T&D India (August 2017) - Power T&D Vision 2022

This edition marks the first anniversary issue of T&D India. Completing the first year of
This edition marks the first anniversary issue of T&D India. Completing the first year of
Texistence is always a momentous event, and we are thrilled beyond words at crossingTexistence is always a momentous event, and we are thrilled beyond words at crossingTthis milestone.
We place on record our heartfelt gratitude to all our readers, advertisers and well wishers
for their support that made every moment of this first-year journey a memorable one. On our
part, we are confident that T&D India has provided lasting value to both advertisers and read-
ers. We are also pleased to inform that the online portal of T&D India (www.tndindia.com)
that was launched in June this year, has met with very encouraging response. T&D India is
now equipped a full bouquet of information services that includes print copies, e-copies and
a frequently-update website. Work is also underway to make available T&D India as a digital
newsletter, initially at fortnightly frequency.
We aver that power transmission and distribution is evolving as the biggest subset of the power
value chain, in terms of capital outlay as well as absorption of futuristic technology. In this
reckoning, we are committed to make T&D India among the finest and most comprehensive
medium serving the needs of both readers and advertisers of the power T&D fraternity.
This commemorative edition revolves around the theme “Power T&D Vision 2022” that seeks
to project possible scenarios over the next five years. We are pleased to present views from
leading industry captains on the subject.
The bulk of the editorial content of this edition comprises exclusive interviews and articles
from a diversity of segments in the power T&D value chain. We are privileged to have had the
participation of testing laboratories, power exchanges, EPC contractors, equipment manufac-
turers, industry associations and state power utilities, among others. We are very thankful to
the spokespersons of these entities for their enthusiastic response and for having made time
for an interesting editorial engagement with T&D India.
We once again thank all our supporters and well wishers, and hope that this first anniversary
edition makes interesting reading.
Team T&D India
August 20174T&D India
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Editorial

August 20176T&D India
Interviews
Contents
Power T&D
Vision 2022
8-20
22
l One Nation-One Grid-One Price can become the eventual norm
S. N. Goel, MD & CEO, Indian Energy Exchange Ltd
l We have a strong L1 order pipeline for FY18
Vimal Kejriwal, MD & CEO, KEC International Ltd 34
l There are mixed feelings about GST in the electrical industry
Sunil Misra, Director General, IEEMA 44
l Compact outdoor switchgear is gaining popularity in India
Bernhard Boes, Product Manager – SION, Siemens AG 46
l We aspire to be the most preferred testing destination in the world
R. Ranjan, CEO, National High Power Test Laboratory Pvt Ltd 49
l We are fully equipped as EPC service providers in power T&D
P.K. Paine, National Business Head – Transmission & Distribution, Sterling and Wilson

52
l Integrating renewable energy into the grid is a challenge
B.B. Chauhan, Managing Director, Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Ltd 54
l EESL aims to ensure energy security for each citizen
S.P. Garnaik, CGM - Technical, Energy Efficiency Services Ltd 58
l We have a long-term roadmap for smart grid technology deployment
Sunil Singh, Vice President – Operations & Safety, Tata Power DDL 67
l Indian lighting products are globally recognized for their quality
Rakesh Zutshi, President, ELCOMA India 69
l How we should “Make In India”
M. Ramani, Managing Director, Load Controls India Pvt Ltd. 57
l Smart Communications network for a Smart Grid
Amit Vaidya, Director- Strategic Customer Team, Sensus India 73
guest articles
l Going solar is the way forward
Arush Gupta, Director, Okaya 48
l CTC Global is highly committed to serve India
Dave Bryant, Director – Technology, CTC Global Corporation and
Hitesh Mundhada, VP – South Asia, CTC Global Corporation
28
Special report
l 3M India set to boost presence in power sector 42
l Circuit breakers and GIS can be tested up to 1,200kV rating at KEMA
Verhoeven Bas, Director - Global Business Development, KEMA Laboratories 70

T&D India August 20178
T
&D India attempts to outline
key contours that will describe
the power sector over the next
five years. While the primary focus
is on the power transmission and
distribution (T&D) sector, we are
also looking at related areas.
Power Generation
• Traditional coal-fired power plants
will lose their prominence making
wayforrenewablesourceslikesolar
and wind. With improved domestic
coal availability, stranded coal-
fired plants are expected to revive
leading to an overall reduction in
plant load factor (PLF) despite an
increase in electricity generation.
• The ultra mega power project
series that hasn’t seen much
progress beyond the Sasan and
the Mundra projects, will slip into
oblivion.
Power Transmission
• It is expected that by 2022
India will get its first 1,200kV
commercial power transmission
line. By current thinking, it would
be the Wardha-Aurangabad line in
Maharashtra.
• The next five years will see
intensification of 400kV and 765kV
lines. As of September 2016, the
total network of 765/400kV lines,
at 1.80 lakh ckm, had already
exceeded that of 220kV lines, at
1.20 lakh ckm.
• Power Grid Corporation of India is
expected to dominate interregional
transmission lines, even in the
tariff-based competitive bidding
(TBCB) mechanism regime. As of
July31,2017,thetotaltransmission
capacity of inter-regional links was
76,550 mw, with PGCIL’s share
close to 80 per cent.
• HVDC technology (typically
500kV and 800kV bipolar lines)
will gain traction with participation
of both PGCIL and private entities.
Currently, there are at least six
such lines (aggregating 12,939
ckm) with PGCIL owning four of
these (9,454 ckm).
• Forward movement will be visible
with respect to high-voltage
transnational power transmission
lines such as those connecting
India with Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc.
Village electrification
In around August 2015, a total of
18,452 Indian villages were un-
electrified and it was resolved to
electrify all of them (as per the
definition of an electrified village) in
1,000 days, which is by around May
2018. As of August 20, 2017, only
18 per cent of the target remained
to be achieved, excluding 5 per
Special Story
Power T&D
Vision 2022
Photo: Siemens)

power T&D Vision 2022
cent of the villages (966 in number)
that are uninhabited. The village
electrification drive is very much
on track. However, the thrust of the
governmentshouldbeinintensifying
village electrification as 23 per cent
of the total Indian households still
do not have an electric connection.
In terms of numbers, this is still a
staggering 4.19 crore households out
of a total of 17.87 crore households.
Power distribution
• Major reforms are expected in
the power distribution sector with
a view to reducing commercial
losses of utilities. With most
states now enrolling for the
UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance
Yojana), the positive effects of
the revival scheme will be felt.
Discoms should be in a better
position to undertake capital
expenditure for infusing technical
efficiency in their operations. A
recent government release that
participating state government
power distribution utilities have
achieved net savings of around
Rs.15,000 crore till March 2017,
following their enrolment in the
UDAY scheme. Further, in the
participating states, the Average
Cost of Supply (ACS) minus
Average Revenue Realized (ARR)
gap has come down by almost
14 paise per kwh and the AT&C
losses have reduced by almost 1
percentage point in FY17.
• Privatisation of power distribution,
even if it means through the
distribution franchisee model,
should be accelerated through
suitable policy interventions.
• Urban centres are likely to see
Smart Grid-like features in their
power distribution network.
Basic features like AMR, AMI,
ToD metering should make their
presence felt. While privatized
power distribution circles already
have smart features in their
network and also at the consumer’s
end, one can expect Smart Grid
architecture to slowly percolate
into networks of state government-
run power distribution utilities.
• Initiatives to curb power
theft through technological
interventions and other demand
side management measures like
demand response are expected in
the coming years, especially from
private power utilities.

Testing of high-voltage equipment
India’s newly-opened testing
laboratory, National High Power
Test Laboratory Pvt Ltd (NHPTL),
started operations in the first week
of July this year. Over the next
few years, NHPTL is expected to
intensify its operations and move to
short-circuit testing of transformers
of even up to 765kV rating. Even
existing laboratories like CPRI and
ERDA are expected to augment
their capabilities, and extending
their scope of activity to renewable
energy-related equipment.
Renewables
Perhaps the biggest transformation
thatwecanexpectisintherenewable
energy sector, particularly solar and
wind. The government has set a
target of 100 GW of solar capacity
by 2022. Though this may not be
achieved totally, considering that
the cumulative achievement as of
June 2017 was a little less than 15
GW, one can expect acceleration
in capacity addition in the coming
years. States should be more
aggressive in solar capacity addition
and too much reliance on Central
programmes would not be desirable.
Wind energy is also expected to
see the emergence of tariff-based
bidding mechanism, which will
bring substantial reduction in tariffs.
One can also expect that at least one
pilot project of offshore wind energy
will be installed by 2022.
Tariffs
Perhaps the most important issue
that the power sector will need
to deal with is tariffs—be it in the
conventional or the renewable
energy sector. Solar tariffs, for
instance, are falling rapidly and
there is every fear that power utilities
will dither in honouring their older
power purchase agreements, in view
of cheaper solar power available
subsequently. Such pressure tactics
can derail the investment cycle in
the solar power industry, adversely
affecting goals set out in the National
Solar Mission.
Even in the case of coal-fired power
plants that are run on imported
coal, there are several instances
where power producers are unable
to sell electricity at tariffs agreed
in the power purchase agreements.
This has in turn happened as
international coal prices have risen
due to unforeseen circumstances.
While there is no easy way out of
such a situation, the government
should do all that it can to find a
solution that can protect the interests
of all stakeholders.
T&D India sought views from
eminent industry players from a
diversity of sectors in the power T&D
space, on what they feel were the
key changes that have taken place
in their respective industries over
the past three years, and what they
expect over the next five years or so.
These views, forming the core of the
“Power T&D Vision 2022” story, are
presented in the following pages.
Special Story

O
MRON has been earnestly addressing the issue of power theft, which is one of most crucial concerns affecting the performance
of not only the power utilities but also the overall demand and supply management of electricity in the country. We all know how
important is the role of power sector in the overall economic growth and development of a country. India ranks 5th in the world in
terms of installed capacity, however more than 300 million people still do not have access to electricity. The utility electricity sector in
India has one National Grid with an installed capacity of 329.23 GW as on June 30, 2017.
Talking about the glimpses of power theft scenario across the globe, India leads the pack with an annual loss of $16.2 billion
followed by Brazil, $10.5 billion and Russia $5.1 billion; the cumulative loss stands at $89.3 billion worldwide.
Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses are one of the key causes of this parity running as high as 1.5 per cent of the
country’s GDP. Over the last few years, power theft, continues to be one of the major constituents of this figure, presenting an intricate
challenge to the utilities who strive to find a long term solution to curb the menace.
We have made and are making rapid strides in this ever dynamic digital world and so are the electricity thieves. They are using uses
advanced instruments such as Electro Static Discharge (ESD), Jammer devices which disturb the accurate energy measurement and
recording of static electronic energy meters without leaving any physical evidence on the meters.
Hence, I feel it’s time that the industry and government stakeholders move swiftly to actualize the implementation of long term
solutions to curb this. I am quite hopeful that with the launch of initiatives like UDAY, 100 per cent rural electrification, Smart Grid
Mission, the efforts shall gain pace and will reveal fruitful results in over the coming few years.
New paradigms in the power T&D sector
There are three key trends regarding the power transmission & distribution industry that I would like to highlight here:
Evolution of alternate energy: The next few years will see advent of more policies and technologies which will boost the production
of alternate energy and will make it more affordable. Along with policies and technologies, government subsidies are also expected to
expand thus complimenting the cause and the trend further.
Smart Meter implementation: The initiative of deployment of smart meters will attain a better shape along with the betterment of
power infrastructure. It will surpass the kind of hurdles it is facing today and so we can expect a tremendous improvement in the power
management sector few years down the line.
No longer just a consumer: Today’s consumers are more into using the electricity. With the promotion of alternate sources of
energy such as solar energy, they are producing electricity for themselves too but in the coming years with the expansion in smart
meter deployment and strengthening of smart grid infrastructure, they shall also be able to sell it. That will be a paradigm shift from
‘just a consumer’ to ‘also a producer’. This direction and path will gain more prominence and clarity. We are taking baby steps towards
this paradigm shift which I feel will become a very important facet of the energy sector in the coming few years
Power theft needs to be curbed
on priority basis
— Vinod Raphael, Country Business Head—OMRON Electronic &
Mechanical Components Business, India
Special Story

The recent past: The wire and cable industry over the past 3-4 years has undergone some drastic changes which alters the entire
landscape of how industry used to function. The entire focus on development plank, improving infrastructure, modernisation
of existing infrastructure, sourcing new avenues of generation forced domestic industry to look at technological advancements and
adopting global best practices to attain high competitiveness. Today, the domestic industry is successfully competing with players
across the globe by incorporating requisite quality standards, protocols and safety regulations stringently and the manufacturers are
investing heavily on research and development bringing out innovative products, keeping in mind the requirement of the customers
alongside visualizing future requirements.
The future: The next 5-7 years will be a game changer for the players in the wire and cable segment. The industry which today is
more than Rs.36,000 crore, is expected will grow to Rs.64,000 crore by 2020. This is primarily because of huge government and
private investment planned in segments such as smart cities, modernisation of railways, highways, Digital India campaign and power
for all by 2022. The future looks bright and will provide immense opportunities for all the players and will benefit the industry as a
whole especially for all the players in the power sector. There is expected to be frantic activity since the focus is on adding to capacities
quickly due to the government commitment to provide quality, uninterrupted power to all on one side and in building New India with
the best of the infrastructure on the other side.
The coming years will be a
game changer
— Amit Jain, MD, CMI Ltd.
The advent of LED has changed the entire landscape of the industry for good, and today LED is the preferred choice of both
commercial and residential customers. The customers are flummoxed by the many benefits in terms of style and usage, ROI, life
span, energy saving and environment friendliness. The government of India has played a very critical and path breaking role in creating
the requisite awareness amongst the people to adopt this revolutionary technology. As of now the government has distributed more
than 25 crore LEDs under its pet scheme UJALA, saving more than 32 million kwh of energy. These are staggering numbers. The global
practices, focus on R&D and use of best practices by the lighting industry makes it best in the world in terms of quality and quantity
and will remain so.
As of now, the industry is focusing on new technologies like OLEDs and Li-Fi. OLED lighting is primed to be far superior to
conventional lighting solutions. With OLEDs, light is naturally diffused across a panel rather than harsh piercing points of light, benefiting
both the end user and overall energy consumption while Li-Fi Offers broadband Internet connection through electric light, which fits
perfect with the IoT target of connecting everything that can be connected, like an entire city, state or country and its people.
Looking ahead: According to guess-estimates, the LED Lighting market in India in 2016-17 was around Rs.9,900 crore and is
growing quite rapidly. It is estimated that the LED lighting market will reach Rs.17,400 crore by 2019-20 and to around Rs.23,000 crore
by 2021-22. With the growth, the lighting industry has changed drastically too. From a handful of manufacturers, suddenly there is an
explosion in the number of brands across the board. The demand is likely to increase mainly in outdoor and to some extent in consumer
segment as well. With the sheer focus and will it can fully replace CFL and incandescent from the country. The country with “Make in
India” approach could be a hub of manufacturing LEDs and can be an export hub for lighting solutions for world.
India can become a manufacturing hub
for LED lighting
— Tushar Gupta, Executive Director, NTL Lemnis
Special Story

Smart grids have become pivotal in India for many government initiatives such as 100 Smart Cities, 175 GW of renewable energy by
2022, 40 per cent energy from non-fossil resources by 2030, and 6-7 million electric vehicles and 24x7 power supply to all citizens.
With this, the private sector is expected to take the lead for smart grid in India. The government also carried out 14 smart grid pilots
resulting in varying degrees of success. Due to their small scale, these pilots did not give an accurate picture of the challenges that could
be faced during a major roll out. At present, around 32 per cent of Indians live in urban areas. The varied geographical conditions of each
city, and the different categories of consumers, make it very challenging to deploy an urban smart metering communication network. The
industry needs to focus on AMI technology which has the unique capability to optimize the asset life of meters and provide infrastructure
which supports these varied geographical conditions without compromising the network performance, data or the analytics platforms.
With smart city rollouts, the communication networks used by utilities for smart metering will require dedicated spectrum for more
secure and reliable performance. Operating in a dedicated and licensed spectrum ensures security and provides utilities with a resilient
and universal solution as the network is protected from interference by the regulator. Licensed radio spectrum ensures optimal base
station performance, free from interference by other wireless services or radio devices. It also eliminates the risk of being taken over by
emergency service providers. A communications network which connects base stations directly to endpoints across large geographic
areas can greatly reduce the number of backhaul connections and lowers operational and maintenance costs for the utility. With licensed
spectrum systems the network can also be planned and all the aspects of the deployment of the smart network can be accounted for. An
advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network running on dedicated, licensed spectrum delivers more transmit power of competitive
systems–ensuring reliability for mission-critical applications.
Industry needs to focus on
AMI technologies
— Amit Vaidya, Director - Strategic Customer Team, Sensus India
Since the past three-four years, the government has been laying special emphasis on renewable energy. The technology in the T&D
segment has not changed much in recent years, apart from a couple of optimised designs introduced by manufacturers which
have helped enhance the overall efficiency of the system. The single-window system adopted by the government has resulted in
timely approvals for projects. Driven by reforms, the Indian power sector is growing at an unprecedented pace. Going from strength to
strength, Indian companies are second to none in terms of technical knowhow and domain expertise.
The coming years: The Indian power sector has indeed come a long way with an installed capacity of 329 GW, as on June 30, 2017.
It has become the world’s third largest power producer and the fourth largest consumer. In the next five years, we foresee the entire
power system moving towards a higher voltage ring main so as to minimise losses and interruptions at every stage with the larger
objective of ensuring round-the-clock uninterrupted power supply.
The share of renewable energy in India’s installed power generation capacity is bound to increase substantially. The growth in the
energy storage and e-mobility markets will boost the power sector on the whole. The country’s grid infrastructure is in for a major
overhaul. We also foresee rural electrification projects being executed on a massive scale. Besides, we will witness cities entrusted with
the Smart City mandate moving towards a more sustainable power ecosystem.
Energy storage and e-mobility will
boost power sector
— Hartek Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Hartek Group
Special Story

T
he power transmission and distribution business is witnessing a steady change in the way that it has been facilitating industries
across sectors.
The India blackout in 2012 which left over 700 million people without power, led individuals and industries to rethink their approach
towards utilising energy in an effective manner. India’s demand for energy has been increasing year on year and is expected to double
in the coming decades. Apart from this, the depleting natural resources and the consequent effects on climate has led the power sector
to shift its focus towards renewable energy which would contribute to a reduction in the monetary and environmental cost.
In this age of technology, there are multiple solutions that can help in reducing the consumption of power and energy. For example,
technology has empowered us with the ability to create an energy envelope around a building to understand its energy consumption
behaviour. This knowledge can in turn be utilised to create effective solutions to optimise their energy consumption in a manner that
is profitable.
The demand for energy efficient solutions has increased as a result of rising awareness to reduce the carbon footprint within the
industry. Though the initial investment required for such technologies are high, they can be easily converted into a profitable venture
within the initial years by reducing their spending on power and energy.
The other important development is the active promotion of industrial automation that is seeking to ease the process of manufacturing
and redefine the profitability of industries through effective utilisation of energy and manufacturing components. The coming of
digitisation to our industry has also helped us to build capabilities in newer business models where we are able to add significant value
to the industry, both from an energy-efficiency and safety perspective which in turn creates opportunity for ‘smart manufacturing’.
This ensures that there is less wastage of resources, increased productivity, better quality, faster time-to-market, integrated supply
chain and better security.
Furthermore, we have also seen integration of the grids across the country which has been an important step. There is an increased
focus towards optimum utilization of energy and reducing energy bills in the major industries where the discussion on energy efficiency
has moved to the Board room from the plant room.
The future
In the coming years, we are hoping to witness smart energy management and remote Wi-Fi control that will improve the current nature
of harmonics mitigation. Decreasing the cost of ownership by creating flexible and innovative designs with decreased power density
and faster processing will also become a priority. Furthermore, the motor independent control technology will ensure any type motors
can be driven by these smart drives with enhanced efficiency. Energy storage and smart grids are two categories that are seen as
major influencers in the near future.
Finally, initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ have helped in the creation and promotion of new technologies which have contributed
to increasing the global competitiveness within the industry for energy efficient and sustainable solutions in the energy space. This
has paved way for the growing trend of international firms setting up operations in India which is beneficial for the country from a
technological as well as financial standpoint.
On that note, we are proud of the fact that our Turbocor Compressor, that was developed as a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative is
now being exported to the rest of the world, including China which is considered to be the biggest export hub in the world!
We hope to witness smart energy
management in the coming years
— Ravichandran Purushothaman,
President, Danfoss Industries Pvt Ltd
Special Story

India’s power sector till end of 12th Five-year plan has been missing the target capacity addition by big margins. Then came the change
and renewed thrust on “Power for All” that has become game changer, so to say. This has now turned into “Quality Power for All” since
the society is turning digital.
Another area is ‘Renewable Energy’ with Solar Mission in driving seat. This would bring huge innovation both in terms of project
management and delivery of lifeline energy to huge rural masses that were deprived so far.
Sustainability in Power Sector is most desirable thing that would help fuel our economic growth in a pace better than any other global
economy. But that is an area of concern.
Though we have huge number of players in power distribution market very few home grown MNCs do operate from here. We are
already facing stiff competition in some of the markets but our inner looking approach, in my opinion, have often been the stumbling block
for global competitiveness that comes from eye for quality and thought for future when we build infrastructure for next century.
Looking ahead: I think the industry segment will see only credible and reliable players that are capable of delivering quality. And the
user industry shall recognise it that ‘A stitch in time will save nine’. Renewable energy storage, energy efficient appliances and Electric
Vehicle Charging systems will rapidly take its position under the sun towards maturity and transforming India.
Renewable energy storage
can transform India
— Manas Kundu, Director Energy Solutions, International Copper Association India
Our Control Panel & Switchgear Manufacturers’ Association (COSMA) regularly observes market scenarios and trends from the point
of view of technologies, manufacturing processes and customer demands.
Over the last three years we see a rapid change compliances expected by the market. Customers require manufacturers to offer world
class products produced locally. They expect manufacturers to guarantee performance of products in conformity to IEC standards to
match equipment being used by their own establishments and other comparable establishments in more developed countries.
Complexities of safety requirements are increasing progressively as more employees serve across national borders requiring
insurance and legal standardization for EHS practices. Manufacturers who fail to recognize the forward movement of such technical
specifications will face tough conditions in the next half decade before us.
Knowledge Sharing: To support efforts of our members to remain relevant and competitive COSMA, under the stewardship of
President Sanjeev Khinnavar has initiated Saturday Knowledge Sharing Sessions every fortnight wherein our senior members share
specific information and experiences to help all our members to build better products and prepare everybody for facing competition by
providing for technology upgrades.
Many challenges are faced by designers and producers of control panels and switchboards in a rapidly changing power quality
scenario as the use of power electronics increases and renewable energy sources become increasingly used. The thrust is on globally
to break down electricity generation, transmission, distribution, consumption and utilization into smaller and more conveniently
manageable networks. Increasing opportunities are arising for the use of LVDC local distribution networks. New movement towards
higher use of renewable energy sources in transportation has created new areas of demands. At COSMA we will continue to keep our
members to stay aligned with the future in every conceivable manner.
Use of power electronics is
increasing complexity
—Soeb Fatehi, Immediate Past President, COSMA
Special Story

Tell us about the participation base
at IEX.
We have achieved deep penetration
in respect of participation on our
exchange platform. As of March
31, 2017, we had 5,800 participants
registered with us. Over 4,200
registered participants are eligible
to trade in electricity and remaining
in Renewable Energy Certificates
(REC) market. Our participants are
located in 29 states and 5 Union
territories and include 50 distribution
companies, over 400 electricity
generators and 3,800 open access
consumers.
Our vast and diversified base of
open access consumers represents
industries such as textiles, metals,
chemicals, automobiles, food
processing, cement, ceramics and
plastics. Besides, housing and
commercial real estate, consumer
goods, information technologies, are
also represented on our platform.
How the trade volume has grown
since the launch in 2008?
In 2008, when IEX was incepted—we
were the first exchange to be set up
between the two power exchanges
that are operational today—the
country was then in power deficit
situation. We commenced operations
with trading in electricity – the Day-
ahead Market (DAM) was set up in
June 2008 and later in year 2009
the Term-Ahead Market (TAM) was
started. Over the last nine years,
our electricity market has grown to
becomethemostvibrantanddynamic
market segment. We traded a total
volume of 6.2 BU (billion units; 1
unit = 1 kwh) in electricity market in
FY10 (financial year ending March
31, 2010) and about 40.5 BU in FY17
representing a compounded annual
growth rate of 31 per cent over the
last eight years.
Today, almost all the distribution
companies are leveraging the
electricity market on our platform
to manage their power demand
and supply requirements in the
most effective and efficient way.
With significant augmentation in
inter-state transmission capacity
over the last two years, which led to
reduction in congestion and enabled
competitive price discovery, we
expect the distribution companies to
continue trading proactively on our
platform, going forward.
The Renewable Energy Certificate
(REC) is the other operational market
segment on our exchange. In this
segment, we traded 19.9 lakh RECs
in FY13 that grew to to 46.2 lakh
RECs in FY17 representing CAGR of
23 per cent over five years.
What percentage of electricity
generated in the country is traded
on electricity exchanges (IEX and
others, combined)? Do you see this
metric improving in the coming
years?
According to the CERC statistics,
during FY17, the total generation in
the country was 1,160 BU. The short-
term market constituted around
10.3 per cent (or 120 BU) while the
exchanges constitute 3.54 per cent
Indian Energy Exchange
Ltd (IEX) is india’s
premier power trading
platform, providing an
automated platform
for physical delivery of
electricity. In this detailed
interview, S. N. Goel
gives deep insights into
how IEX has grown since
it began operations in
2008. Thanks to rapidly
growing interregional
power transfer capacity,
Goel explains how India
is slowly moving to
reality of “One Nation-
One Grid One Price.”
Several new trading
contracts are in the
offing for launch on
IEX, discusses Goel
in this interaction with
Venugopal Pillai.
One Nation-One Grid-One Price
can become the eventual norm
— S. N. Goel, MD & CEO, Indian Energy Exchange Ltd
IEX intends to leverage opportunities arising from
the government guidelines of 2016 that enable
cross-border trade of electricity contracts with
neighboring South Asian countries.
IndiaN Energy Exchange Ltd
Interview

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(or 41.1 BU) of the total generation.
Significant enhancement in
generation capacity especially
in the last five years, and robust
interstate transmission system, have
indeed enabled good growth in the
power market. Besides the robust
generation and transmission being
available, we believe our strengths
such as: efficient price discovery,
transparency, competitiveness,
diverse participant’s base providing
liquidity in market contracts,
flexibility, and robust technology, will
continue to be key factors in driving
our future growth and success.
Going forward, we do see increase
in the volumes traded through power
exchanges. IEX recently engaged
CRISIL to prepare a study report on
“Short-term Power Market in India”.
According to the projections made
by CRISIL in this report, the annual
volume on the power exchanges is
likely to triple, say to about 125 BU,
in the next five years.
We note with appreciation that IEX
has been witnessing “One Nation,
One Grid, One Price” on several
occasions in the recent past. Tell us
more.
Yes, in June 2017, the day-ahead
market on our platform realized
“One Nation, One Grid, and One
Price” on 27 days during the month
and 10 days in July 17.We indeed
owe the ‘One Nation One Grid One
Price’ to the significant addition
interstate transmission capacity
in the recent past. Adequate and
reliable transmission is a key enabler
for the power market.
As on date, the country’s
interregional transfer capability is
12,750 mw for northern import and
7,050 mw for southern import. Just
five years back, it was 4,000 mw and
1,950 mw respectively. Evidently,
there has been substantial increase
in transmission capacity especially
towards southern states in the last
five years.
Earlier, the exchange market used
to frequently witness transmission
congestionleadingtomarketsplitting
and multiple prices on account of
that. The whole country used to get
split in six to seven multiple price
areas. With transmission capacity
augmentation over the last two years,
the instances of market splitting and
multiple pricing and have reduced
considerably. The market prices have
not only converged but have also
come down significantly, especially
in the case of southern states. For
instance, in FY17, average clearing
prices (ACP) for South, and Rest of
India were at Rs.2.79 per unit (kwh),
and Rs. 2.29 per unit, respectively,
whereas in FY13, the prices had
varied widely and was Rs.6.86 per
unit for South, and Rs.3.07 per unit
for Rest of India.
With the government is committed
to further reinforce and augment the
power transmission system, several
transmission lines are expected to be
commissioned in the next one to two
years. We will then have a virtually
congestion-free power market and
“One Nation, One Grid, One Price”
will eventually become the norm
rather than an exception.
There is a feeling that power
producers have tied up their output
through long-term power purchase
agreements with power discoms,
leaving little surplus for trading on
exchanges. What is your view?
According to CERC, the Indian
power market in terms of electricity
generated consisted of 89.6 per cent
of long and medium term electricity
contracts (contracts for periods of
one year up to 25 years) and 10.4 per
cent for short term electricity market
(contracts for period of under one
year) for the financial year 2016.
Earlier, say in 2003, all
transactions in power sector were
through only long-term contracts,
which represented power purchase
agreements. The short-term market
came into existence only after
enactment of Electricity Act 2003
and has developed gradually. India
has witnessed exponential increase
in generation capacity over the last
five years. As of March 2017, our
installed generation capacity was
327 GW whilst our peak demand was
only 157 GW. Further, more than 35
GW of this installed capacity does
not have long-term contracts and are
selling power in short term market.
With 50 GW of conventional power
capacity addition underway in 13th
Plan period and more than 100
GW of renewable capacity addition
planned, we expect surplus power
scenario to continue for the next
seven to eight years.
In specific context of sell-side
volumes on our platform, we have
seen consistent increase in the sell
bids over the last five years. In FY17,
averagedailysellbidswere8,806mw,
while cleared volume was 4,541 mw.
High liquidity on the sell side indeed
ensured efficient price discovery;
our average MCP (market clearing
price) was Rs 2.41 per unit in FY17,
There was also significant increase
in participation from the distribution
companies that leverage our platform
to meet all their short-term demand
and supply requirements.
The competitive price discovery
coupled with flexibility in power
procurement greatly enables
distribution companies to manage
their power demand and supply
dynamics in the most efficient way.
Further, the exchange platform holds
IndiaN Energy Exchange Ltd
Interview
Trading volumes of
Renewable Energy
Certificates on IEX
have grown at an
annual compounded
growth rate of 23 per
cent over the past
five years.

great potential and opportunity for
distribution companies to optimise
their power procurement cost by
buying power smartly. The discoms
could continuously benchmark
their variable cost with the price
discovered on the exchange and
procure through exchange whenever
prices there are more competitive vis-
a-vis the variable cost of generation
of their own generating units.
Tell us about the role of “Open
Access” consumers in the total
trading volume on IEX.
The Open Access consumers
represent an important buyer
segment on IEX. These consumers
leverage our platform to take
advantage of competitive price
discovery. In FY17, the average
price of electricity as discovered on
our DAM was Rs.2.41 per unit. Our
competitive prices help open access
consumers reduce their cost of power
procurementtherebyenhancingtheir
overall competitiveness even after
paying high open access charges
such as the cross-subsidy surcharge,
the additional surcharge etc.
Further, with augmentation in
interstate transmission capacity and
reduced congestion in the southern
region, the participation of open
access consumer from southern
region has increased considerably in
the recent past.
What about renewable energy
certificates? Has there been a pickup
in trading volumes?
The Renewable Energy Certificate
(REC) Market was operationalised in
the year 2011, and it still continuous
to be at a nascent stage.
The REC framework was
introduced to address the mismatch
between availability of renewable
sources and requirement of obligated
entities to meet their Renewable
Purchase Obligations (RPO), by
purchasing green attributes of
renewable energy located elsewhere,
in form of certificates.
As of June 2017, around 1,095
renewable energy projects with
capacity to the tune of 4,331 mw were
registered under REC framework.
Wind and solar photovoltaic
constitute 53 per cent and 17 per
cent of the total registered capacity,
respectively, while the balance is
undersmallhydropower,biomass,bio
fuel, cogeneration, etc. Therefore, the
solar REC market is much smaller in
size than the non-solar REC market.
What about RPO compliance by
discoms?
In terms of trading, the market is yet
torealizeitsfullpotentialasmotofthe
obligated entities are not complying
with their RPO requirement. In
FY17, a total of 64.9 lakh RECs were
traded on both the power exchanges
against the total inventory of 247.9
lakh RECs, while in FY13, the total
trade on both exchanges was 25.9
lakh RECs against inventory of 43.7
lakh RECs representing a CAGR of
26 per cent in the last five years.
RPO is positioned as the major
driving force to promote the
renewable energy sector. RPOs is the
minimum percentage of total power
that distribution companies and other
obligatory entities need to purchase
from renewable energy sources. The
market demand supply dynamics
and the large unsold inventory,
clearly indicates that the obligatory
entities have been dithering in their
RPO compliance.
What is the current status with
respect to the proposed trading in
energy saving certificates on IEX?
The CERC issued the ESCerts
Regulations in May 2016. IEX has
already received consent of CERC
for amendments in Business Rules,
Rules and Byelaws to facilitate
trading of the Energy Efficient
Certificates (ESCerts). Presently the
Registry (National Load Despatch
Centre)isintheprocessofregistering
the eligible entities/designated
consumers, and trading is expected
to commence after the completion of
registration.
Pleasesummarizeyourgrowthplans
for IEX, for the next 3-5 years.
In the next three to five years, our
endeavor would be to further expand
and diversify our participant base,
create greater liquidity in the existing
market segments by augmenting
procurement both by the open
access consumers as well smart/
efficient power procurement by the
distribution companies, competitive
price discovery and lastly introduce
new products to meet the varying
needs of the market as well as of
our participants. ESCerts will be
one new market segment expected
to commence trading shortly, as
discussed earlier.
Besides, we also aim to offer
bunch of other new products and
market segments in the near future.
With Government of India placing
enhanced focus on renewable
energy, we expect renewable energy
trade to become more active on our
platform. We intend to leverage the
guidelines issued by the government
in December 2016, to enable cross-
border trade of electricity contracts
with neighboring South Asian
countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh
and Bhutan.
Similarly, we aspire to introduce
the forward and future market to
launch long duration contracts in
electricity as well as provide option
to generators and distribution
companies and help them safeguard
themselves from price risks. Further,
ancillary services, capacity market,
financial transmission rights are
some of other potential market
segments which can be introduced
as the market evolves and matures.n
Interview IndiaN Energy Exchange Ltd
In June 2017, the day-ahead market on IEX
realized “One Nation, One Grid, and One Price” on
27 days during the month.

CTC Global’s first ACCC®
conductor installation in India is
now nearly five years old. How
has been your journey so far?
How many installations have you
completed till date in India?
Introducing new technology to
a very conservative industry is
both challenging and rewarding.
We’ve enjoyed the experience and
the satisfaction of demonstrating
the ACCC conductor’s numerous
benefits at a critical time in history.
To date, more than 12 power utilities
in India have chosen ACCC in over
65 projects ranging from 22kV to
220kV and representing around
1,500 ckm of lines.
Sterlite and Apar have been your
longstanding partners in India. Are
you likely to have more partners in
the foreseeable future?
This may be possible at some future
date as demand grows, but Apar
and Sterlite are doing a fantastic
job of delivering very high quality
products on time and with very
competitive pricing. They are also
doing a great job supporting our
growing customer base during
the engineering and installation
phases.
How has been the response from
Indian power utilities, especially
the state government-owned ones?
Outstanding! OPTCL, UPPTCL,
PGCIL, GED, WESETCL, KPTCL,
TSTRANSCO, CESU, KSEB,
JUSNL, MSETCL and BSPTCL
have selected high-capacity, energy-
efficient ACCC conductor on their
projects. Many of these utilities are
also repeat users of ACCC which
further endorses the numerous
benefits of ACCC conductor.
How has been your experience with
private utilities like Tata, Torrent,
etc?
Our experience with all of our
customers has been very gratifying.
We share lessons learned and
help ensure project success from
the design phase through project
TD India August 201728
US-based CTC Global Corporation has developed and
owns the rights to the highly efficient ACCC (aluminium
conductor composite core) technology. CTC caters to
the Indian market with strategic tie-ups with Sterlite
Power and Apar. CTC Global is expanding its footprint
in India with projects from both government and private
entities. We have Dave Bryant and Hitesh Mundhada
jointly speaking on CTC Global’s journey in India and the
road ahead. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
CTC Global is highly
committed to serve India
— Dave Bryant, Director – Technology, CTC Global Corporation and
Hitesh Mundhada, VP – South Asia, CTC Global Corporation
Hitesh Mundhada
In Conversation
Dave Bryant

energization. It’s a matter of pride
for us as Torrent Power, one of the
early adopters of ACCC, is now
working on its ninth ACCC project.
You had once discussed the
cost savings in adopting ACCC
technology for overloaded 33kV
distribution lines in India. Please
take us through the same.
It is no secret that demand for
affordable and reliable electric
power continues to grow and
that access is key to growing any
nation’s economy. While the Indian
Government’s initiative “Power for
all by 2022” will require increased
generation capacity, the use of
ACCC conductor will also enable
the upgradation of distribution,
sub-transmission and transmission
lines throughout the country. The
ability of the ACCC conductor to
double the capacity of the existing
TD infrastructure is particularly
important as developing new right-
of-way is becoming much more
difficult and costly. Additionally,
technical losses in India are among
the highest in the world. The ACCC
conductor’s ability to reduce line
losses by 30 per cent or more is
hugely important.
Globally, what is the total portfolio
(completed or under construction)
of ACCC conductor lines? Which
are the dominant countries or
geographies?
Approximately 50,000 km of ACCC
conductor is currently in service at
approximately 500 projects in nearly
50 countries.
Quickly take us through the cost
and benefit of ACCC conductors
versus conventional options like
ACSR and AAAC.
ASCR and AAAC conductors have
been in use for well over a century
and have served us well, but times
have changed. Demand is growing
and the existing grid is highly
stressed. While the ACCC conductor
is capable of carrying higher levels of
current - as are other high-capacity,
low-sag (HCLS) conductors - the
ACCC conductor can do this with
greatlyreducedlinelosses.Whilethe
ACCC conductor is approximately
2.5 to 3.0 times more expensive
than ACSR and AAAC conductors,
its ability to deliver more power
using existing structures serves not
only to reduce upfront capital costs
on reconductor projects, the ACCC
conductor’s improved efficiency
and reduced line losses also serves
to reduce fuel consumption (and
associated GHG emissions), it also
frees up generation capacity that is
otherwise wasted.
In 2016, American Electric Power
upgraded an existing 345kV (double
bundled) 355-km ACSR line with
ACCC conductor. In the first 12
months they saved 300,000 MWh
of electricity through reduced line
losses which also served to free up
34 mw of generation. The cost of
the wire was far less than the cost
of building 34 mw of generation.
The reduction in fuel use also saved
them money and over 200,000
metric tonnes of CO2
which is the
equivalent of removing 34,000
cars from the road. Think about it.
Deliver more energy and help clean
up the air. Can you imagine the cost
of buying 34,000 electric cars to
accomplish the same objective?!
China, where CTC Global even
has a manufacturing presence,
is an important market. What is
the current size of China in CTC
Global’s worldwide portfolio?
To help ensure that Chinese utilities
have access to “real” ACCC®
conductor (and not a lower quality
lookalike product) CTC established
a joint venture core manufacturing
plant with NARI – a wholly owned
subsidiary of China State Grid. The
core production plant is growing
to serve China’s growing appetite
for high-capacity, energy-efficient
CTC Global Corporation
In Conversation

CTC Global Corporation
conductors.
How many manufacturing partners
does CTC Global currently have
globally, and in how many countries
are they located?
CTC Global currently has 22
authorizedconductormanufacturing
partners, worldwide. You can find
them on www.ctcglobal.com
Coming back to India, does CTC
Global have plans to set up a
manufacturing facility here? Does
India hold appeal also because
CTC Global has been catering
to neighbouring countries like
Bangladesh and Nepal?
As demand grows, CTC Global
would like to explore the possibility
of producing ACCC conductor core
in India to serve India and possibly
other countries in the South Asian
region.
Lastly, how important is India as a
market for ACCC conductors and
what would be your thrust areas?
Does the 400kV and 765kV power
transmission regime in India hold
appeal to you?
CTC Global is highly committed
to serve India. While most of
our projects in India, to date,
have been in the 66kV to 220kV
range, we are doing distribution
and EHV projects up to 500kV in
several other countries. We are
confident that the ACCC conductor’s
attributes demonstrated globally
will broaden our product offerings
in India. n
Conventional ACSR vs ACCC conductor
SOLAR NEWS
A
200-kw rooftop solar plant
commissioned on Electronics
Niketan Building in New Delhi
was recently inaugurated. Installed and
commissioned by Jakson Group, this
rooftop solar plant will help generate up to
3,00,000 kwh of electricity every year and
reduce emissions by 216000 kilograms
per year, a release from Jakson Group
said.
Electronics Niketan Building houses
the National Institute of Electronics
Information Technology, an autonomous
scientific society under the administrative
control of the Union ministry of electronics
and information technology.
As part of the turnkey project, Jakson,
installed 669 solar modules of 310 watt
manufactured at its module manufacturing
plant in Greater Noida. Jakson will also
provide annual OM service to the plant
for 25 years.
The project was executed under Solar
Energy Corporation of India’s Renewable
Energy Service Company (RESCO)
model.
Under the RESCO (or OPEX) model,
the consumer installs a solar power
plant without any upfront investment.
The RESCO makes the entire capital
investment to install and commission the
plant. The RESCO then sells electricity
generated from the solar plant to the
consumer, at mutually-negotiated rates
and under a long-term power purchase
agreement.
The RESCO recovers its investment and
makes profit from the electricity sold to the
consumer. The consumer, in turn, profits
from displacing at least some proportion
of expensive grid power by cheaper solar
power.
Jakson commissions rooftop solar plant for IT ministry
In Conversation

Over the recent years, KEC has been
moving into areas like solar, railway
electrification and even water. We
perceive that this makes KEC an
“infrastructure” EPC company and
not just a “power transmission”
EPC company. Please discuss.
Leveraging on our core strength—
power TD that accounts for
almost 82 per cent of the company’s
business—we have strategically
expanded our operations into
adjacencies and unlocked new
sources of growth by diversifying our
business portfolio.
We have significantly expanded
our substation business in both the
domestic and international arena,
on the air insulated substation (AIS)
and gas insulated substation (GIS)
front. The business today, accounts
for more than 10 per cent of our
overall revenue.
We have been in the railway
electrification business for over five
decades now. However, it is only
recentlythatthepaceofelectrification
has picked up significantly and it is
slowly becoming a substantial part
of our portfolio. We have expanded
our portfolio beyond electrification to
include composite railway projects
related to civil works, track laying,
building railway stations, tunnels
and bridges and electrification
signaling work, to become an
integrated player.
About two years ago, we expanded
into the solar EPC space. We have
successfully commissioned more
than 100 mw of solar power projects,
including around 67 mw on single
axis tracking, which makes us one of
the largest EPC players with single
axis tracking experience. Currently,
we are working on expanding this
business internationally.
Weventuredintothewaterbusiness
a few years ago, and have executed
several projects on integrated water
waste water/sewage treatment and
water resource management.
KEC is a global
infrastructure major with
a traditional presence
in power transmission
and distribution. In this
exclusive interaction,
we have Vimal Kejriwal
discussing how
KEC International, is
diversifying from its core
strength of power TD
and moving into related
areas like railways,
civil construction,
renewables (mainly
solar) and even water
management. Kejriwal,
while discussing
industry-related issues,
observes that there are
positive changes in the
tendering procedures
of government power
utilities. An interaction by
Venugopal Pillai.
We have a strong L1 order
pipeline for FY18
— Vimal Kejriwal, MD CEO, KEC International Ltd
765kV transmission line from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh to Angul, Odisha
Face-to-Face

Last date for booking: September 10, 2017
CONTACT
E: abhishek.mishra@tndindia.com
T: +91 (22) 6221 6617 M: (0) 98-210-06258
Advertise in the
Power Continuity
Special edition
September
2017
Photo:Eaton

At KEC, apart from diversifying the
business operations, we have often
chosen to opt for inorganic growth
to diversify our portfolio. A few years
ago, we acquired US-based, SAE
Towers Holdings LLC, the largest
producer of steel lattice towers for
high-voltage power transmission
in the Americas. Today, our global
tower manufacturing capacity has
increased to 3,13,200 tonnes per
year, and we have one of the largest
operating capacities, globally.
What is your outlook especially
on the solar sector, given the huge
government impetus?
Inthelasttwoyears,oursolarrevenue
has doubled, and we continue to
double it again this year. We have
built significant capabilities in the
domestic market and are well poised
to tap the emerging opportunities in
the solar EPC space. Today, our order
book in the solar business is more
than Rs.400 crore.
The Indian solar market is growing
at a rapid pace, fueled by certain
policy developments, initiatives and
investments that are in the pipeline
by the government. The National
Solar Mission (NSM) targets the
installation of 100 GW by 2022, of
which ground-mount comprises 60
GW and the rest 40 GW is attributed
to rooftop projects. The planned
capacity of solar parks has also
doubled to 40GW as announced in
the FY18 Union Budget.
Certain positives decoded in
the Budget augur well for the
industry, such as an increase in
MNRE allocation from Rs.5,036
crore to Rs.5,473 crore, of which 74
per cent is directed towards grid-
interactive renewables, emphasis on
developing Phase-2 of solar parks
(20 GW) with an additional 20 GW
capacity, reduction in duty for solar
equipment towards making India
more competitive, enabling solar
power at 7,000 railway stations, etc.
Solar parks and ultra mega solar
power projects will be set up by 2019-
20, with financial support of Rs.8,100
crore from the Central government.
What impact do you see GST having
on the solar industry?
However, the industry is currently
witnessing a slowdown due to
volatility on several counts. GST
roll out has resulted in uncertainties
pertaining to the duty structure
applicable to this industry. Module
prices are witnessing a firming up,
for the first time in the last few years,
impacting projects which were won
factoring in aggressive forward
calls. PPAs, which were signed
at high rates are currently being
renegotiated leading to an element
of ‘retrospective uncertainty’ in the
minds of investors, making them
cautious. Even if renewable power
offtake is happening at agreed PPAs,
cash flow continues to be a problem
due to financial health of Discoms.
Given the uncertainty and volatility,
new project developments may
get pushed back by a few months.
Considering our huge international
spread in our TD business, we have
also been looking at opportunities in
the overseas market and are clearly
seeing some very promising areas.
Railway electrification is
also expected to attract major
investments. How do you see
opportunities in future?
Yes, the outlook for the railway
industry is very positive and the
sector is on a rapid growth path.
The Indian government has set forth
plans for network expansion, as well
as upgradation and modernisation
of the existing infrastructure. The
FY18 Railway budget unveiled
several opportunities—including
an increase in capital outlay from
Rs.1.21 lakh crore to Rs.1.31 lakh
crore, electrification of 6,000 km of
tracks, commissioning of 9.5 km of
broad gauge lines per day, etc—for
players like us.
We are seeing significant capital
outlay in KEC’s core areas of
operations, including electrification,
track renewals, construction of
new lines, gauge conversion and
doubling. Over the last few years,
we have expanded our client base to
includeseveralrailwayelectrification
works for CORE, RVNL, IRCON and
PGCIL. We are currently looking at
relevant opportunities in DFCCIL
projects and the international sector,
with a view to expand our business
operations.
KEC’s order backlog in the railway
business as of June 30, 2017 was
over Rs.1,300 crore.
Returning to your traditional
KEC International Ltd
400kV GIS Substation, Manali, Tamil Nadu
Face-to-Face

business of EPC in power
transmission, we observe that
KEC has been tapping newer
geographies, especially in Africa
and the Americas. Tell us more. Are
there regions where KEC would like
to mark its first presence or expand
its presence?
KEC has a vast footprint in 63
countries, and is currently executing
projects in 37 of these. As part of the
growth plan for FY20, we continue to
strategically expand our operations
via geographical expansions. In
FY17, we successfully entered or re-
enteredeightnewcountriesincluding
Senegal, Tanzania and Thailand. We
were successful in rebalancing our
Middle East portfolio with order wins
in Oman, Jordan and Egypt. The
pie of our international substation
business is growing significantly.
We are strengthening our presence
in the East Asia Pacific region. In
SAARC, we are witnessing good
momentum, and are seeing new
opportunities in regional interlinking
projects.
Leveraging our core strength, we
haveexpandedourstrongglobalEPC
expertise in the Americas, through
our wholly-owned subsidiary SAE
Towers. Since our foray, we have
secured eight EPC projects in Brazil.
The power transmission sector
in India offers opportunities for
contractors to turn into developers
under the TBCB route for both
interstateandintrastatelines.IsKEC
keen on exploring opportunities?
The government is investing
significant efforts to attract private
players to participate in the bidding
process through the tariff based
competitive bidding mechanism,
thus enabling a level-playing field
for all.
However, for this to become more
attractive, there is need for focused
approach towards policy reformation
to expedite and eradicate execution
and procedural bottlenecks such
as support and solution of RoW
problems and issues related to
bidding, reduction of time gap
between bidding and the award of
order, etc.
KEC has been looking at TBCB in
a very selective manner and we are
currently executing one project in
this route. We are doing EPC for all
the large TBCB players and want to
continue to focus on our strengths,
and are not looking to divert our
capital into TBCB presently. The
other major attraction for doing EPC
for TBCB players is that since the
developers are private, most of the
EPC contracts are on negotiation
basis, where quality players like us
are given preference.
KEC has closely worked with
Central and state power utilities.
Do you see any change, in recent
times, in the way tendering and
procurement are being handled?
Certain changes have manifested
in the tendering and procurement
process in recent times, which have
led to a smoother and efficient
process for all parties involved. Deal
closure is quicker, with a reduction
in time gap, right from bidding stage
to award of order in both Central and
certain state government entities.
Majority of the SEBs have adopted
online bidding process, which has
resulted in faster communication and
sharing of documents, in addition
to standardisation of specifications,
resulting in lesser documentation
required.
What was KEC International’s
overall order inflow in FY17 and
how do you view your performance
in FY18 so far?
During FY17, our overall order
intake increased by 42 per cent,
year-on-year. As a result, our order
book grew by 35 per cent and closed
at Rs.12,631 crore. We delivered
significant improvement in margins
for the year. In our order intake
in FY17, international business
accounted for 54 per cent and for
domestic business, 46 per cent.
During Q1FY18, we have seen
significant traction on order booking
in our domestic business. Combined
with the substantial international
orders received in H2 of FY17, we
have a fairly balanced and robust
order book and a strong L1 pipeline
for FY18. n
KEC International Ltd
25kV Railway overhead electrification work at Kozhikode, Kerala
230kV transmission line project in Brazil
Face-to-Face

An initiative started as embedded development house had grown as a strong North
Indian supplier of industrial and automation equipments. How the company is striving
ahead to expand in western and southern belt along with Middle Eastern countries, tells
Jyoti Raghav Manager (BD Corporate Communications). Microsystem Engineers
originated at Gurgaon is working proudly to produce and deliver some of iconic make
in India products in field of automation and engineering. The formation of Future
Microsystem Pvt. Ltd. goes wayback to 2006 while it started working as embedded
solution provider to Tier One telecom suppliers. Later on company moved on into
trading of scientific tools and predictive maintenance gadgets with its relation with
US based FLIR Systems for thermal imaging. Now the company is pioneer in industry
proven thermal imaging based automation solutions represents UE System for
acoustic monitoring analysers.
The company is catering its clients through four different verticals.
*AutomationEngineering —Wecreatedeliverindustryreadyautomationandproject
management solutions using various technologies as automated thermal imaging,
PLC automation remote monitoring systems. Few of our installations are like —
automated test facility of rectifier systems at HFCL Group plant at Gurgaon for testing
210 rectifiers at time employing 450 kW of power testing — Automated coal yard
monitoring solution for Adani Power using automated thermal imaging technologies
— Automated HV OHE monitoring system for Indian Railway MRVCL — Automated
monitoring alarm system for high pressure die casting at Maruti Udyog Gurgaon —
Automated thermal testing set up for electronic boards for Mando Corporation Korea
— Automated yarn quality monitoring system for Reliance Industry.
* IoT — We create and develop next generation solutions for complete automated
management of projects. We cover all the gaps and loops in project operations via
internet enabled devices and makes seamless integration for monitoring control.
Our technologies works for power companies, Transmission Distribution sector
process industry. Our project division cater the requirement of infra companies like
RVNL, LT etc to cater the project requirements on turnkey basis. It involves design
build and transfer the complete project on turn key basis.
* Specialised services — We have a specialised team to cater various expert service
requirement of industry. We are into predictive maintenance sector providing thermal
imaging and acoustic monitoring analyses for switchyards, mechanical electrical
systems. We are representing INNoTech Middle East for patented services from
INNoTech Germany for efficiency enhancement of air cooled condensers Heat
exchangers in industry , captive plants petrochemical installations. We are pioneer
to bring this patented process services in India.
* Solar Solutions and Plants — The company is moving high with some of core
solutions harnessing the immense power of SUN. We are supplying solar power
based water pumping and water heating systems to our government clients. We
are catering to need of investors for rooftop solar and green field solar installations.
We are working as Investor’s engineer plant EPC on capes Opex models. We
have strategic alliance with SunAura Technologies Pvt. Lt.d for solar vertical for plant
engineering and operations.
Manager
(BD Corpoarte Communications)
Future Microsystem Pvt. Ltd.
Email - dps@agdp.co.in
Engineering
Automation Tools
IoT Projects
Services
Solar Solutions
Future Microsystem Pvt.
Ltd.
Bringing IoT for TD
Advertorial

Representing INNoTech Middle East
Performance enhancement of air-cooled Fin-Fan type external
heat exchangers Air cooled condensors.
High pressure automated Water-jet
application
Patented German machines
Automated technology
Correct angle
Adequate pressure
Perfect distance timing
Makes your exchanger breathe
Attentions
Petrochemical
Plants
Captive power
plants
Cement
Fertiliser
Paper Pulp
Pharmaceuticals
Chemical Industry
ON-Line process = No down-
time
Increases thermal efficiency
Output
Reduce Input consumption
Enhance life of heat exchanger
by 15%
Direct revenue impact upto 10-
35%
100% chemical free process
Water re-cycling (Optional)
-Traditional methods are offline , thus makes loss of production -
- No correct pressure, angle, distance very much manual operation -
Aggressive method like steel brushing, sand blasting damage to refractory insulation wall thickness.
Future Microsystem
Pvt. Limited.
Advertorial

Next gen
IoT for TD
The future trends are running towards smart operations, smart monitoring and efficiency enhancement in all respects.One can’t afford to
loose much in this competitive environment for being profitable and in business. Thus the role of efficiency improvement, loss prevention
and running ahead of faults becomes need of hour. Our smart monitoring systems enable the hidden loops of plant to make them internet
ready and automate the whole real-time monitoring system for efficient operation control. Our solutions digitise the whole subsystems
of plants and make those visible over the remote command control sections. Our predictive technology based on acoustic Ultraprobe
from UE System Thermal Imagers are very useful for finding probable fault points and energy robbing nodes. Our clients like Tata Power
DDL had used Ultraprobe and attained high level of saving on RMU maintenance. Our clients like Noida Power, CESC BSES are using
Ultraprobe for pre-warning and detection of fault points in enclosed panels and systems, which can’t be opened in energised situations.
We are operating a dedicated engineering and automation vertical under guidance and mentoring of our promoter and technical director
Dinesh Pratap Singh. With his accomplished career span across telecom, power and research institutes, we are able to deliver industry
ready solutions for monitoring , control and remote operation in transmission and distribution of any network. We have a team of spe-
cialised engineers and technicians who are well versed about system operation and its maintenance. Our services of thermography and
acoustic analyses are very efficient tool for overall maintenance and fault finding in any network. Our integrated DRONE with high class
thermal imager can be used for inspection of transmission lines and sub-station equipment while controlling from any remote and safe
ground location. We aim to handle the mission critical nodes with round the clock automatic monitoring without chance of fatigue or
lapse due to human error. Our automated thermal imaging based monitoring systems can be installed across the network devices and
can be looped over IoT network for monitoring and alarming purpose. The transformers, terminals and incoming or outgoing nodes which
handles the bulk of power and are exposed to severe conditions may likely to be tripped, may be put to automated monitoring so-as we
run against fault situation and safeguard our networks.
Since the transmission distribution networks are subject to over exposure in terms of time and loads, thus health monitoring and routine
maintenance are very essential for sound and continuous operations. In such cases, the smart systems are going to play the vital role in
near future. The automation smartness is going to be the key and decisive line between success and failure of any power company.
The one with latest tools and smart system swill survive and come out with flying colours as a winner across the networks. Our company
Future Microsystem Pvt. Ltd. is grabbing its next gear of progress and getting ready for next generation and era of control and monitoring
with its smart solutions and monitoring concepts.
THERMAL IMAGING DRONE for
Transmission Line Inspection
Sub-stations
BUILDING ROOFING
INSPECTIONS
FIRST RESPONDERS
SOLAR INSPECTIONS
UTILITY INSPECTIONS
Global Presence
INDIA -
Gurgaon , Mumbai , Banglore , Chennai , Hyderabad , Kolkata, Kota
MIDDLE EAST - Kuwait , AFRICA - Nigeria, USA - California
Future Microsystem Pvt. Ltd. (Formerly Microsystem Engineers)
Corporate Office - 814B, 8th Floor, Unitech Arcadia, South City 2, Gurgaon (HR) INDIA - 122001 , GPS - Lat 28.4185 , Long 77.0524
Ph. 0091 9811442601 , 0091 8750479698 , 0091 124 4294393
Email - dps@agdp.co.in , Skype - dps-chauhan
Ultraprobe Acoustic analyzer
thermal Imager for TD

T
he power sector is an
important application area for
a wide range of 3M products,
according to Dr Kris Sridhar,
Executive Director – RD, 3M India.
Dr Sridhar was addressing a select
media briefing at the company’s
Bengaluru RD Centre recently.
“Power is a big sector for 3M in
India. We are focused on power
and infrastructure in general,” said
Dr Sridhar. The press briefing was
held on the eve of the two-day “Tech
Connect 2017” event organized by
3M India to showcase its various
products and solutions. 3M has over
65,000 products in various fields
like adhesives, coatings, heat
light management, health safety,
pollution control, etc.
Dr Kris Sridhar also observed
that a significant proportion of the
global portfolio of 3M is sold in
India. “The number of products is
increasing and there is also more
local content,” he said adding that
3M was building its capability
in the Indian market. Bengaluru
houses the main RD centre of 3M
India and is supported by a smaller
technology centre at Gurugram in
Haryana. “We have opportunities
to build more capabilities in India,”
said Dr Sridhar.
Discussing the energy sector in
some detail, Dr Sridhar noted that
in the power and energy (oil gas)
sectors, the coatings business of 3M
India was doing very well. “We have
a very good market share and things
are progressing.”
All the same, 3M is aiming at
improvingitspenetrationinthehigh-
voltage power transmission side
and also in the grid modernization
space. “We are trying to work with
both public and private utilities to
see what more we can offer to them,”
said Dr Sridhar explaining the
company’s approach. Maintaining
Special Report
3M Cable Terminator Sensor
3M Cold Shrink Sleeves
3M India set to boost
presence in power sector
3M India set to boost
presence in power sector

optimism on the power
sector, the top RD official
said that 3M could capitalize
on its successful experience
of such products in the large
markets of China, US and
Europe. “Things will have
to catch up in India because
power and infrastructure is a
big area,” he observed.
Suite of products
Amongst the latest products launched by 3M for
the power transmission distribution (TD) sector
is a sensor power cable terminator. Explaining the
product, a senior manager of 3M India explained
that the product was launched in around 2013 in
European market, for specific voltages. Based on
RFID technology, the sensor (in picture) senses the
conditions of underground high voltage cables. The
device is installed underground and has a terminator
(communicating device) that continuously monitors
the health of the power cable. This device is placed with
the power utility. The innovative sensor terminator acts
like a “stethoscope” and continuously keeps recording
the health of the power cable. It is very useful in as a
preventive maintenance device, explained the official,
adding that the device was now being adapted for
Indian conditions (voltages) and that commercial
deployment was expected soon.
The new sensor power cable terminator adds to a
long list of products that 3M offers to the power TD
sector. It may be recalled that 3M is the pioneer in the
field of cold-shrink technology that is used in jointing
of power as well as telecom cables. In usage worldwide
for over 60 years now, cold shrink technology is a
revolutionary alternative to the conventional heat-
shrink technology, offering advantages like safety
and much lower processing time.
3M is also known for its ACCR (aluminium
conductor composite reinforced) conductor that is a
superior alternative to the standard ACSR (aluminium
conductor steel reinforced) conductor used in overhead
power transmission lines. ACCR resists thermal sag
and also enhances current-
carrying capacity by over two
and a half times, the official
said. India has seen several
deployments of ACCR. Tata
Power, for instance, installed
ACCR conductors in its
Mumbai distribution area
with a view to enhancing
power transmission capacity
without the need for securing
additional right of way. n
Kris Sridhar
3M India
3M Cable Jointing Kits

The electrical equipment industry,
as estimated by IEEMA grew by
around 4.25 per cent in FY17.
What are the overall trends in the
industry?
India has seen significant and
continued growth in recent times in
its GDP resulting in substantial rise
in purchasing power of middle class
and rural India. In order to keep
pace with the growing economy, the
present government has undertaken
initiatives in coal and renewable
sector to strengthen the power sector
infrastructure within the country.
The increased government spending
on urban rural electrification in
schemes like IPDS (Integrated Power
Development Scheme) and DDUGJY
(Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Yojana), has further spurred the
demand of electrical equipment in
India.
The electrical and industrial
electronics industry witnessed a
4.25 per cent year-on-year growth
in FY17. The industry exported
Rs.38,580 crore ($6 billion) worth of
electrical equipment in FY16, and
Rs. 35,276 crore ($5.25 billion) in
April to February period of FY17.
During the XII Plan period, solar
power addition achieved 104 per
cent in overall renewable addition
of 32GW as against 89 GW from
conventional sources. Around 293
global and domestic companies have
committed to generate 266 GW of
solar, wind, mini- hydel and biomass-
based power in India over the next
5-10 years. The initiative would
entail an investment of more than
$300 billion. Further, there has been
rise in MA activities in recent past.
GST has been the biggest policy
change in recent history. Please
summarize your views on this new
regime and the impact that you
see GST having on the electrical
equipment industry?
Within the electrical industry, there
are mixed feelings about the impact
of GST. The reduction in the rate for
coal to 5 per cent will bring down the
cost of procurement slightly, mainly
benefitting thermal projects under
operation. How much it will cushion
the increase in the operational cost on
account of a higher rate for services
under GST is yet to be seen.
IEEMA is seriously concerned
about higher rate of 28 per
cent GST announced on some
Indian Electrical
Electronics
Manufacturers’
Association, popularly
known as IEEMA, has
been representing and
serving the electrical
equipment and allied
industries for nearly
seventy years now.
We have Sunil Misra
discussing a range
of subjects like the
industry’s performance
and outlook, impact of
GST, role of Chinese
companies, etc. Misra
is confident that the
upcoming edition of
ELECRAMA—globally
the biggest trade
event in the electrical
equipment space—will
impart a new dimension
to “electricity”. An
interaction by
Venugopal Pillai.
There are mixed feelings about GST
in the electrical industry
— Sunil Misra, Director General, IEEMA
Interview
The Indian electrical and industrial electronics industry witnessed a 4.25 per cent year-on-year growth in
FY17, according to IEEMA estimates.

electrical products and has made a
representation to the government
for reclassification of GST on these
products from 28 per cent to 12
per cent. Through our efforts, GST
rates of some of these products were
brought down to 18 per cent, which
is good news for electrical equipment
manufacturers.
It was recently discussed in
Parliament that the government
is “concerned” about the role of
Chinese companies as developers
in the Indian power transmission
sector. What is your view?
Power transmission is an important
and critical infrastructure of the
country. It is as important as power
generation, power distribution, or
even telecommunication. China has
a very special relation with India,
which goes back to Hsüan-tsang and
Fa-hien and the common historical
bonds being Buddhism and tea. On
theotherhand,IndiaandChinashare
a border which is over 4000 kms, in
which there are serious disputes
on the eastern and western side,
which we have inherited as a legacy
dating back to 19th century. This
dispute has seen a month-long war
in 1962 despite of which the dispute
continues. This dispute keeps taking
different forms of expression every
few months. Another dimension
of India China relationship is the
bilateral trade of about $70 billion.
Clearly our relationship with China
is unique and cannot be compared
with that with any other country.
Due to this unique relationship,
it is not advisable to have Chinese
companies get into any type of
lead role in the space of any critical
infrastructure including power
transmission sector. Hence the
concerns expressed in Parliament
are well founded.
Import of Chinese electrical
equipment(acrosspowergeneration,
transmission and distribution) has
been a contentious issue for several
years. What is your reading of the
current trends?
Imports of Chinese electrical
equipment across all sectors should
not be encouraged, particularly
where the equipment are intelligent
and have embedded electronics.
Such intelligent equipment in the
power system will pose a potential
risk of sabotage and examples of
such incidents are very many across
the world. With over 40 per cent over-
capacity, the Indian manufacturers
are capable of meeting the demands
of the power sector indigenously.
Some Chinese companies
(e.g. TEBA, BTW) have set up
manufacturing facilities in India.
How has the Indian industry reacted
to this?
Chinese companies setting up
manufacturing facilities on Indian
soil is a welcome step as the
competition is on a level-playing
field. Such Chinese companies
are Indian entities and will give
employment, conform to Indian laws
and pay taxes.
NationalHighPowerTestLaboratory
Pvt Ltd (NHPTL) recently started
commercial operations. How do
you see the positive impact of this
important development on Indian
manufacturers?
Short-circuit testing in India is
very expensive at present. With the
ambitious plan of the government
to make electricity available to all
24x7, the present testing facilities
are inadequate with long waiting
time and therefore NHPTL is a
welcome development. We need to
expand our testing facilities further
to meet the growing demand and
aspiration to enhance India’s global
footprint.
Elecrama 2018 is round the corner.
Tell us in brief about the unique
features that this edition would be
offering to exhibitors and visitors.
ELECRAMA 2018 will undergo a
complete digital transformation and
will be full of surprises for all the
visitors, exhibitors and stakeholders.
ELECRAMA 2018 will have five days
of exhibition from March 10, 2018 to
March 14, 2018, at IEML, Noida.
We will showcase new discussion
forums and will have people from
various related segments across the
globe marking their presence for the
first time. Around 30-40 per cent of
the audience will be from segments
that were never present on this
forum before, like power electronics,
electro-mobility and power storage.
In addition to the World Utility
Summit, ELECRAMA 2018 has also
introduced the World Contractors
Consultants and Channel
Partners Congress (W4C), where
representatives from across the world
will integrate and build relations with
the Indian supplier segment. Global
Electrical Equipment Manufacture’s
Summit (GEMS), a global platform
will be created for the first time for the
electricity equipment manufacturing
sector to engage and collaborate
to strengthen the industry roots
further.
A fresh and progressive step in this
year’s ELECRAMA is also including
the young generation in this age-old
industry through E-Tech Next. It is
a start up pavilion being introduced
for the first time in association with
TIE and NASSCOM.
Through ELECRAMA 2018 we
aim to give new direction and new
meaning to ‘electricity’. It will not be
a mere exhibition, but we promise it
to be an experience. n
IEEMA
TD India 45 August 2017
Imports of Chinese electrical equipment across all
sectors should not be encouraged, feels IEEMA.
File photograph of ELECRAMA 2016, held at
Bengaluru.

Let us start by understanding the
generic use of a circuit breaker in a
power distribution network.
Circuit-breakers are capable of
making and breaking currents
both in disturbed and undisturbed
operation; from small inductive
and capacitive load currents up to
the short-circuit current; and this
under all operational as well as
fault conditions (such as earth faults
or phase opposition) in the power
system.
What is the critical difference
between a vacuum circuit breaker
(VCB) and a conventional GIS?
What are the advantages of VCB
over GIS?
GIS stands for gas insulated
switchgear. Also VCB can be inside
GIS. Here we compare the switching
medium, not the insulation.
In vacuum circuit-breaker neither
gas nor oxygen gets in contact with
the arc and therefore no split-off
products have to be considered.
Also, no pressure control is
necessary. There is also no corrosion
of contacts leading to very limited
wear. Switching capabilities are
more than the IEC required. In some
cases, up to 200 times short-circuit
switching is needed.
The gas used in a gas-insulated
switch, as we understand, is SF6.
What makes it so popular?
SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) is a gas
used for insulating and switching.
Earlier this year, Siemens
developed two compact
and light-weight
vacuum circuit breakers
(VCB) augmenting its
popular SION range
of switchgear. In the
backdrop of these
launches, called SION
Lateral 3AE61 and
3AE63, TD India
interacted with
Bernhard Boes, who
is part of Siemens’
switchgear business, to
understand these new
offerings and also to
seek insights into the
VCB business. Boes
feel that India, thanks
to government-led
electrification schemes,
can become a big market
for medium voltage
switchgear. An interview
by Venugopal Pillai.
Compact outdoor switchgear is
gaining popularity in India
— Bernhard Boes, Product Manager – SION, Siemens AG
Interview

It has a number of great features
and is well proven with long term
experience, which makes it un-
substitutable in HV switching.
Gas mixtures of SF6, nitrogen,
oxygen, and carbon dioxide are
the most widely used as insulating,
switching, and quenching gases in
high-voltage applications of more
than 1 million volts. Depending on
the application and product category,
they are used in various mixing
ratios. The insulating and quenching
capacity of SF6 is particularly
advantageous in technical terms:
it is chemically neutral, non-toxic,
resistant to ageing, and stable. When
arcs are quenched, the SF6 splits in
the vicinity of the arc plasma and
recombines into the original form
after the arc is quenched. Thus, its
full insulating capacity is restored by
itselfsothatoperationalconditioning
is unnecessary.
What complexities arise when VCBs
are designed for progressively
higher voltages? In other words,
are VCBs feasible at all voltage
levels?
The limitation comes more from
different directions parallel. We find
today an economic limit at 145kV.
With higher voltages the chamber
volume grows as well and the
vacuum conditions increase with
the voltage too. The challenge is to
get vacuum conditions which enable
a save switching process every
time. The other issues today are,
for example, the brazing process,
surface treatment and also the
contact material and speed.
We understand that Siemens has
launched two new VCBs – The Sion
Lateral 3AE61 and 3AE63. Please
explain how these are superior to
existing models.
This new model SION Lateral is
basedonourcurrentSIONfamilyand
uses the same platform components
which we launched for roughly
three years ago. That enables a very
compact and cost-efficient solution
for the lateral breaker market. With
the well-proven switching poles
design and driving mechanism
assembled on a new lateral carrier
was born the 3AE6.
What are the major application
areas for 3AE61 and 3AE63?
Lateral breakers are fixed mounted
breakers and allow a very slim,
simple and air insulated panel.
Therewith they are perfect for use
in ring main units in the secondary
distribution and also in wind power,
photovoltaic or industry power
supply. They also find application in
in transformer stations or for retrofit
solutions.
Does Siemens intend to launch
3AE61 and 3AE63 in India in the
foreseeable future?
Yes, we see India as a growing
market with a focus on solar, utility,
and infrastructure business. The
3AE61 and 3AE63 family forms a
perfect solution to meet the needs
of the infrastructure market which
encourages optimized and compact
switchgear solutions, collaterally
supporting price economy.
What the major constituent of
the current Siemens switchgear
portfolio in the Indian market?
The electrical industry in the
Indian market is on a sustainable
growth path. With the government
of India’s focus on smart cities and
implementation of programmes
like IPDS (Integrated Power
Development Scheme) manifold
electrification projects are underway
leading to more and more rural
and urban electrifications. It has
initiated a demand for sourcing
MV switchgear for both Indoor and
outdoor conditions.
Considering the footprint space
and building investment costs,
compact switchgear suitable for
outdoor conditions are gaining
popularity compared to conventional
indoor switchgear. Outdoor kiosks-
type switchgear and PCVCB
solutions (called as OVCB) are
gaining demand for system voltage
ratings up to 36kV. n
Siemens AG
TD India 47 August 2017

Going solar is the
way forward
Guest Article
G
one are the days when
buyers seeking respite from
frequent power cuts, had
only electricity-based UPS/inverter
systems as the only options available
in the market. After the advent
of solar energy, the scenario has
completely changed and the power
backup systems studded with solar
batteries are all set to take rapid
strides across the country in the
coming years, if not immediately. It
is due to strenuous efforts made by
the industry leaders and innovators
in this particular segment, India has
gradually started moving up the
ladder of growth and innovations
in solar power generation and its
various applications. In line with the
target to achieve 100 GW solar power
by 2022 set by the government and
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar
Mission (JNNSM) for renewable
energy, the generic inverter and UPS
business has also acquired a new
dimension.
However, currently, manufacturing
solar batteries is capital intensive,
and moreover, competition among
the suppliers is also rising. Despite
the fact that the sun offers plentiful,
pollution free and reliable power,
the expensive cost of equipment
and technology has made it an
underutilized energy resource.
Typically the batteries used in
home energy storage are made with
lead acid, or lithium ion chemical
compositions. Among all these, the
lithium ion batteries are currently
considered as the best option for a
solar panel system, though lead acid
version can be more affordable.
The reason why lithium ion
batteries are more popular is that
these are lighter and more compact
than their lead acid counterparts,
though these batteries are a little
expensive. Saltwater battery is
another new arrival in this segment
which is more affordable. However,
its commercial production is still
required to be tested for making it
user friendly. We need to make these
batteries compact enough for their
use in power backup devices which
is presently a big challenge for all
the manufacturers. The commercial
production of any power backup
devices can’t be beneficial unless the
product is unique and affordable.
In fact it is due to heavy cost of
equipment like solar panels to charge
the solar batteries, the development
of solar energy in India is getting
hampered. Typically, it is more
expensive to produce electricity from
the sun and store it, than generate it
fromcoal,orhydrosources.Moreover,
we are largely dependent on import
for the high-cost components and
modules required for manufacturing
of solar power inverters and UPS
and so the growth in this segment is
getting hampered.
India must learn from China’s
experiment with its ambitious solar
energy program which made it to
bring down the prices of its solar
products by 80 per cent. China
has become the global leader in
renewable energy through its rural-
oriented solar program started in the
year 1990. Chinese government has
played a big role in transforming the
solar energy sector in their country
by providing heavy incentives to
promote rooftop solar panels. It
provided and nurtured the required
technology and experts and soon
it surpassed Germany, the earlier
champion in this segment.
In 2016 itself, solar energy
production in China registered a
two-fold increase. Ever since China
started its solar energy revolution,
the country stressed more on home-
grown products and its result is
clearly visible today. India, as well,
must learn from the way China’s
ambitious solar energy program was
run and accordingly our planners
should act and provide the necessary
incentives and support. Only then
can we achieve the desired target.
We believe Make in India is a
wonderful initiative that can reduce
thedependencyofsolarenergysector
on import for the crucial and costly
equipment.Forextensivepenetration
of solar energy in our country, the
key is to make it affordable, as we
already have enough sun hitting our
roofs to go solar across the country.
Moreover, we believe, the estimated
decrease in the indirect taxes with
the rollout of GST regime will also
drive the next phase of growth and
the benefits of the input tax credit,
which shall be passed on to the
customers in the form of reduced
prices of the product line, will surely
improve the current weak demand
scenario in the market. n
[Arush Gupta is Director, Okaya]
Arush Gupta
Despite the fact that the sun
offers plentiful, pollution-
free and reliable power, the
expensive cost of equipment
and technology has made it an
underutilized energy resource.

The electrical equipment industry,
especially transformers, was keenly
awaiting the launch of operations
of NHPTL. Now that commercial
operations have started, what
testing facilities will be available in
the first phase?
National High Power Test Laboratory
(Pvt) Ltd. (NHPTL) is a joint venture
company of NTPC, NHPC, Power
Grid Corporation of India, Damodar
Valley Corporation and Central
Power Research Institute. It was
planned for the establishment of
a fully independent, standalone,
state-of-the art, professionally
managed, international class, online
high power test laboratory in India
to provide full range of short circuit
testing for the electrical equipment
manufacturing industry and power
utilities in conformance to Indian
and international standards.
Recently, NHPTL has tested a
120MVA, 400/11.5-11.5kV, 3-phase,
station transformer of Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd (BHEL) as first
commercial test on July 1, 2017, and
declaredthehighvoltagetransformer
(HVTR)sectionofitslaboratoryunder
Stage-I, commercially operational at
400kV. Stage-I, located at Bina in
Madhya Pradesh, shall cater to the
requirement of short circuit test of
electric transformers from 50MVA,
132kV class to 315MVA, 400kV
class.
The commissioning and
commercial operation of the lab at
765kV for the short circuit test of
765kV class transformers is expected
shortly.
What testing facilities are envisaged
in subsequent phases?
In the first phase, the laboratory is
being developed in two sections. As
mentioned earlier, the first one is the
high voltage transformer (HVTR)
section for short circuit testing of
transformers from 132kV class to
765kV class and the second one is
India crossed an
important milestone in
the field of electrical
equipment testing when
National High Power
Test Laboratory Pvt Ltd,
India’s newest and most
modern laboratory,
announced commercial
operations of its first
phase on July 1,2017.
We have R. Ranjan, in
this exclusive interaction,
taking us through the
competencies of the new
lab and discussing how
NHPTL can develop itself
into the most sought-
after testing lab for
high-voltage equipment,
globally. An interview by
Venugopal Pillai.
We aspire to be the most preferred
testing destination in the world
— R. Ranjan, CEO, National High Power Test Laboratory Pvt Ltd
Front View of HVTR Cell
In Conversation National High Power Test Laboratory Pvt Ltd

mediumvoltagetransformer(MVTR)
section for short circuit testing of
transformer from 33kV class to 90kV
class. HVTR section of Lab is already
commercially operational whereas,
MVTR section of the Lab is expected
to start tentatively during the first
quarter of 2018.
The second phase envisages
construction of high power synthetic
(HPS) laboratory for testing of
switchgears up to 550kV, 63kA level
and high current low voltage (HCLV)
laboratory for HT/LT switchgear, bus
ducts, CTs, isolators etc. for short
time current withstand test up to
400kA RMS for one second.
PleasediscusshowNHPTLispoised
to reduce the dependence of Indian
electrical equipment manufacturers
on overseas testing labs.
At present, for short circuit testing of
transformer, Indian manufacturers
have to send their transformers to
KEMA, Netherlands, which takes
a lot of time, involves high risk
of transportation of transformer
through ship for a long distance, and
involves heavy foreign exchange
outgo. After start of our facility,
the time required in testing will be
reduced to just half with respect to
that taken if services of KEMA are
used, leading to reduction in the
delivery time of equipment and thus
saving in time and cost of the project
as well as foreign exchange.
Is there any estimate made on
the foreign exchange savings that
India can potentially make, due to
NHPTL?
Definitely, the test facility will save
foreign exchange, as now, with
the commencement of commercial
operations of the facility, there is
no need to send the transformers
to foreign test laboratory. In terms
of saving on foreign exchange,
whatever is the (sales) turnover of
NHPTL with respect to 400kV class
and 765kV class transformers, shall
be the saving of foreign exchange in
future.
The test services of NHPTL may
also be utilized by SAARC countries,
ASEAN and Middle East countries.
This will also have lower testing and
shipping cost as compared to the
testing facilities in other countries.
Hence, the facility will also earn
foreign exchange.
NHPTL has been a project of
massivescale.Pleaserecallthemain
challenges that were encountered
and overcome, so far.
Yes, you are absolutely right. NHPTL
is a unique type of project in itself and
it is a first online grid-based testing
facility in the world up to 765kV
Tensile Membrane in Common Assembly Area
In Conversation

T&D India (August 2017) - Power T&D Vision 2022

T&D India (August 2017) - Power T&D Vision 2022

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