IPGCL-Meeting Power Needs of the Capital : R K Guar, Managing Director, Indraprastha Power Generation Corporation (IPGCL) – Pragati Power Corporation (PPCL)

http://ipgcl-ppcl.gov.in

R K Guar Managing Director, Indraprastha Power Generation Corporation (IPGCL) - Pragati Power Corporation (PPCL)

R K Guar
Managing Director, Indraprastha Power Generation Corporation (IPGCL) – Pragati Power Corporation (PPCL)

The power demand in Delhi is around 4400MW in peak hours. Our contribution is around 700-750 MWs.  Rest of the demand is met through  purchasing  power from other states and corporations. In order to reduce this dependence, we have planned to have in-house generating capacity, that too, without polluting the environment.

What is the Indraprastha Power Generation Corporation (IPGCL) – Pragati Power Corporation (PPCL) road map for meeting the power needs of the Capital of India?

Currently IPGCL has four power generating stations, out of which two are coal-based and other two are gas-based. Collectively, we generate about 994.2 MW. Under the leadership of our Chairman and Managing Director, Rajendra Prashad, we developed a vision of making Delhi a power surplus state. Recently, we have started working on a very ambitious power project in Bawana with capacity of 1500 MW that is supposed to look after additional demand during the commonwealth games. We have also started working on another project at Bamnauli with a capacity of 750MW. So by 2012-13, we are targeting to have a total capacity of 3000 MW.

The power demand in Delhi is around 4400MW in peak hours. Our contribution is around 700-750 MWs.  Rest of the demand is met through  purchasing  power from other states and corporations. In order to reduce this dependence, we have planned to have in-house generating capacity, that too, without polluting the environment.

Tell us why did IPGCL – PPCL go for deploying an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution?

We have four power plants spread geographically at distant locations. In an effort to  synchronise, economise and standardise the operations, we implemented SAP Enterprise  Resource Planning. ERP, as acknowledged, is a mechanism for standardising processes, which  results in creating synergies and for optimal utilisation of resources- of man, machine, money  etc. Moreover, all of the plants will be integrated and all of the operations will be on-line.  Importantly, ERP brings transparency. Finally, when you have every thing centrally  controlled, you can monitor the processes and operations in a better manner. You can better  utilise your inventory, and achieve operational effi ciency.

The cost of generation must be aligned, according to the current trend in the market. In the  days to come when power will be plenty, then those power stations where the cost of generation is lower, will have an edge over other power corporations. To be in line with the  current trend, we have to utilise our resources in the most optimal manner..

What were the implementation challenges?

We have an aging population, that is not so IT friendly. Thereby, change management was a  problem. Record keeping was not up to the mark and even Base Line data was not in a good  shape. Frankly, we were hesitant initially. However, we created a core group, which worked very hard and took up the challenge. Now we have set a global precedence in completing ERP  implementation in just seven months.

What are the modules covered under ERP?

ERP helps in taking use of resources in the most optimal manner. Resources are expensive,  what ever it may be – manpower, machines and O & M. ERP precisely targets these issues.  Under ERP, you have a system, which will tell the status of the equipments, about the number of breakdowns. So you know when to change the particular equipment. Earlier, the  case was after every three years we had to change the equipments, independent of the  conditions they were in.

Inventory management is a key module covered under ERP. We have a pool of hardware  resources. All the equipments and machines can be seen by any of the four plant managers, which was not an easy task earlier. Central Data Management is another vital module,  wherein if an individual has fed some data, and updated some records, it will be accessible by  other people as well, inside the organisation. Yet another relevant module is the Employee  Grievance Redressal System, which addresses various organisational and operational issues,  under a particular time frame. Other modules include: HR Affairs, Management, O&M and  Project Monitoring. It also generates MIS reports that help the top management in making faster decisions. It can be called as a move towards enabling e-Offi ce or a paperless offi ce.

Moreover, the procurement time earlier was 180 days. But with the ERP deployment, the time is going to be reduced greatly and we are expecting it to come down to under 100 level.  In the long run we are expecting it around 50 –60 days.

Why did you go for SAP ERP?

Most of the power generation  companies have deployed SAP ERP. We have a good number of  success stories. We asked NIXI and SAP to conduct a survey in the organisation for readiness and acceptability for the application. They came out with a conclusion that a dedicated core  team would be instrumental in implementing ERP.

Have you also taken green initiatives
in power generation?

The Government of Delhi has taken a decision that it will not have any coalbased power  generating centres, without polluting the city. One of the power stations – Indraprastha  Power Generation Corporation will be closed this year by October 31. Because machines are  old, maintenance cost is high, due to pollution, and breakdown losses. Then we have another  coal based station at Rajghat (in the Capital). We hope to run it for another 5 to 6 years and by  the time it completes 25 years, it will also be closed.

Eventually, we would not have any coal-based stations in Delhi, because of the environmental concerns. After this happens, we  will only have gasbased stations in the Capital, which comparatively does lesser carbon emissions. We already have two of them and we are planning to add two more in the years to come.

Are you planning to be a mega power plant in the days to come?

NDMC, Army, NES are our local customers. In order to get status of mega power station, we  are in the process of fi nalising deal [power purchasing agreement (PPA)] with Haryana and  Punjab for selling power. For being mega power plant, the Central Government has laid some  parameters, which includes having a generation capacity of more than 1000 Megawatt,  having one or more states as customers etc. In return, Centre is giving some  facilities/subsidies in custom duties, and it would save around INR 300 Crore.

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