The Hindu Business Line : Madras Cements commissions captive power plant in TN

Mr Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha (left), Chairman & Managing Director, MCL, with Ms Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson, Thermax ,and Mr Prakash Kulkarni, Managing Director, Thermax, in Chennai on Thursday. — Vino John

Chennai , Sept. 1

MADRAS Cements Ltd, which has commissioned a 36-MW coal-fired captive power plant at its Alathiyur plant in Tamil Nadu, will save about Rs 6 crore a year in power cost at this plant alone.

After studying the performance of the captive power plant for a few months, the company will consider getting into a long-term agreement with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for selling surplus power from the captive plant, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr P.R. Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha.

The company required 29 MW for the Alathiyur plant. Besides the captive power plant, which has been installed by Thermax Ltd, the company has a 15-MW furnace oil based DG set at Alathiyur, according to him.

The saving in power cost will include the maximum demand charges that the company will no longer have to pay the electricity board, according to Mr Rajha.

He was addressing a press conference after handing over a cheque for Rs 1 crore to Thermax as bonus payment for the latter commissioning the captive power plant within 16 months, as agreed upon when the contract was signed between the two.

Ms Meher Pudumjee, Chairperson; Mr Prakash M. Kulkarni, Managing Director; and Mr R.V. Ramani, Head - Cogen Division, Thermax Ltd, were also present on the occasion.

Answering questions, Mr Rajha said the company would save about Rs 2.25 per unit of power consumed by de-linking from the grid. The grid power cost about Rs 4.50 per unit.

The captive power plant, which can run on petroleum coke, coal or lignite, cost the company about Rs 95 crore. Madras Cements imported coal from Indonesia for the plant.

Thermax was the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and would also undertake operation and maintenance, the first time it was taking this up, for three years. Mr Rajha said that Madras Cements continued to take steps to reduce costs and at the same time ensured quality was maintained.

In a competitive market, where cement companies could no longer dictate the prices, "Madras Cements believed in making money within the factory and not on the street." And, going in for a captive power plant was one such step.

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