Adani to supply 1600-Mw power to Bangladesh from Jharkhand project
Adani Power (Jharkhand) would supply 1600-Mw power to Bangladesh from the proposed plant coming up in Godda district. The company had inked an agreement with government of Jharkhand in February for setting up the power plant. As per the state’s policy any company setting up power project has to supply 25 per cent power to the state, a part of it at a rate fixed by the regulatory body and another at variable cost. Adani Power requested the state government to amend the norms of the agreement and allow the company to supply 25 per cent power to the state from sources other than the project. The company cited the agreement it had reached with the Bangladesh authorities for supplying power. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Adani Power and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) in August 2015 after a joint declaration was issued during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June 2015. As per the MoU, the entire production from the 2×800-Mw project would be supplied to Bangladesh The supply would be through a dedicated transmission line. The controversial over easing norms for the Adani Group cast shadow on the project. The Opposition had contested that the state government should not ease the norms and allow the company to provide 25 per cent of the installed capacity of power to the state from alternative sources and not from the proposed plant. The company official refused to comment on the issue. The state government had agreed to the company’s request to supply 25 per cent of the installed capacity to Jharkhand from alternate sources at a tariff determined by Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC). The state would be getting 400-Mw power from the alternate source. “The state government had allowed Adani power to supply 25 per cent power from alternate source,” state’s Industry Secretary Sunil Barnwal said. The state would be getting its share no matter what the source would be, he added. The decision of the state government had paved way for the company to supply the entire power generated from the Jharkhand project to Bangladesh. The project is in the initial stage as the land acquisition has been in progress. Brendan Smith Authentic Jersey
Major power outages expected as gencos default on payments
There is a possibility of major power cuts in the Capital, especially in posh Central Delhi as well as areas in the north, after generation in three gas-based power stations is on the brink of being shut as GAIL (India) Limited has threatened to stop supplying gas over non-payment of dues. Instead of the discoms, the city’s two generation companies (gencos) — entities of the Delhi government — have been found to be repeatedly defaulting in payments. Rs. 700 crore in dues In a stern letter to the city’s two gencos — Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL) and Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited (IPGCL) — GAIL (India) Limited has asked them to pay their dues that run up to nearly Rs. 700 crore. “Despite our various communications, PPCL/IPGCL has failed to submit LC (letter of credit) of requisite value in terms of the provisions of the GSAs/GSTCs (Gas Sale Agreements/Gas Sales and Transportation Contract),” read the letter sent to the general manager (technical) of PPCL. The letter dated July 6 further gave the two gencos a week’s time to make the complete payments “failing which GAIL will be compelled to stop gas supply,” it stated. Blame game However, the two gencos and the government blamed the non-payment of dues on the discoms. “How can the gencos pay to the gas supplier if they do not receive the money from the discoms? Yet, the issue will be sorted out within three-four days. We are diverting the subsidy money to the gencos to make further payments to GAIL. Other options like taking a loan from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is also being considered,” said Sukesh Jain, principal secretary (power). The Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) is supposed to pay about Rs. 230 crore to PPCL and the matter is also being heard by power regulator (DERC). The BSES Rajdhani and Yamuna (BRPL and BYPL) together owe about Rs. 400 crore. “We have no due left on PPCL and have already sent a letter of reconciliation to them. We are yet to hear back. We had made extra payments to them and have asked to adjust the same in accordance with the tariffs set by DERC,” said Praveer Sinha, Managing Director of TPDDL. The BSES discoms said that compared to its regulatory assets of over Rs. 16,000 crore, the company owes only around Rs. 1,700 crore to the Delhi gencos. “The payment of dues to power utilities by BSES discoms is subjudice in the Supreme Court,” said a BSES spokesperson. Bradley Chubb Authentic Jersey
Delhi Government Approves Proposal to Continue 50% Subsidy on Power Bills
Delhi government on Monday approved a proposal to continue 50% subsidy on electricity bills in the national capital. The government’s move came after the Finance Department advised it to approve the subsidy proposal in the Cabinet following which it would “legally” be able to release the amount to be incurred on subsidy to the discoms in the current financial year. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Delhi Secretariat. Sources said the Cabinet approved the proposal to shell out about Rs 1,600 crore on the power subsidy to be given to discoms in the current financial year. In the Budget in March, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia had announced that the AAP government would continue to give 50% subsidy scheme on electricity bills in the 2016-17 financial year as well. In February, the Delhi Cabinet had also decided to extend the power subsidy scheme to domestic consumers using up to 400 units per month to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area. As per the scheme, all the consumers whose monthly power consumption do not exceed 400 units get 50% subsidy in tariff and the scheme benefits around 36 lakh or 90% of the consumers in the national capital. During its 49-day stint too, the AAP government had also announced 50% subsidy on power bills following which electricity bills were slashed by 50%. D.J. Augustin Jersey
Centre tells Karnataka to clear land hurdles for Central power projects
The reliability of power supply in Bengaluru and surrounding areas is set to improve in the months to come through reduction in interruptions, as the Union government on Tuesday took the initiative of convincing the State to clear the hurdles for four central transmission projects languishing for years. The State, especially Bengaluru, will get additional power from the Centre after the completion of these Central transmission projects which are struck due to the land-related issues such as want of right-of-way. Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and Mines Piyush Goyal led the initiative by holding day-long consultations with the State government authorities in Bengaluru on Tuesday in a bid to clear the bottlenecks for transmission projects. “The Centre is concerned that people of Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru and neighbouring areas, are still facing frequent interruptions in power supply, when the country has surplus power. This is because the city is unable to get additional power since the process of setting up of five of the new transmission lines connecting it with the grid are pending,” Mr. Goyal later told reporters. Citing an example, he noted that the 400-KV Yelahanka transmission line that got the approval in 2011 was yet to be completed due the lack of right of way for a stretch of just 4.5 km. “The state will get about 600 MW of power after the completion of this project,” he said. Similarly other transmission projects for which the State has committed to remove obstacles include the 400-kv Dharmapuri and Summanahalli transmission line that facilitates flow of power from northern grid to the southern grid; 400-KV Madhugiri-Yelahanka line; and 765-MW Madhugiri-Dharmapuri line. He also announced setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre in Bengaluru for strengthening the load management and grid connectivity of green energy projects. The minister also assured the state of providing coal linkage to the state’s long-pending project of pit-head power plant to be set up in Chhattisgarh. Pointing out that Karnataka had only partially accepted the Centre’s flagship programme of UDAY (Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana) — which aims at the comprehensive reforms of the power sector— he said the State would have got benefits to the tune of Rs. 400 to 500 crore if it had accepted the scheme’s financial aspects. Brandon Fusco Authentic Jersey
Chinese corporation to bid for Rs 40,000 crore highway contract in India
China Railway Construction Corporation, one of the largest construction companies in the world, has evinced interest in bidding for Rs 35,000-40,000 crore worth of highway contracts in India. Top executives of the Chinese construction major held a meeting with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Raghav Chandra on Monday to discuss the proposal. “They are keen on bidding for around 3,000-km highway contracts. They will be participating in hybrid annuity, build-operate transfer (BOT) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) models,” Chandra said. This would be the single largest foreign investment in the country’s roads sector if the Chinese company succeeds in fulfilling the criteria set by the government. The company could also bid for several expressway projects that are considered to be high traction in terms of return on investment. The Chinese corporation builds 60% of highways and 80 per cent of railway tracks in China. India’s road transport and highways ministry has set a construction target of 40 km per day, or 15,000 km for the current financial year. The target to award highway contracts is 25,000 km. Construction of 15,000 km of highways would cost around Rs 1.5 lakh crore. However, the ministry has received only Rs 57,000 crore as budgetary support and is hopeful of getting Rs 10,000 crore more from the finance ministry. A lot of foreign investors and construction companies have come forward to bid for road projects in recent months. Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari is slated to meet several investment firms, including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, during his ongoing US trip. The revival of investor interest in roads sector has been credited to 21 policy changes that the Narendra Modi-led government has introduced in recent months to make investments in the sector more attractive. The changes include relaxing the exit policy for investors and innovative payment methods in hybrid annuity and engineering, procurement and construction models. Investor interest in the sector had weakened drastically after 2010 due to difficulties related to land acquisition and getting various approvals, besides public opposition to toll collection. Projects worth less than Rs 10,000 crore were awarded in FY15. In the previous year, the value of projects awarded to public-private partnerships (PPPs) was less than Rs 1,000 crore, as companies were unable to raise funds. Adam Gotsis Authentic Jersey
China Rail Construction keen to participate in NHAI projects
Chinese government-owned China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) has evinced keen interest in participating in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects, government said today. “A high-level delegation from the CRCC, led by its Chief Economist Zhao Jinuha, met Chairman, NHAI, Raghav Chandra and a team of NHAI officers in New Delhi,” Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement. Chandra told the visiting team that NHAI has projects lined up for upgradation of two-lane National Highways totalling 50,000 kms, various special expressway projects of around 15,000 kms and a part of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), over the next few years. “CRCC expressed keen interest to participate in the upcoming projects of NHAI under both engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and hybrid annuity model (HAM),” the statement said. CRCC is one of the world’s largest integrated engineering contractor and construction groups with over USD 100 billion of revenue and a market capitalisation of around USD 250 billion. CRCC, apart from being the major contributor to China’s high-speed and normal, alpine and plateau railways, has provided survey and design services for highways, urban rail transit, real estate and other infrastructure projects. The CRCC team had an in-depth discussion on various aspects of such participation in NHAI projects, the statement said, adding that the visiting delegation enquired about the acceptance of Chinese technical standards. “NHAI officials clarified that they would be acceptable only if they are higher than the prescribed standards of Indian Road Congress. “Their queries mostly pertained to finding financial solutions with requisite IRR, addressing the upward price fluctuations during construction of essential materials like bitumen, fuel, steel and cement during the period of construction under the EPC and HAM,” the statement said. The Chinese delegates were also keen on knowing about any restrictions on sources of procurement from abroad, import certifications requirements, whether US dollars could be the currency of repayment (as annuity) and availability of repayment guarantee, it added. NHAI officials also sought details of Chinese policy and models of concessions and funding solutions, the statement said. “NHAI officials presented an overview of policy, procedures and risk and responsibilities distribution between the private and public partners and provided clarifications addressing the queries of the visiting CRCC delegates,” it said. CRCC officials expressed keenness to bid for projects within the framework of NHAI’s transparent and competitive e-tendering process. Abry Jones Womens Jersey
Petrol pump owners seek ‘one nation one rate’ for fuel
Fuel pump owners in the country have demanded ‘one nation one rate’ for petroleum products in order to eliminate disparity in prevailing prices of petrol and diesel. “We are demanding ‘one nation one rate’ for fuel so that there should be no disparity in prices of petrol and diesel in the states. This step will help in controlling prices of this essential commodity,” All India Petroleum Dealers Association President Ajay Bansal said here today. He added that because of different VAT rates prevailing in states, there was a disparity in fuel prices, which vary between 60 paise and Rs 4 per litre in case of diesel and Rs 1 to Rs 7.50 per litre for petrol. Bansal said maximum tax on petrol is levied by Tamil Nadu state, which is about 35 per cent while Goa imposes lowest rate of tax on the commodity. In case of diesel, Haryana charges lowest tax while states like Rajasthan and West Bengal levy 20-24 per cent tax. “We want the prices of fuel which is an essential commodity should be same throughout the country and states should build consensus on the same,” he said. The association, which claims to be a national body representing more than 52,000 petrol pumps in the country has been holding meeting with chief ministers and state finance ministers to convince them to bring parity in retail price of petroleum products. Bansal said: “We also demand that petroleum products be brought under GST to ensure one nation one rate.” But, he said, states are unlikely to agree on the same. Ronnie Lott Womens Jersey
Fuel retailers invite tenders for 20 million litres of biodiesel
State fuel retailers are seeking to purchase 20 million litres of biodiesel from local manufacturers to blend with diesel. Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) has invited tenders on behalf of all three state fuel retailers to procure 20,460 kilo litres of biodiesel, of which 43% would go to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the balance will be almost equally split between Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and BPCL. The fuel retailers will mostly require the supply of biodiesel in Andhra Pradesh, and also in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu between July and September. Vendors will have to submit their bids online by July 25, according to the tender document. The contract for the supply of biodiesel shall be awarded on location-wise lowest net delivered cost basis. Vendors have the option to choose a location and offer a quantity that can’t be less than 500 kilo litres nor more than the requirement in that location. Oil companies started procuring biodiesel, produced from vegetable oil or animal fat, last year for blending with diesel. The government has not set any target for blending biodiesel although it has made mandatory for oil companies to use 5% ethanol, produced mainly from sugar and corn, in the petrol they sell. The companies are yet to meet the 5% target. The National Policy on Biofuels had proposed a 20% blending ratio for both biodiesel and ethanol by 2017 but the lack of supply and pricing issues had held back progress on this. Craig Anderson Jersey