BHEL scouts for global partner to build transformers

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), India’s largest power equipment manufacturer, is looking for an international joint venture partner to manufacture high capacity transformers in India.

“The joint venture will be announced some time in January 2009 and will undertake manufacturing of 765 kilo volt (KV) and 1,200 KV transformers. This will give a boost to our market share in transformer manufacturing,” said BHEL Chairman and Managing Director K Ravi Kumar.

The company at present specialises in manufacturing transformers of up to 400 KV capacity. It is, however, planning to bag orders for higher capacity transformers in the future, especially from the huge transmission infrastructure which the government plans to put in place to meet the increased electricity demand in India, which is slated to touch about 1,000 billion units by 2012, up from 730 billion units at present.

“The investment to flow in the joint venture has not been worked out yet, but the joint venture partner will be both an equity as well as technology partner,” he added.

BHEL is among the largest manufacturers of transformers in India, and holds about 40 per cent of the domestic transformer market. Its current capacity for manufacturing transformers is about 30,000 MVA (milli volt ampere). “The joint venture will help us in increasing our transformer manufacturing capacity to 45,000 MVA by April 2009,” Ravi Kumar said.

BHEL will also set up a separate manufacturing facility in the country for the purpose, though the site for locating such a facility has not yet been identified by the company.

Other major manufacturers of transformers in India — which can supply transformers of up to 400 KV capacity — include companies like Crompton Greaves and the state-owned Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd.

India’s transmission system is at present dominated largely by electrical substations employing low-class transformers ranging from 120 KV to 400 KV capacity and higher range 800 KV and 1,200 KV class transformers are being planned.

India’s ambitious plans to ramp up its power generation capacity manifold in the near future to cope with the average 14 per cent annual increase in the demand for power will require commissioning of heavy class transformers.