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The proposed plants would come up in Sankarnagar, Tamil Nadu, close to its three
cement production facilities.
A decision on the location in Andhra Pradesh, where the company has four units,
is yet to be finalised. India Cements hopes to get both the power plants going in
18-20 months.
The two power plants would give the company the advantage of cost as the variable
cost is estimated at about Rs 2.50 a unit against Rs3.75-4 for grid power, which
is not always available.
On an average, every tonne of cement needs about 80-85 units of electricity.
Power cost had hit the company’s performance in the first quarter of this year as
the shortage in Andhra Pradesh resulted in the company buying power at Rs 11 a unit,
nearly three times costlier than grid power.
Power and fuel costs were at Rs243 crore in that quarter as compared with Rs197
crore in the corresponding quarter previously.
Indonesia project
Officials said that discussions on the coal mining project in Indonesia, which would
give it a captive source of coal for power generation and cement production is at
an advanced stage.
The project has been ‘legally cleared’ and finer details are being discussed with
the mining licence owner.
Our Bureau
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