Railways step for lower energy bills in Central, Western zones

NEW DELHI: In a move that would reduce the energy bills of two of its 16 zones -- Central and Western -- by a massive Rs 600 crore annually, Railways has started procuring 300MW power from government-owned Ratnagiri Gas Power plant for its traction power needs in the Maharashtra region.

Railways has been allocated 500MW power from Ratnagiri plant in Maharashtra and it expects to procure the remaining 200MW power soon, which will be utilised for traction power needs in other states, an official release said.

Railways has envisaged annual savings of Rs 3,000 crore in its energy bill in its budget for the 2015-16 fiscal.

The power drawn from the Ratnagiri plant is cheaper by almost Rs 4 per unit from the present tariff being paid by Railways in Maharashtra. The lower cost of power would make for a net saving of Rs 300 crore in the energy bills of the Central and Western Railways, the release said.

This is the first time that Railways is drawing power from the Maharashtra-based plant under open access as distribution licensees in any state, the release said.

The complete procurement of 500MW in the coming days is expected to enable a saving of about Rs 1,000 crore annually, Railways said, adding that, this way, the financial savings will continue to increase in the future.