Transrail Lighting Ltd is a key player in the power transmission and distribution space with a presence in both equipment and contracting. In a freewheeling conversation D.C. Bagde talks to Venugopal Pillai on a variety of subjects ranging from the company’s erstwhile lineage with the Gammon Group to charting the company’s course in the years ahead. Bagde, himself a veteran in the power T&D field, notes that power transmission is a highly specialized activity hence needs to be treated as a formal subject in the electrical engineering curriculum.
Tell us about the evolution of Transrail Lighting from an erstwhile Gammon group company.
The company has a pedigree of more than three decades which started as Transrail Engineering Company Ltd in 1984 and then carried through as Associated Transrail Structures Ltd, which in 2009, was amalgamated with Gammon India Ltd. Since then till around 2016, it operated as the power T&D business of Gammon. Now, the T&D business has been transferred and is known as Transrail Lighting Ltd.
Where does Transrail derive bulk of its revenues from?
The bulk of our revenue comes from power T&D itself. We started manufacturing poles for power transmission and also for lighting, as a separate division. However, it is part of our power T&D activity.
Where are your plants located?
We have two plants at Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli). In one plant, located at Kherdi, we manufacture high masts and poles. The other plant, is near Amboli, where we manufacture conductors. For manufacturing transmission towers we have two plants one in Deoli – Wardha, Maharashtra and the other in Vadodara, Gujarat.
What type of conductors do you make?
We make all types of aluminum and alloy power conductors up to 765kV. We supply conductors to various utilities including Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and state utilities. We get direct orders for conductors (as product sales), and we also use our conductors in our power T&D project (EPC) orders.
Yes. We are a major player in the turnkey T&D EPC projects having completed many projects across various countries. As far as conductors and towers are concerned, we are often approached by international utilities to supply these as products. I would like to mention that we have supplied 7,500 tonnes of towers to Canada. Those towers were special guyed type towers—which are generally not used in India. We have also tested these special towers on our state-of-the-art test bed, at our Deoli plant. Those towers were tested for an American client; all the designs were prepared by us. The design was approved by the American client and then submitted to the Canadian client.
This was a major development for us; it improved our global visibility. We then started getting direct orders even for tower testing. We have got similar orders from Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.
In which countries are you present globally?
As far as international markets go, we have worked in Algeria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Botswana, Bhutan, Rwanda, Benin & Togo. Besides, we have been recently awarded projects in Ghana and Bangladesh also.
Tell us more about your Bhutan project.
In Bhutan, we have faced the toughest terrains. Also, there was another parallel line to the one that we were constructing. We were JV partners with another company for that line. Because the company could not complete the job, we were asked (by the project owners) to take it up. We completed this project successfully in December 2017.
Are you looking at new countries or regions to expand your international footprint?
We definitely want to increase our exposure in the international market. Till around three to five years ago, we had significant revenues from the international markets but then there was a bit of a slack period. We need to catch up. I think Africa and South East Asia represent big markets, especially for EPC contracts. For products, North and South America is an area of opportunity. Right now, we are concentrating on African nations and SAARC countries to expand our contracts business. Among SAARC countries, Bangladesh is a very big market and so is Nepal.
Speaking about the domestic market, what has been Transrail’s geographical footprint?
We cater to Power Grid Corporation of India, private players as well as state power utilities. So far, we have worked in almost every state in India. We have worked extensively, for instance, in the difficult terrains of Jammu & Kashmir. We have completed projects in north, east, western and even northeast India.
What has been the impact of trifurcation on the working of erstwhile SEBs?
Yes, I think that the trifurcation of state electricity boards into separate entities for generation, transmission and distribution has definitely improved their functioning.
Do you see reduction in the tendering and procurement cycle?
E-bidding, which is now in practice, is definitely a good move. A lot of paperwork that went into submission of documents in the tendering process has drastically reduced. This has resulted in tremendous efficiency. You know where you stand in the tendering process, at any point in time.
Do you face constraints with respect to sourcing skilled or unskilled manpower?
Manpower constraints do crop up, especially when there is concentration of contracts on hand. But then, we have been in this field of over three decades, so we do have the resources available and know exactly from where manpower can be tapped. We also continuously train people. We even go in for campus recruitments and training is imparted to fresh students. We, in fact, have a dedicated training centre at Deoli (in Wardha district, Maharashtra) where we first give classroom training for about a month, and then put them on onsite training. Depending on their skill set, we place them accordingly.
There is a perception that the Indian engineering curriculum is largely academic with little practical exposure. What do you feel?
Yes, this is true to some extent. For instance, power transmission, as a subject, is not being taught in engineering colleges. However, fresh engineering students need onsite training because ours is a highly specialized field, though it may not be a hi-tech field.
What about unskilled labour, which is usually migrant in nature?
Yes, some years ago, when the government-sponsored employment guarantee schemes had just started we did face problems in getting migrant unskilled labour as workers were getting local employment. However owing to our years of experience and good rapport with sub-contractors, we are able to source manpower.
With so much experience in power conductors, towers and EPC contracting, are you planning to turn to transmission line development, say through the PPP route?
Yes, at some stage we would consider to go in for PPP in power transmission. However that would be into initially smaller projects, say intrastate ones, to start with, and then move on to some of the larger projects over time. We are extremely confident about our technical capabilities and can go in for PPP once the financial aspect of the project is taken care.
I would like to mention that we had associated with a large power transmission developer in one of its PPP projects. They chose Transrail as they had full confidence in our design, manufacturing, testing and project execution capabilities.
India’s power transmission is moving to higher voltages and has both AC and DC regimes. How do you view the situation?
Yes, India’s power transmission system was 400kV in the early 1970s. Then the need for 765kV was felt and for long-distance interregional lines. The country also planned HVDC lines—initially at 500kV and now moving to 800kV. We also now have 1,200kV lines erected but commissioned at 400kV. Incidentally, we have already completed one 800kV HVDC project and two are under execution. We have also completed one portion of the 1,200kV Wardha-Aurangabad line.
When do you think India will be ready with fully-charged 1,200kV lines, in commercial operation?
It will take time! Right now, the towers have been designed for 1,200kV voltage level. However, the insulators and conductors are of 400kV rating. The entire stringing will need to be changed when the voltage level is stepped up to 1,200kV. Suitable changes will also need to be made to the substation equipment.
Are there other aspects of power transmission that you are looking at, in terms of contracting works?
Yes, we are also doing some substation projects, including 400kV ones, in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. We are also hopeful of getting substation contracts overseas.
How do see prospects for Transrail coming from railway electrification?
We have already entered this business. We recently got a contract for 200km of railway electrification works through IRCON International. With the electrification of existing lines and other new lines which are proposed, this is an exciting business.
What about your lighting business, which we understand comes from monopoles and high-masts?
Road infrastructure is developing fast and this will influence our streetlights and high-masts business. Many power utilities have also started going in for monopole lines or underground cabling, to reduce the right-of-way requirements. We have recently completed one job for PGCIL in Ranchi (Jharkhand) on monopoles. We are also doing a similar 33kV monopole line in Madhya Pradesh.
Securing right-of-way is the biggest constraint in power transmission projects. What are the evolving technologies or techniques in transmission towers to this effect?
When it comes to right-of-way, technology is not much of help. It finally boils down to how much corridor you can reduce. There are two ways of achieving this. The first is to take transmission lines on monopoles. The second is to replace conventional cross-arms and go in for insulated fibre-glass cross-arms. All said, right-of-way constraints are going to only aggravate with time due to limited land availability.
Why do you think EHV cabling projects are not taking off as expected?
EHV cabling—even 132kV— is an expensive activity, and India is a very price-sensitive market. We can expect that EHV cabling will accelerate only when Smart City projects get into implementation, or when India sees a faster rate of urbanization.
Do you intend to manufacture EHV cables?
No, we don’t plan to manufacture EHV cables but I would like to mention that we have plans to manufacture copper wires that are used in railway electrification. In our existing manufacturing setup, with a little modification, we should be able to manufacture such wires that are technically called contact wires.
What is your vision for Transrail, for the coming years?
Our company, which was regarded as among the top five players in the power T&D industry, unfortunately lost some ground, especially during the period 2012 to 2016. We definitely want to not only recover this ground but grow at a healthy rate in the years to come.
