Indian Rayon Setting Up Hydel Project In W Bengal
Indian Rayon Ltd, an Aditya Birla group company, is setting up a 25 mw captive hydel power project in West Bengal at an investment of Rs 91 crore.
For Indian Rayon, the main point of consumption will be its plant at Rishra, about 25 kilometers from Calcutta. It receives its power from the West Bengal State Electricity Board. The company is venturing into captive generation as this would be cheaper in the long run.
Indian Rayon requires 25 mw of power at Rishra, while the demand may slightly increase after its expansion plans are through. The company also proposes to draw small quantums of power at two other points. Together, the total demand is likely to be around 30 mw. The hydel project site is estimated to have an ultimate capacity of 32 mw. The company will be free to add 7 mw capacity in future.
The hydroelectric power project will be located on the Raidak river which originates at Bhutan and then flows into Bengal. The project will be located in the Jalpaiguri district. The project has received preliminary clearance from the WBSEB. The captive project is likely to be implemented under the supervision of the Usha Martin Infrastructure group since Indian Rayon has no experience in power generation.
Though the board will be losing energy sales when the captive power plant is commissioned, it cannot go against the WB governments policy to encourage independent power projects in the hydro-electric sector. The board will make a small gain by way of realising the wheeling charges the rate for which will have to be negotiated with Indian Rayon.
Industry sources said that this projecvt is likely to be a trend-setter for industries planning to invest in captive power plants. In view of the fast-growing tariff of power all power systems dominated by thermal power plants, the concept of wheeling-banking of power will ensure a cheaper power.
For industries suffering from power shortage, such wheeling-banking will not only ensure cheaper power, but also firm power. Once the concept becopmes popular, there will be captive hydro stations feeding power to industries not only in neighbouring states but also in other regions, industry sources have predicted.