Jaipur-headquartered RMC Switchgears is very optimistic on a significant growth in operating revenue, following the proposed capacity expansion of its manufacturing plant at Jaipur in Rajasthan.
In an exclusive interaction with T&D India, Ankit Agrawal, Whole-time Director & Chief Executive Officer, RMC Switchgears Ltd, said that the company was currently expanding its manufacturing capacity of smart meter enclosures at its Jaipur plant in Rajasthan.
Giving details, Agrawal noted that the expansion plan, with an outlay of Rs.7-10 crore, aimed at enhancing capacity of distribution transformer (DT) meter enclosures by 3 lakh units per year.
It may be noted that under the Union power ministry’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), three broad types of smart meters are deployed – consumer meters, distribution transformer (DT) meters and feeder meters. Of these, RMC Switchgears would be tapping opportunities in the DT meter space only.
Explaining the rationale, Ankit Agrawal said that consumer meters are smaller in size and come with polycarbonate enclosures. There is too much competition in this space, and most meter manufacturers themselves have in-house manufacturing capabilities for this type of enclosures.
Incidentally, RMC Switchgears produces SMC enclosures. SMC, or sheet moulding compound, is the term associated with the manufacturing process for fibre reinforced plastic (FRP). These enclosures are supplied to Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Providers (AMISP) that execute RDSS-related smart metering contracts under the TOTEX model. “We are currently supporting various AMISPs like Genus Power, Adani Energy Solutions, GMR Group, Monte Carlo, NCC, Polaris, among others,” Agrawal pointed out.
RDSS: A business driver
Ankit Agrawal expects that the RDSS will see the deployment of 115 lakh SMC enclosures out of which orders have been placed for 12 lakh units. Independently available government statistics suggest that so far around 53 lakh DT meter enclosures have been sanctioned, including those that have been awarded. Agrawal said that RMC Switchgears was presently looking at a business opportunity of around 10 lakh DT meter enclosures, which will be serviced through the Jaipur manufacturing plant, currently under expansion.
Apart from DT meter enclosures, RMC Switchgears was also looking at other avenues within the RDSS ambit. Industry circles believe that the Union power ministry will soon be launching the next phase of RDSS that will focus on infrastructure works, outside the smart metering purview. Concurring with this, view, Ankit Agrawal said, “The upcoming trends of RDSS, from what we see, will be underground cabling, substation automation and other power distribution infrastructure upgrade works.”
Estimating that the next phase of RDSS would envisage an outlay of Rs.5 lakh crore, Ankit Agrawal said that RMC Switchgear was targeting an addressable business potential of 1 per cent, which translates to Rs.5,000 crore. “Apart from supplying enclosures and material to EPC contractors, we will also be participating directly in the tenders,” he noted.
Also read: RMC Switchgear Sees Good Business Opportunity In RDSS
