| Railways plans captive nuclear plants to cut rising fuel bill by riteshexpert on 29 July, 2013 - 07:59 AM | ||
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 riteshexpert | Railways plans captive nuclear plants to cut rising fuel bill on 29 July, 2013 - 07:59 AM | |
NEW DELHI: Reeling under financial stress, railways is planning to set up captive nuclear power plants which will help the national transporter cut its fuel bill substantially and contribute to energy security."We are in talks with Nuclear Power Corporation to set up power plants at existing nuclear sites," Kul Bhushan, member (electrical), railway board, said.The transporter will soon sign an MoU with the government PSU and is also exploring some options in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.The move is part of the strategy by railways, the country's largest high speed diesel consumer, to revisit its energy consumption considering recent hikes in diesel price for bulk users. Railways spent Rs 8,000 crore on electricity in 2012-13, while its diesel bill was around Rs 15,000 crore.However, in terms of productivity, the larger share of work is done by electric locomotives. Around 65% of freight and 50% of passenger traffic is carried using such locomotives.Among the strategies being worked out by railways is to increase electrification of tracks, increase production of electric locomotives and to set up captive power plants to ensure adequate and cheap power.The transporter, which pays about Rs 5.4 a unit of electricity, is expecting to get electricity at Rs 4 or even less through its own captive power plants. | ||