Comments
In the power-starved state of Tamil Nadu any addition to electricity generation capacity, howsoever small, helps. In a few months, the State is likely to get 100 MW of capacity—from Sterlite Industries.
The company, part of the Vedanta group, which specialise in metals, has a copper smelter plant at Tuticorin, near the southern tip of Tamil Nadu.
As part of its Rs 2,500-crore expansion project, Sterlite Industries is putting up a 160 MW power project—two coal fired units of 80 MW each—at a cost of Rs 650 crore. The first unit has just gone on stream.
Sterlite would need 65 MW of capacity for its own needs. The unit today is capable of producing 400,000 tonnes of copper cathodes (pure copper), but this year it will produce 365,000 tonnes. Since each tonne requires 1,600 units, the smelter would need about 65 MW of capacity for itself. The rest of the power generation is to be sold in the market.
The Chief Executive Officer of Sterlite Copper, Mr P. Ramnath, told Business Line that the company is negotiating a power purchase agreement with Tamil Nadu’s electricity distribution utility Tangedco.
Currently, Sterlite is paying about Rs 7 for each unit of electricity. Ramnath reckons that with the captive generation, the power cost of the unit will come down by half—a saving of Rs 20 crore, for the current level of copper production.
Last year (2010-11), Sterlite’s turnover from copper was Rs 17,432 crore, on which it made a profit before interest and tax of Rs 1,005 crore. In the first nine months of the current year, turnover was Rs 13,709 crore and PBIT, Rs 564 crore.
Expansion
Sterlite had earlier announced its Rs 2,500-crore expansion of its Tuticorin facilities. The proposal is awaiting clearance from the Supreme Court, which is expected to come soon. The expansion will double the Tuticorin complex’s capacity, Ramnath said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.