Digital Earthing for Defence Infrastructure | Rasnal

The Army is getting better this year. That is good news. It does not mean the equipment is safe on its own.

By the end of September 2026, Siachen Base Camp is due to get electricity from the national grid for the first time. Long new power lines will reach Zanskar and Nubra. Diesel generators at those places should run less.

In June 2026 the Defence Ministry also approved a large solar-and-battery plant on unused defence land at Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh. NTPC will build it so Army campuses in the state can use clean power.
Both steps make sense. Both still leave one job unfinished.

The new line and the new solar farm bring energy to the site. They do not give the radios, cameras and computers a clean, steady earth the electrical path that soaks up a sudden spike. On rock, ice and thin soil, a normal earth pit often fails.That last step is digital earthing.

This note is for people who already know the site matters. It is about what sits under the new power. It does not replace the grid or the solar plant.

What changes when the grid arrives

On a remote post, failure used to be obvious. The diesel ran out. The battery died. The radio went off.

Grid power fails more quietly. A switching surge on a long line, a fault in the next valley, or lightning on the wire can reach the same copper. The shelter has electricity. The radar, the exchange, the camera box and the satellite power supply still sit on a shaky earth.

Rock and frozen ground do not improve just because a cable reached the camp. A pit that looks fine after rain can drift when the ground dries or freezes. Megawatts on the line are not enough. The last metre to the equipment still has to work.

What solar and batteries do not remove

A big solar-and-storage plant cuts the power bill. It does not cancel spikes.

Inverters switch. Battery racks dislike a floating earth. Long solar cables pick up lightning. If you add a huge solar field and skip lightning protection and a proper earth, you have only changed the source. Instead of “no fuel,” you get trips and dead cards.

On-grid and off-grid sites follow the same idea. Lightning protection, surge devices and a solid earth still belong at the equipment. Digital earthing is that earth when a deep pit will not hold. Designers usually follow IEC 62305 for lightning zones.

The three things to buy together

Do not raise three separate orders that never meet on the drawing.

1. Digital earthing
   A digital grounding device does not wait for a deep pit. Rasnal VKP-1-AC is for single-phase boards. VKP-03-AC is for three-phase boards. Both give a low-resistance path and soak surge energy. They are built and tested for harsh weather. Higher-surge models exist when the site takes heavier hits. Pick the unit that matches the incoming supply. Do not put a single-phase unit on a three-phase board.
   Keep this line on the drawing: digital earthing is the reference. It is not the generator.
2. Surge protection on every exposed cable
   Power, camera cable and network cable each need their own protector. A power device will not save a camera line. Use a coaxial surge protector on RF or video runs and an RJ-45 surge protector for PoE on network cameras. Hill and ridge sites have long cables. Those cables act like antennas. Put protection where the cable enters the room, not far inside.
3. Hybrid power where the grid is still thin
   Even after the base camp is on the grid, small posts, camera poles and relays will stay off it. Hybrid power means solar first, then other sources, then battery with the load and the earth in one outdoor box. Rasnal’s Hybrid Power Network Switch is built for that. The smart solar power solution covers sites that need mixed power without a separate pit.

Grid in the valley. Hybrid on the spur. Digital earthing on both.

What TA-2.0 was

Rasnal showed this stack at the Territorial Army TA-2.0 meet in Kolkata on 27–28 August 2026. That is a fact of presence. It is not an Army or Territorial Army endorsement. Use it only to show the floor was already talking about reliable power, not about a finished certificate.

How to write the tender page

• Say whether power is single-phase or three-phase, grid or hybrid or both.
• Say which room holds the electronics.
• Ask for a digital grounding device with a published rating and a test standard not the words “good earthing.”
• Ask for surge devices named by cable type.
• For weak-grid or off-grid nodes, ask for hybrid solar with earth built in.
• Ask for a one-page sketch that shows structure earth, surge-device earth and equipment earth meeting at one point.

High-altitude surge protection is not a special product. It is the same stack with longer cables, worse soil, and less room for a silent failure.

Who this is for

Engineers writing the electrical annex. Shelter makers. Tower vendors who already serve Army and paramilitary sites. Firms bidding hill, desert and island jobs. Buyers who walked TA-2.0 and now need a line item.
A hill hotel, a road-camp, a hydro site or a camera on a ridge is the same idea on a smaller drawing.

How to start with Rasnal

1. Tell us the site: shelter, campus, tower, hydro, or ridge site.
2. Tell us the power: grid, solar and battery, diesel still in the mix, or hybrid.
3. Tell us the phase and the exposed cables.
4. Ask for a simple sketch and a short list VKP-1-AC or VKP-03-AC, hybrid switch or smart solar, and the surge set.

Call +91 94172 88831 or write to Rasnal.

Office: SCO-16, Industrial Area Phase-2, Chandigarh.

Work across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi NCR, and project sites across India.

The grid can arrive. The solar farm can start. The last metre to the equipment still has to be designed.

Frequently Asked Question

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1. If Siachen gets grid power, do we still need digital earthing?

Yes. A grid feed brings switching surges and lightning coupled onto long lines. Digital earthing is the reference for the electronics, not a backup generator.

2. Can a normal earth pit work at high altitude?

Sometimes, for a short test. Rock, frost and dry soil make the reading drift. A digital grounding device does not depend on driving a deep pit into ground that will not take one.

3. Does a defence solar-plus-battery plant replace surge protection?

No. Inverters and DC strings add their own surge paths. Solar battery storage still needs SPDs and a defined earth at the equipment.

4. What is the difference between VKP-1-AC and VKP-03-AC?

Phase and surge rating. VKP-1-AC is single-phase, 120 kA. VKP-03-AC is three-phase, 240 kA. Match the device to the incoming supply.

5. Is hybrid power only for sites with no grid?

No. Use it on spurs, poles and posts where the grid is weak or absent. Use digital earthing on those nodes and on the grid-fed shelter so both share a stable reference.

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