RINL bags national award

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the holding company of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), has bagged the 'National Energy Conservation Award 2006' in the integrated steel plant sector.

Y Siva Sagar Rao, chairman and managing director of RINL today received the award from Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union minister of power, at a function in New Delhi.

This is the 7th time in a row since 2000 that RINL has bagged the award. VSP is the only integrated steel plant in the country to have won the award continuously since 2000, the company said in a press release.

The Specific Energy Consumption at RINL has been reduced from 7.5 Gcal (Giga Calories) /ton of liquid steel (tls) in 2000 to 6.08 G.cal/tls during 2006, a reduction of 20 per cent through implementation of various energy conservation projects.

RINL also developed around 80 energy auditors with the help of National Productivity Council to promote energy conservation and to undertake periodical energy audits, the press release added. A unique aspect at RINL is the functioning of departmental energy teams (DETs) in all major departments to spearhead the energy conservation movement.

According to press release, the focused efforts have resulted in energy saving worth about Rs 54 crore in the year 2005-06 with an investment of only Rs 6.8 crore in 44 projects.

In the last three years, around Rs 160 crore has been saved through the implementation of around 150 energy projects at an investment of around Rs 19 crore.

In line with the vision of President APJ Abdul Kalam, RINL has launched its renewable energy policy with an aim to substitute five per cent of its energy requirement through renewable energy.