HEAVY ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT BACKGROUND & HISTORICAL TRENDS Electricity in India Unlike other technological developments in the West, which were introduced in India after a time lag, electricity was introduced in India in the form of galvanic electricity (both electro chemical and electro magnetic) through telegraphy. The first experimental line was set up in Kolkata in 1839 at the Botanical Gardens along the river Hooghly. Electricity in the form of lighting arrived 35 years later with the former princely state of Bikaner introducing electricity in the subcontinent.
In 1886 Jamsetji Tata installed a dynamo driven power plant in his residence, which was later extended to the adjacent Gymkhana Chambers ten years later. When the Taj Mahal Hotel was built in 1903, it was equipped with a modern power generator. The Government of India invited Crompton to help in the preparation of an Electric Lighting Act in 1896. Subsequently, the Indian Electric Company Ltd. was registered in London in January 1897, which changed its name to become the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC).
A CESC power station started its operation on April 17, 1899. The first major hydroelectric project (4. 5 MW) in India was on the Cauvery river at Sivasamudram, commissioned by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1899. It commenced power supplies to the Kolar Gold Mines in 1902. The capacity was increased to 42 MW in stages by 1927. In 1903, the Madras Electric Supply Corporation of India Ltd. installed a power plant and subsequently set up power plants in different cities including Karachi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Nagpur, Rangoon and Tibet. The Tata Hydroelectric Power Supply Co. as registered on November 7, 1910 and the license obtained by the syndicate for power generation was transferred to the Company. The country’s largest hydropower station was commissioned in 1911 with a 32 MW capacity which transmitted power to Bombay on a 110 kV transmission line. To meet the increased load demand, Tata Sons Ltd. promoted a new Company – Andhra Valley Power Supply Co. in 1916 and commissioned a 72 MW power plant at Shivpuri in 1922. A third company – Tata Power Co. Ltd. was incorporated in 1919 and set up a 88 MW generating station at Bhira in 1927.
During this decade major railway workshops, defence installations, ordnance factories, collieries, dockyards, oil, flour, jute and textile mills were equipped with diesel or steam driven generators and electric drives. 45 FINAL REPORT ON THE INDIAN CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY Break up of Present Installed capacity FuelMW% a. Thermal81,68166. 4 i) Coal68,30855. 6 ii) Gas12,1729. 9 iii) Oil1,2020. 9 b) Hydro31,86525. 9 c) Nuclear3,3102. 7 d) Renewable6,1585 123,014100 Present Transmission System MVACkt. Km 765/ 800 kV-1,323 400 kV76,01063,129 20 KV142,242107,625 HVDC30,0005,876 Source : Ministry of Power By the time India got her Independence in 1947, the total installed capacity in the country was 1392 MW (884 MW Thermal and 508 Hydro). Highlights of the Indian Power System 19502005 1. Generation Capacity installed MW 1,700 123,014 2. Transmission LinesCkt. MW2,700250,000 3. Village ElectrificationNos. 1,500475,000 (81%) 4. Per Capita ConsumptionKwh/year15. 6606 Source : Ministry of Power Since then, India has come a long way with an installed generating capacity of 115544. 81 MW as on 31-01-2005.
Despite this achievement, the ever-increasing demand for power has led to a widening gap between the supply and demand. The Indian power sector is a core infrastructure sector and its expansion is essential for the success of economic development of India. The Government has therefore, rightly laid emphasis on this sector and plans to add 70,000 MW of new installed generating capacity by the end of 2012. In other words, it means an addition of 10,000 MW every year on an average. 46 FINAL REPORT ON THE INDIAN CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY
Advent of manufacturing of electrical equipment in India In the beginning, no overseas company set up a manufacturing facility in India. They were merchandising and contracting through their local agents in India like Kilburn & Co. , Martin & Co. , Killick Nixon, F&C Osler & Co. Balmer Lawrie, Jessop & Co. , John Flemming etc. Anticipating the growing demand for electricity, particularly in the textile mills, Greaves Cotton, the biggest group of spinning mills, set up its electrical engineering department in 1904 while F&A Parkinson and Verity & Co. olding Agency for Crompton took up contract jobs for electrification. After commissioning, the Calcutta and Madras power plants, Crompton established its offices in the two cities in 1899 and 1904 respectively. GEC (India) Ltd. came to India in 1911 as a distributing company, Siemens in 1922 and AEI (India) Ltd. in 1924. Indian Cable Co. set up a manufacturing plant in Jamshedpur in 1923, Westinghouse Brakes & Signals in Calcutta in the late 1920s, Crompton Parkinson in Bombay in 1937, Philips Electrical Co. (India) Ltd. n Calcutta in 1931, Union Carbide (India) Ltd. for batteries (National Carbon Products) in 1934 and AEI Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Calcutta in 1939. Among the Indian companies, Bengal Lamps was established to manufacture electric lamps in 1932, India Electric Works Ltd. started an integrated design ceiling fan factory in Calcutta around the same time. Other important companies include Larsen & Toubro (a partnership of two enterprising young Danes) in 1938, Bajaj Electricals (1938), Ess Ess Kay Engg. (1935), Jyoti Ltd. 1943), Mysore Electricals (1945), Kirloskar Electric (1946) and GFM Manufacturers, Punjab (1946) etc. International Trends Over the past two decades, the power plant equipment industry has been witnessing a process of consolidation. In the late 1970s there were 10 to 12 players and today there are about 4 to 6. This consolidation has resulted in stronger companies with increased size, economies of scale, wider product ranges and enhanced financial strength. They now have greater access to markets and higher bargaining power as a result of combined technological strengths.
The major consolidation which has taken place is detailed below: Eighties : •GEC UK + Alcatel FranceGEC Alstom •ASEA Sweden + BBC SwitzerlandABB •ABB acquired 39 companies and the power transmission and power distribution business of Westinghouse Electric Corporation to become a technology leader in T&D business. Nineties •Siemens acquired Westinghouse’s fossil power plant activities in 1998 and also Voith Germany’s Hydro division and Parson’s Power Engineering, UK 47 FINAL REPORT ON THE INDIAN CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY Babcock Borsig Power took over B&W Spain •GE Hydro bought over Kvaerner •GEC Alstom and ABB merged to become ABB-Alstom Power (AAP) 2000 •Alstom bought ABB’s stake in AAP •GE (USA) bought EGT, France 2003 & 2004 •Siemens AG bought Alstom’s industrial turbine business •Areva bought Alstom T&D business •Hitachi Japan took over the assets of insolvent Babcock Borsig. In the case of the user sector there has been a shift in the fuel mix used to generate electricity since the 1970s. The use of oil has declined after the oil shocks.
Prior to the oil shocks, oil accounted for nearly 23% of the fuels used in electricity generation, but since then, its share has fallen to under 10% today. While coal continues to remain the dominant fuel for electricity generation, generation from nuclear power increased rapidly from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s, while natural gas fired generation has grown rapidly in the 1980s and the 1990s. Hence the technology and equipment for electricity generation has also undergone a shift from mainly coal and oil based to natural gas, hydro and nuclear. In the future renewables will make its presence felt.
