Power Bridge To Lanka: India’s Undersea Cable To Sri Lanka Will Supply 500 MW Of Electricity  

As a gesture of goodwill, the Indian government is planning to supply 500 MW of power to Sri Lanka to contribute to the country‘s growth. The transmission of power will take place through a network sub-sea power cables.

A sub-sea power cable, which is also called as submarine cable, is a transmission line that is capable of carrying electricity under water.

The cost of putting a cable under water can be lower than burying cables on land, because workers can lay the cables from giant reels, allowing stretches of more than a mile with no splices, the New York Times explains.

India is currently supplying power to Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar and importing power from Bhutan.

"Now we are also thinking to supply power to Sri Lanka through sub-sea underground cable. We haven’t started as yet, but we have found a new technology for sub-sea cable,” Union Power Secretary PK Pujari was quoted as saying. He also informed that India had earlier considered supplying power to Sri Lanka but it wasn’t implemented because the project was not viable.

This technology has been utilised in different parts of the world. Among the most successful sub-sea projects is the Baltic Cable, which covers a distance of 250 km and connects Germany and Sweden for transfer of 450 kilo-volts of power.