Automatic Generation Control(AGC): Union Minister of Power and NRE dedicates Automatic Generation Control to the nation

What is the News?

The Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy has launched the Automatic Generation Control(AGC).

What is the need for Automatic Generation Control(AGC)?

Renewable energy (RE) generation in India has been on a steady rise. However, the fluctuating nature of energy from renewables requires power balancing in real-time to keep supply and demand in sync. Hence, the AGC has been launched.

How will Automatic Generation Control(AGC) help?

Operated by: AGC is being operated by Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) through the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

Function: Through AGC, NLDC can send signals to more than 50 power plants in the country every 4 seconds to maintain the frequency and reliability of the Indian Power System. This will ensure more efficient and automatic frequency control for handling variable and intermittent renewable generation.

What is the significance of this launch?

This is expected to facilitate achieving the government’s ambitious target of 500 GW non-fossil fuel-based generation capacity by 2030. 

Source: This post is based on the article ‘Union Minister of Power and NRE dedicates Automatic Generation Control to the nation’ published in PIB on 4th Jan 2022.