Telangana transport corp.'s plan to use bio-diesel in bus fleet could be costly

Though the project is being monitored for its viability, corporation has revealed that bio-diesel fuels when tested do not often meet quality standards
Telangana transport corp.'s plan to use bio-diesel in bus fleet could be costly

HYDERABAD: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s (TSRTC) plans to go green by adopting bio-diesel on some of its fleet —thus cutting down on diesel expenditure —can run huge losses for the corporation given the existing inconsistency in the fuel quality. The corporation has revealed that bio-diesel fuels when tested do not often meet quality standards. The project as of now is being monitored for its viability. “There are issues related to the quality of the fuel being used,” said GV Ramana Rao, managing director, TSRTC. The quality of fuel TSRTC receive is inconsistent which could affect the engines of these buses. We do face issues related to steady supply of the fuels too, he added.

At present over 2,500 of the total 10,329 buses operated by the corporation run on bio-diesel. The plans to convert 20 per cent of the fleet to bio diesel was announced in December 2016. The decision came after TSRTC saved `6 crore by using bio-diesel that year. However, a transition without ensuring fuel quality could translate to higher engine maintenance costs, suggested Ramana Rao. “We have studied the fuels and its effect on the bus engines very carefully. There are over 20 parameters the fuel must fulfil, but our studies suggest we should focus on ensuring eight of the parameters strictly,” said O Venkateswarlu, chief maintenance officer, TSRTC. Whenever we have doubt about the fuel, we send samples to testing laboratory to check if the fuel is not purified, he added. TSRTC tests their bio-diesel fuels at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, (IICT) using standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). “If the sample is not of good quality the manufacturer will face penalty and a refund for the tanker of failed fuel is demanded,” said the maintenance officer. The conversion of the diesel fleet into bio-diesel is not an impossible task but would require modifications, he added.

No nodal agency in TS

The bio-diesel quality standards are set by the National Policy on bio-fuels from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which came into effect in 2009. The policy mandates every state government to set up a nodal agency and involve stakeholders to ensure fuel quality. However, very few states have adopted this policy, Telangana is not one of them

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