The Manufacturers’ Dilemma

The installed manufacturing capacity of transformers today is far higher than the demand, which results in stiff competition.
Anindya Basu, VP, Transformers (India), CG
  Anindya Basu, Vice President, Transformers (India), CG believes that there are combination of factors that led surplus in the power. While commenting on the same he says, “In simple terms, power supply surplus means generation outperforming demand. This could be because of a combination of various factors, including huge capacity addition of clean and green energy in terms of solar and wind, at the same time, slack of demand itself due to lack of industrial output.” The utility electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of 305.55 GW as of 31st August with renewable power plants constituting 28 per cent of total installed capacity.  “The industry is hoping for a revival in the second half of this fiscal, which could lead to increase in demand, in addition to increase in domestic power consumption,  due to the ‘Power for All’ by March 2019 scheme by the Indian government,” he adds. 
Green energy is a game changer According to Basu, the game changer for this transformation is the focus on green energy by the Indian government which resulted in huge investment and substantial capacity addition in quick time.  The lower cost of the Photo Voltaic (PV) cells made generation affordable, which resulted in the development of huge solar parks in the southern and western parts of the country. “In addition, development in wind energy, has completely transformed the power generation norms of this country,” he states.
CG’s contributing CG with its vast experience and complete portfolio of products and solutions across the voltage class is well positioned to serve the industry needs. From partnering in the transition to 765kV, to creating a complete portfolio of UHV products, to the integration of renewable energy in the national grid, CG has been an integral part of the growth story of the Indian power sector. CG has displayed its excellence in manufacturing and supplying high quality equipment that continue to make itself a partner of choice. “We are fully associated with the development of solar parks by supplying energy efficient and cost effective transformers (both power and distribution) and switchgears to most of the developers in the country. In addition, we are supplying substation equipment, which will be part of the national grid, and help transmit power from one region to the other.  At the same time, our technology team is relentlessly working on the development of new materials and optimising designs to develop energy efficient transformers,” briefs Basu on the company’s contribution. 
CG’s achievementsSpeaking on the turnaround story Basu said, “In simple terminology, turn around means that we achieve a scenario, when expenses are lower than our income. This obviously means that our approach should be increasing the value of our products, while continuously reducing the cost of it. The traditional philosophy of design optimisation and waste elimination helped us to reduce our material cost. Improving productivity and manufacturing processes resulted in increased consistency in our manufacturing operations and decreased manufacturing lead time and the cost of poor quality. This, in turn, helped us to grow, without additional resources.” At the same time, the design engineering and marketing team worked on specific product portfolio, like solar and wind energy, energy efficient transformers (as per BIS-1180 specification ) and specific customers, to maximise value.  “The focus was also on on-time delivery and commissioning products as per customer requirement,” he adds.
Achieve common objectivesThe Indian transformer market is highly dependent on investments planned by the Indian government and other utilities. At present, in the transformer sector, manufacturing base is already established in India. “The installed manufacturing capacity of transformers today is far higher than the demand, which results in stiff competition in the market place,” informs Basu.
He adds, “As an organisation, we need to collaborate with suppliers and customers and work towards achieving the common objective of all stakeholders.  This will ensure a reasonable growth with win-win scenario for all.”