Kanai Banerjee, Chief Executive
of Encon Engineers, quit his job with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
in 1995, to set up his own consultancy firm, along with three other engineering
professionals. Today, the firm's clientele includes engineering heavyweights,
as well as some of the country's leading sugar and paper mills. Banerjee
laments the country's lack of adequate technical expertise in power management,
a critical area for manufacturing industry. Today, Encon services clients
in the specific areas of energy conservation, distortion analysis, projects,
facility management and safety management.
indiamarkets: What does power
quality refer to?
Banerjee: Power Quality basically
refers to the occurrence (or absence) of distortions in power supply. The
fewer and smaller the distortions, the better the power quality. Power
quality disturbances can be broadly classified as power line disturbances,
which originate from the utility (such as the Electricity Board) and steady
state disturbances, where the source lies within the facility itself. Voltage
sag is one frequently occurring example of a power line disturbance, which
typically occurs when a capacitor is switched on at the utility end. Harmonic
distortion is a common example of steady state disturbance, which has become
increasingly prevalent with the growing adoption of non-linear loads such
as UPS, particularly by the software companies.
indiamarkets: Could you give
us some examples of the kind of consultancy work you undertake?
Banerjee: One of the latest
examples we have tackled is a sugar mill, where a 3 MW rated turbine was
unable to deliver more than 2 MW. In this case, the root of the problem
lay in harmonic distortions. It was sorted out through the use of a harmonic
filter. Though the filter costed Rs. 25 lakh, it would prove cost effective,
since it has effectively released a large amount of additional power. The
example I have just quoted is one where the capacity of the turbine was
reduced by own third due to harmonic distortion. Unfortunately, there are
no hard and fast rules in the field and each case has to be examined in
its own particular context.
It amazes me how manufacturers of
harmonic filters can claim 90-95% efficiency, when even a global leader
like Siemens acknowledges only 40% efficiency. Claims made by most manufacturers
are hollow. In fact, in my experience, the products of some of these manufacturers
actually magnify the harmonics!
indiamarkets: A number of
manufacturers we have come across say that they are using captive power,
as opposed to power from the Electricity Board, since the former is a cheaper
alternative. Your comments?
Banerjee: Here again, there
are no hard and fast rules. Captive power, which usually means a diesel
generator, is not necessarily a cheaper alternative after the recent hike
in the price of HSD. In addition, there is also the negative fallout of
pollution that one has to consider.
Captive power is a necessity in process
industries where the manufacturing operations are critically dependent
on power. Power from the electricity board is simply too erratic to be
relied upon. No sugar mill can operate on grid power alone.
Co-generation is a feasible and economical
alternative in industries which require steam as part of the production
process. In such cases, it certainly makes sense to go for captive power.
Let's say a paper mill requires steam at a pressure of 6 bar for the production
process. Here it makes eminent sense to run a turbine with steam at a much
higher pressure, say 40 bar. The steam issuing from this process, would
be at a much lower pressure, suitable for the manufacturing operations.
indiamarkets: One hears a
lot about tampering of electrical meters by industrial and domestic users.
What has been your experience in this regard?
Banerjee: This phenomenon
was much worse in earlier days, when we had analog meters. The digital
meters being used today are fairly tamper-proof. However, people don't
necessarily have to tamper with the meter to cut their costs! Some people
could be resorting to playing around with the CurrentTransformer. The Current
Transformer installed could be replaced with one with a lower ratio, which
would serve the same purpose as tampering with the meter. Frankly, I believe
such practices are most wide-spread in UP as compared to other states.
indiamarkets: Could you shed
some light on recent developments in energy conservation?
Banerjee: I will answer this
based on our perspective of energy conservation. Firstly, one has to go
in for energy efficient equipment at the installation stage itself, since
there is a limit to how much one can improve the efficient of a system,
once it is in place. It is surprising to note that even the most high profile
software companies go in for poor, energy burning equipment. Air conditioning
systems are a major culprit as far as energy wastage is concerned.
After installation, it is possible
to optimise the conditions of a system to a certain extent, so that energy
loss is minimised. We have optimised the pressure conditions of air conditioning
systems in over 15 luxury hotels, leading to positive gains in energy efficiency.
Sadly, there are a number of bogus
items doing the rounds of the marketplace, in the name of energy efficiency.
The variable speed drive is often touted as a major tool for energy savings.
However, we have found that the same effect can be had by simply optimising
the system conditions.
indiamarkets: What is your
view on non-conventional energy sources such as solar power and wind?
Banerjee: According to estimates,
even 25 years from now, solar power will contribute less than 1% of the
world's total electric power. While the potential is immense, it is simply
too expensive a source of power today. The technology involved in converting
solar to electric power is just too expensive. To put things in perspective,
it costs Rs. 50,000 to set up a 22 KW streetlight running on solar power.
Wind power, on the other hand, can
be feasible. The problem here lies in the seasonality of wind. But we have
instances of wind power in India being successfully harnessed.
indiamarkets: What is your
opinion on the role of statutory regulations in maintaining power quality
in industry?
Banerjee: On the whole, it
has been a disappointing experience. Some time back, energy audits were
made mandatory in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. But
the price offered for carrying out such an audit is so woefully inadequate,
that the auditor has little option but to manufacture a fairly standard
report. Then of course, the quality of people selected as approved auditors
is questionable. One finds a lot of variability in terms of skill and experience.
Kanai Banerjee can be contacted
at encon@mantraonline.com
