The first O&M agreement in India was Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd (GACL) with a 56 MW (4 x Wärtsilä 12V46, 2 x Wärtsilä 18V32) power plant. |
1 January 1998 is a significant date for Wärtsilä in India. The new year began on a high note – the signing of the company’s first Operations & Maintenance (O&M) agreement.
The customer was Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd (GACL) and the facility was their 56 MW (4 x Wärtsilä 12V46, 2 x Wärtsilä 18V32) power plant at Kodinar, Gujarat. The event marked the beginning of a new growth chapter for Wärtsilä India and the company’s first step towards offering a complete ‘Power Plant Solution’ to its customers.
Wärtsilä has come a long way in the eight years since then, creating added value for shareholders and customers by applying competent management, skilled resources and a structured, systematic and environmentally friendly approach to plant operations.
1000 O&M megawatts
1 June 2003 marked yet another chapter when Wärtsilä signed an O&M agreement with Indo Rama Synthetics Limited for their 52.6 MW power plant. This was an important landmark as the power plant was already six years old when the O&M agreement was signed and it demonstrates Indo Rama’s confidence in Wärtsilä’s abilities to commit and deliver on a long-term basis.
In August 2003, Wärtsilä India celebrated delivery of the 100th engine under O&M contract, while exactly six months later, in February 2004, it was time to record another turning point – Wärtsilä India now had 500 MW covered by O&M contracts. Today Wärtsilä India manages 52 power plants – 110 engines totalling 561.5 MW – and by the end of 2004 an additional 60 megawatts will come on stream. The next obvious target is 1000 MW.
With a compounded average growth rate for O&M in excess of 20% per year, Wärtsilä India has left its footprints all over this vast country, averaging one O&M mobilization every 1.5 months. Wärtsilä India O&M, directly and through associates or subcontractors, today employs more than 500 people and manages assets worth over 10 billion Indian rupees (200 million euros).
Getting more from Wärtsilä
Over the years, Wärtsilä India O&M has successfully developed customized solutions for both small and large power plants. At one end of the spectrum, Wärtsilä operates and maintains a 2.2 MW power plant at RSWM, Mandapam, and at the other end the 61.2 MW power plant at Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Kodinar. Recently, Wärtsilä signed a 10-year O&M agreement with Kannapiran Mills for a 1.5 MW power plant.
Through this process of customizing, Wärtsilä manages the diverse needs of customers operating across a wide range of industry, justifying its reputation of a ‘Total Solution Provider’.
O&M as a concept has been evolving rapidly around the world, its boundaries expanding to cover an ever greater range of responsibilities, and India has been no different. Indian customers increasingly expect more from Wärtsilä and see in Wärtsilä a partner they can trust.
Wärtsilä India O&M has also concluded an O&M deal in principle for the operation and maintenance of a 15 MW coal-based steam turbine generator now being commissioned. Once again this demonstrates the confidence placed by customers in our ability to meet the promises we make on a long-term basis.
by Sanjay Aggarwal, Head of O&M Sales, Wärtsilä India Ltd
