Fuel price hike, green energy focus offer biz prospects: Schneider Electric

The company says has a strong R&D presence in India, backed by 1,400 engineers, for developing energy solutions and products for domestic and offshore markets

Global energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric said on Friday that the spiking fuel prices in India coupled with the rising focus on green energy offered it business opportunities.

Given the unabated spurt in fuel prices, the creation of an ecosystem for economising on energy consumption and deriving optimum energy output through smart management of resources has become imperative, Schneider Electric India managing director Anil Chaudhry told Business Standard in Lucknow.

He stressed the growing need for developing such energy solutions that are both efficient and sustainable in the long run. “We remain focused on delivering sustainable energy solutions and have been ramping up our renewable energy portfolio in recent years,” he added.

The company has a strong R&D presence in India, backed by about 1,400 dedicated engineers, for developing energy solutions and products for the domestic and offshore markets, Chaudhry stated.

“Almost 50 per cent of our production caters to the export market, which is our contribution to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the central government,” he said.

Meanwhile, the company is also bullish on the Uttar Pradesh market, owing to a slew of mega infrastructure projects, including metro rail, expressways, and smart city. “We are optimistic about the UP growth story over the next 5-10 years due to investment commitments in sectors like housing, highways, hospitals, electrification, and metro rail. This is one of the reasons we have been expanding our footprint in the state,” he added.

Apart from Lucknow, the company has opened offices in Meerut, Gorakhpur and Muzaffarnagar as well. “We would positively consider setting up our manufacturing unit in UP as well,” Chaudhry added.

Schneider spends about Rs 500 million every year on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities such as electrifying households in the hinterland through solar lighting solutions. It provides micro-grid or solar power solutions to areas that lack access to the grid and claims to have provided such access to almost 3.5 million people in the hinterland.

The firm also offers an electrician training programme to jobless youth countrywide, through 270 centres.

Schneider Electric is awaiting regulatory nod for its proposal to buy out Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T)'s electrical & automation business in an all-cash deal worth Rs 140 billion. Earlier, the company had formed a consortium with Singapore state investment arm Temasek Holdings for the mega transaction, which was announced in May 2018. Under the proposal, both partners would make fresh investment in Schneider’s wholly-owned subsidiary Schneider India, which in turn would buy out the L&T unit.

Chaudhry was in the city to participate in the three-day Lucknow Electric Merchants and Contractors Association (LEMCA) Expo 2018, which kicked off today. The Expo provided a platform to showcase and demonstrate innovative solutions in the electrical and solar energy space.