How much power per tonne of ice do Bhimavaram's ice plants use?
102 kWh per tonne on average. Bhimavaram's 80 block ice plants used 38.41 million kWh and 762 kL of diesel for about 376,000 t of ice a year. Plants observed ranged from 87 to 120 kWh per tonne; tube ice plants run at 55 to 65.
The cluster
- 80 plants making 90 to 130 kg blocks; 45 of them are 31 to 40 tonnes a day.
- All use ammonia as refrigerant, so there are no HFC top-ups to count.
- Electricity is 98% of energy; diesel runs generators during cuts.
- Blocks take about 48 hours to freeze in brine tanks.
Where the kWh go
In the 31 to 40 tonne plants, compressor motors take 82% of the power, raw water pumps 9%, circulation pumps 7% and agitators 1%. So compressor running hours and the ice actually pulled decide your kWh per tonne. Part-loaded plants score worst.
Check your own figure
- Take a month's units from the APEPDCL bill.
- Count blocks pulled in the same days and multiply by block weight.
- Divide kWh by tonnes. Above 110, check utilisation, brine tank insulation and compressor age.
- Add generator diesel separately.
Tube ice
The cluster manual costs a 15 tonne a day tube ice plant at Rs 24 lakh, saving 189,000 kWh a year against a block plant running at 90 kWh per tonne, with a payback of about 3.4 years. It suits buyers who crush block ice anyway.
Carbon per tonne of ice (estimate)
- Power: 102 kWh x 0.675 = 69 kg CO2 per tonne
- Diesel: 762,220 litres x 2.645 kg / 376,000 t = 5.4 kg per tonne
- Total about 74 kg CO2 per tonne of block ice
- Tube ice at 60 kWh: 60 x 0.675 = 41 kg; 189,000 kWh saved = 128 t CO2 a year
From BEE's Bhimavaram ice making cluster manual; CO2 uses the CEA FY 2025-26 grid factor and Senseible's diesel factor.
What Senseible does here
The calculators turn your kWh and tonnes into a per tonne figure; Senseible can read the APEPDCL bills behind it each month.
Sources: BEE SME programme, Manual on energy conservation measures in ice making cluster, Bhimavaram, CEA, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector (grid factor 0.675 kg CO2 per kWh, FY 2025-26)
Last reviewed 2026-10-31.