Power crisis makes IT majors turn to sun

Companies in Chennai plan to set up solar plants.

With power crisis in the city continuing for the second month, IT majors in Chennai have started looking at various options, including generating solar power. The industry feels that using diesel for generators daily will not be viable.

Seven major IT players including HCL, Wipro, Cognizant, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Satyam consume 500,000 litres of diesel every week, sources pointed out.

Speaking to Business Standard, Rengaraj Ramasubbu, head-Chennai FMG operations, Wipro, said the company was piloting solar power technology at one of its facilities here.

According to industry estimates, IT/ITeS require around 300 Mw every day, which goes up to 500-600 Mw during peak hours.

Ramasubbu said Wipro was incurring an additional burden of Rs 3.8 lakh every day on diesel.

Another Chennai-based IT major said the company was spending around Rs 50,000 on a daily basis due to power cuts. The company, which has three facilities in Chennai, is planning to set up a wind farm. “Whether it will be a viable option is a question,” he added.

Though individual companies are allowed to set up captive power plants, the transaction has to be through the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board only.

To tackle the situation, TNEB had increased the production to 8,900 Mw, as compared with 7,700 Mw at the beginning of this month.

According to TNEB, wind plants have helped in increasing the power supply. Both private and public wind projects are now generating 1,281 Mw, which stood at 671 Mw in the beginning of this month. The state is facing a shortage of 1,500 Mw.

Meanwhile, industry representatives are also planning to meet the state electricity minister in this regard.