TMT bar manufacturer Micky Metals is holding back an expansion plan at its steel making plant in Birbhum district in West Bengal due to high power tariff of the state-run electricity distribution company.
The power cost in areas under the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) is nearly double of what is levied in localities where the Damodar Valley Corporation provides electricity.
The average power cost in Birbhum is Rs eight per unit from WBSEDCL, while the electricity tariff in Durgapur under DVC command area is just about Rs four a unit. So it is unviable to put an expansion project.
The company was planning for a billet making facility as an expansion of its steel plant in Suri. Manufacturing of billet is a backward integration process to make TMT bars that are used for construction.
The company has a manufacturing capacity of one lakh tonne and the main market for its products is West Bengal.
The steel maker is also expanding its footprint in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir within the next six months.