— Anil Kumar Dhar, President, EMC Ltd
EMC Ltd recently bagged a
776-crore turnkey
order from Power Grid Corporation of India,
envisaging 765kV transmission lines and
substations. Electrical Monitor caught up with
Anil Kumar Dhar to know more about this
landmark order, which happens to be EMC's
largest, and to understand the execution
challenges in store. Dhar is confident of EMC
completing this project well within the stipulated
time, given its vast experience in the power
transmission space since 1953. An interaction by
Venugopal Pillai.
To begin with, can you elaborate on the order,
describing the quantum of physical work involved?
The physical work involved is with respect to transmission
lines and substations.
The award involves fabrication and supply of all types of
765kV D/C transmission line towers including river
crossing towers (wherever applicable), fasteners, antitheft
fasteners, step bolts, hangers, D-shackles and all types of
tower accessories like phase plates, circuit plates, number
plates, danger plates, anticlimbing devices, bird guards etc.
Further award also involves supply of earthwire, hardware
fittings and conductor and earthwire accessories and
construction of a 410 km transmission line and finally
testing and commissioning of the 765kV D/C transmission
line from Tuticorin pooling station to Salem pooling
station in Tamil Nadu.
As far as substations are concerned, the award involves
design, engineering, manufacturing, testing and supply of
specified equipment/ materials which includes shunt
reactors, neutral grounding reactors, CBs, isolators, CTs,
CVTs, surge arrestors, C&R panels, PLCC, fire protection
system, hardware & insulators, substation structures, cable
and lighting etc. and thereafter erection including civil
works, testing and commissioning of all equipment for the
400kV Salem pooling substation, extension of 400kV Salem
substation, extension of 400kV Madhugiri substation and
Extension of 400kV Tuticorin pooling substation.
What inherent challenges do you foresee in this
order, which we understand is your largest order
from PGCIL and also your first 765 kV project?
Firstly, to put the records straight, this award undoubtedly
is the largest but not the first 765kV project. EMC has
already completed and commissioned a 765kV project of
134 km line length from Seoni to Mewad in Madhya
Pradesh. However, this line was for single circuit while the
Tuticorin-Salem line awarded is double circuit. EMC before
receiving this award for 765kV D/C line has already received
awards for 765kV D/C lines—Dharamjaygarh to Jabalpur
(264 km), Raigarh to Raipur (196 km), among others.
As for inherent challenges are concerned, completing
this 765kV D/C transmission line of 410 km in a record
period of 30 months and simultaneously a 400kV
substation (with a provision of 765kV/400kV in future) in
a record period of 24 months itself is a huge challenge.
We understand from some infrastructure contractors
that government sponsored employment schemes
like NAREGA has resulted in shortage of local
unskilled / casual labourers. What is your view?
It is true that availability of quality manpower these days is a big challenge and EMC's vision of meeting the
challenges of trained manpower and professionals resulted
in creating a facility by opening an EMC Academy with a
number of eminent engineers and academicians to serve as
faculty and advisors to this academy. The basic objective of
EMC Academy is to mitigate the shortage of quality and
suitably trained manpower that would include
professionals, supervisors and workers with continuous
education and hands on training.
We learn that the project in question is related to
facilitate long term open access (LTOA) in South
India. Can you elaborate on what the project aims to
achieve in terms of power evacuation and transfer?
In line with the government's policy of integration of
various grids to ensure reliable and quality power through
spread of transmission lines, utilities have planned to set
up enough transmission capacity covering regions of Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and this huge capacity
addition will ultimately result in power-deficit states
becoming power surplus.
Tell us about the impact of this order on EMC's future
execution capabilities and the company's
preparedness to bid for bigger orders in future.
EMC has been in the business of power transmission since
year 1953 having completed several thousand kilometers of
transmission line projects in India and abroad. The firstever
+500 kV HVDC transmission line in India was
completed by EMC way back in 1991.
At any given point of time EMC is currently capable of
handling as many as thirty HV large transmission Line
projects to the tune of
5,000 crore for which arrangements
of all necessary required inputs of resources already exist.
The advantage with EMC is that apart from its own
factories manufacturing steel transmission line towers and
power conductors etc, EMC also has tie-ups with large
number of tower manufacturers for supply of towers.
In future, do you see EMC taking up 765kV
substation projects and not only transmission lines?
Yes, definitely!
What is EMC's order book position and what is your
take on the order inflow for the coming years?
The current order book position of EMC (post this
776-
crore order) is
3,300 crore and as already mentioned earlier
the company is fully equipped to do
5,000 crore at one go
which means that we are still short of
1,700 crore of order
book at our present level of resources.
Considering huge potential of strengthening of power
transmission network in the country, arrangements are being
made by EMC for the necessary resources to be upgraded for
booking business to a level of
10,000 crore from
5,000 crore
existing at present and simultaneously increasing the execution
commitments to our various purchasers manifold.