Building Lasting Value in the Power Cable Industry
With three decades of experience across the power cable industry, Pranav Vasani offers a unique perspective shaped by both technical expertise and executive leadership. From his early engineering roles at Uniflex Cables to leading technical and quality functions at Sterlite Technologies and Finolex Cables, and later serving as CEO of Finolex J-Power Systems and Fort Gloster Industries, he has worked across the industry’s entire value chain. His expertise spans EHV and HV power cable design, new product development, plant setup, EPC project turnarounds, industry standards, and P&L management, giving him a practical understanding of what drives performance and sustainable growth in power infrastructure. Drawing on lessons from both the shop floor and the boardroom, the article examines why long-term success in the power cable and EPC sectors depends on engineering excellence, disciplined execution, and solving real customer problems—not simply expanding capacity or chasing volume. Mr. Vasani shares insights into how companies can navigate competitive pressures, protect margins, and create lasting value through cost discipline, customer-focused innovation, and stronger alignment between operational execution and corporate governance. He also explores the risks of capacity-led expansion and the warning signs that distinguish businesses built for sustainable growth from those relying on cyclical demand or market hype. Readers will gain a grounded perspective on how to evaluate companies in the power infrastructure sector, identify the drivers of durable competitive advantage, and assess whether growth strategies translate into operational and financial performance. The article also offers broader lessons for industries where technical complexity, capital investment, and execution discipline determine long-term success.
Q1. From what you saw on the ground, where was power-cable demand strengthening fastest, and what was actually driving customer orders?
Looking at Sterlite, Finolex J-Power, and Fort Gloster, I noticed three clear areas where demand was picking up—and in every case, price wasn’t the driving factor. Instead, it was about utilities running into a physical constraint that they simply couldn’t get around any other way.
Urban underground EHV - driven by right-of-way scarcity, not preference
Cities simply didn’t have space left for more overhead lines. The Sterlite Grid Bombay project really highlighted this: the original plan was a simple copper solution that would have cost about Rs 750 crore. Instead, we reimagined it using high-ampacity aluminium and cut the cost to Rs 220 crore. But the reason we got the order wasn’t that we were cheaper—it was because our redesign solved a real engineering problem: how to deliver more capacity through a much tighter underground corridor. I even wrote a paper on using high-ampacity cable as an answer to right-of-way headaches, because that’s exactly what utilities were looking for.
Distribution utilities upgrading aging urban networks - TPDDL and similar
In Delhi, our work on 66kV double-circuit and cable-shifting projects …
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