In October 1997, Essar commissioned India’s first Independent Power Plant (IPP) after the Government of India had liberalised its power policy. Originally conceived to cater only to Essar Steel’s requirements, the plant was later converted to an independent producer with a capacity of 515 MW. Using cutting-edge technology, it was no ordinary power plant. The Hazira IPP was a multi-fuel plant capable of running on naphtha, natural gasoline liquid or liquid fuel, high speed diesel and/or natural gas. It was also a combined cycle power plant that could generate both power and steam. While the 2×115 MW gas turbines ran on a mix of fuels, the steam generated from them was used to run a 185 MW steam turbine, thus saving the cost of input fuel. Not just that, with its ability to isolate itself from the grid, the plant was able to restore supply in Gujarat state on several occasions of grid failure