi’s Voltage Source Converter (VSC)-based HVDC technology, which enables faster and more precise control of power flows, improves voltage stability and enhances grid reliability, particularly in space-constrained urban environments.
While Mumbai is already connected to the national grid, the HVDC link enhances this connectivity by enabling more controlled, efficient, and higher-capacity power flows, particularly for renewable energy integration.
The additional 1,000 MW of capacity helps reduce reliance on in-city generation, improves grid resilience, and lowers the risk of large-scale outages.
“The development reflects AESL’s broader focus on building modern transmission infrastructure to support India’s growing renewable energy capacity. As demand rises in urban centres, integrating long-distance clean power into city grids is becoming critical to sustaining growth while meeting decarbonisation goals,” the statement mentioned.
“It is one of the fastest HVDC projects ever commissioned, which is powered by advanced VSC-based HVDC technology. The project enhances grid stability, decongests existing networks and strengthens the city’s energy security,” Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) CEO Kandarp Patel said.
In a separate statement, Hitachi Energy India Managing Director and CEO N Venu said, “The commissioning of the Mumbai HVDC city is indeed a moment of immense pride for Hitachi Energy.”
Powered by Hitachi Energy’s Voltage Source Converter (VSC) HVDC technology, the link delivers precise, fast control of power flow, improved voltage stability, and enhanced grid reliability in a city where space is scarce. The Aarey converter station upgrade marks the city’s most significant grid modernisation in nearly 25 years, boosting the grid capacity from 250 to 1,000 megawatts (MW) and directly reinforcing the city’s energy stability and resilience, thus ensuring energy security.
Injecting up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of reliable, secure, and clean power directly into one of the world’s most densely populated megacities, the new HVDC link delivers a step-change in Mumbai’s energy resilience. The Kudus-Aarey connection significantly strengthens the city’s transmission infrastructure, supporting the daily needs of more than 20 million people, according to Hitachi’s statement.
Delivering this milestone project in the heart of a busy megacity demanded exceptional execution capability. Building a major transmission interface within tight urban constraints required precise coordination of construction and logistics, a challenge intensified by Mumbai’s monsoon seasons, according to the statement.
The project is supplied through the Kudus grid connection with power imported from outside the city, including renewable energy from generation regions of Maharashtra and renewable-rich nodes across India’s national grid.
With its compact footprint, ability to transmit power through underground cables in constrained corridors, and inherent advantages in managing power congestion, pollution, acoustical and electrical noise, power quality, and control, the in-city HVDC application provides a scalable model for other Indian cities and global megacities facing similar multiplying power demand as well as land permitting and grid integration challenges, the statement said.