India’s LNG demand set to double in next 4 years: Report
India, the world’s fourth largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, is set to see its demand for LNG double in the next four years, courtesy a glut in the global market and the country’s own increasing demand from the power and fertilizer sector. India is the largest LNG importer after Japan, Korea, and China and its import capacity over the next four years is expected to double to 45 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) against 22 MTPA currently, says a 5 October report by Citi Research. The report adds that India’s LNG demand increased from 14 to 16 million metric tonnes (MMT) from FY15-FY16, and has the potential to touch 30 MMT by FY20. “We believe India’s LNG demand has the potential to increase from 16 to 30 MMTPA over FY16-20E, even if we limit our exercise to clearly identifiable demand contributors already connected to the grid,” Citi Research said. One of the key reasons for the spike in demand could be due to the revival of gas-based power generation in India as a result of the lower LNG prices brought on by the oncoming global LNG glut, which could drive Asian spot prices to below 10% to Brent in 2017 (against 11-12% currently). In recent months, Indian LNG imports have risen substantially, with volumes at 1.62 MMT in August, up 9% on a monthly basis and 35% on a yearly basis. This has been aided by falling LNG prices as well as the government’s efforts in increasing gas consumption (especially the power & fertiliser pooling policies introduced last year). The report states that Essar Group plans to restart its two captive gas-based power capacities at Hazira in Gujarat (500 MW + 515 MW), subject to availability of re-gasification capacity. Both these plants have been shut since 2013, but the economics have now turned favourable as the alternative is to buy relatively more expensive power from the grid. In addition, Essar will also require LNG for the gas requirement at its steel plant in Hazira and its refinery at Vadinar. “A recent feasibility report released by the Essar Group highlights a total LNG demand estimate of 3.9 MMTPA from the aforementioned power, refinery, and steel plants,” the report stated. Also, there is potential for 7 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of additional gas consumption by the fertiliser sector due to additional production of 3.7 MMT of urea by existing units over the next four years as part of the pooling mechanism. Refineries, petrochemicals and small industries in Gujarat could also add to the increase in LNG demand. On an average, the Indian refinery sector consumes about 10-15 mscmd. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Gas for India campaign last month, targeted at promoting gas usage in the country. The campaign will educate citizens on the various benefits of using gas as the preferred fuel, in a bid to raise the share of gas in the country’s energy basket to 15% from the current 6.5%, which is substantially below the world average of 24%. Apart from efforts to communicate the benefits of using gas as a fuel, the government is also setting up infrastructure for gas usage and promoting a nationwide gas grid. As part of this move, the government has launched a project on city gas distribution (CGD) network in smart cities to encourage the urban population to shift from LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) to PNG (piped natural gas). The LPG freed up will then be given to below poverty line families under a scheme that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May, which aims to supply 50 million free LPG connections to the BPL families over a period of five years. However, the lack of pipeline infrastructure is preventing large scale adoption of LNG in the country. India’s current gas pipeline infrastructure is heavily skewed toward the western, northern and southern parts of the country that account for 75% of the network and 90% of consumption. “Although there are several pipelines planned for the unconnected regions of the country, there has been little progress on them and hence our estimates on demand from the sectors highlighted earlier are not dependent on their completion and we only include contributions from sources where we feel the existing infrastructure is sufficient to handle the demand,” the report said. Dwight Clark Jersey
4 new bridges across River Hindon to improve Noida-Gr Noida connectivity
In an attempt to enhance connectivity between the cities of Noida and Greater Noida, the twin authorities have in principal approved the construction of four new bridges across the River Hindon. These facilities will not only bring the two cities closer but also provide connectivity to Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Delhi. A joint meeting was held between senior officials of Noida ad Greater Noida last month and the project was to seek an approval from the joint Board meeting to have been held on Monday, Oct 3, which has now been postponed, officials said. According to officials, while the bridges will be constructed by the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Limited, the cost of the project will be shared by the Noida and Greater Noida authorities. “Each bridge is expected to come at a cost of Rs 55 crores. Once we have the approval from the Joint Board, work on the bridges will start within a month and will take about a year to completion,” said Rajeev Tyagi, General Manager, Projects, Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA). Explaining the locations of the proposed bridges, officials said that one of the bridges will be constructed between Noida’s sector 150 via Illahbas village near sector 86 to sector Chi-Phi up to 80-meter wide road, which joins the two cities. A second bridge will be on the road between Greater Noida’s Knowledge Park-2 and 3 near the 75-meter wide road, which is proposed to connect to Faridabad and Noida’s 150 meter wide road. A third bridge will be located from near LG roundabout in Greater Noida to Knowledge Park-3, which connects to a 75-meter wide road near Hindon canal and road between Noida’s sector 146 and 147. A fourth bridge between Greater Noida’s sector 1 and Techzone-4 and Noida’s sectors 112 and 115 has already been constructed but has been proposed to be extended by service roads on either side of the bridge. This bridge also needs building of an approach road from Noida side. Officials further told TOI that all the bridges will assist in decongesting areas of Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, Greater Noida (west) area and the Noida-Greater Noida expressway. “While the bridge between LG roundabout and sectors 146 and 147 will decongest Pari chowk as traffic can bypass Pari Chowk, it will also provide commuters with an additional road between the two cities other than Noida-Greater Noida expressway,” said Tyagi. “The existing bridge between Greater Noida’s sector 1 and techzone-4 to Noida’s sectors 112 and 115 will help commuters who travel to Greater Noida (west) and Noida’s phase-III area, which will soon house nearly 3 lakhs residents,” he further explained. “This bridge will also be useful for commuters who want to travel between Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad,” he added. The new bridges will be 210 meters in length and will have a carriageway of 18.5 meters width on each side. The service roads for the existing 8-lane bridge, which is yet to be opened for commuters, will be 7.50 meters on each side and will support a length a 210 meters. “Both authorities have been directed to acquire land for the bridges and approach roads wherever required and also to incorporate them in their respective master plans for future development,” Tyagi said. Saku Koivu Womens Jersey
How infra trusts will help roads cos cut debt
Road developers, faced with shortage of finance options, are increasingly taking the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) route to de-leverage their balance sheet and fund projects. Prominent roads companies such as IRB Infrastructure Developers, IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL), GMR Infrastructure and MEP Infrastructure have announced plans to launch infrastructure trusts. There are factors which work in favour of these roads companies if they take the InvIT route to raise funds. This can be understood by considering the point at which these trusts are launched. Most road developers don’t have much headroom left for more equity infusion in projects. Analysts said raising money though such trusts will address the issue. It functions this way -suppose a roads company has four operational projects which generate toll revenue or annuity income. The company transfers these fully-operational projects to the InvIT. After mutual consultation and analysis, the trust and the company arrive at a fair value for the projects of the InvIT. The trust gets listed and the roads company gets the equity value of the project debt and the debt owed to the banks is repaid. The company can use the funds received from the trust to reduce debt or secure new roads projects. Also, due to de-leveraging of balance sheet, the company can access additional debt from banks at a better interest rate. In return, the trust, which gets fully operational road projects, gets revenue and pays fixed, compulsory and tax-free dividends to investors. The trust is of two types -90:10 and 80:20. The 90:10 trust will have 90% fully-operational projects while 10% will be under-construction projects.In the 80:20 type, 80% of road projects will be fully-operational and 20% will be under construction. In 90:10 trust, retail investors can invest, while 80:20 trust would see investments largely from institutional investors. The trust earns through the toll revenue or annuity income of the road projects it entails. Analysts point out that the trust needs to generate yield in the range of 10-11% to make it viable for institutional investors such as private equity funds, banks, pension funds, debt funds and high net-worth individuals. In this, only those firms which have more annuity projects than toll projects are likely to get higher valuation as revenues on toll projects are linked to traffic growth and inflation, which can’t be predicted. Among prominent roads companies, analysts believe IRB Infrastructure Developers will be a key beneficiary with the launch of an infrastructure trust. Nevin Lawson Jersey
Soon, a Made-in-India aircraft will be ferrying passengers
A Made-in-India civilian aircraft could take to the skies as early as June 2017. The Dornier 228, a 19-seater, short take-off and landing aircraft, is undergoing modifications at the Kanpur unit of State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The development comes as a boost for the Centre’s Make in India programme and its Regional Connectivity Scheme. HAL already supplies Dornier 228 aircraft to the armed forces. The civilian version, which will have the same body structure as the military aircraft, will entail some modifications. “The civil Dornier 228 produced by HAL will have an increase in maximum take-off weight due to an increase in fuel to be carried, a more powerful engine, propeller blades made with composite material that will make them quieter, and a glass cockpit,” a senior government official told BusinessLine. These modifications will have to be certified by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), whose officials are monitoring the progress. The Dornier 228 was also used by Vayudoot, the now-defunct state-owned regional airline that connected more than 100 small airports in the country between 1980 and 1990. Air India has indicated that it could initially acquire at least 10 such aircraft to operate regional routes. Pawan Hans, the state-owned helicopter company, which plans to diversify into fixed-wing aircraft operations, is also said to be keen on acquiring the Dornier aircraft. The Regional Connectivity Scheme is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy, which was unveiled in June. The scheme, which will run for 10 years, envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports through revival of existing airstrips and airports. This will be achieved through a financial stimulus in the form of Central and State government concessions as well as Viability Gap Funding for airlines to operate from such airports so that fares are affordable. The fare for a one-hour flight of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30-minute journey on a helicopter is to be capped at ?2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different duration. Ivan Provorov Womens Jersey
NHAI to monetise 40 projects in 1st phase, eyes Rs 20,000 crore
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) eyes up to Rs 20,000 crore from monetisation of 30 to 40 projects in the first phase. The move follows the government’s move to authorise NHAI to monetise the public funded highway projects in August. “We target to bring out overall 30 or 40 projects initially and we would be able to raise about Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore out of it to begin with,” NHAI Chairman Raghav Chandra told PTI. Chandra said NHAI is hopeful of bidding out a few projects by December but the process is going to be a continuous exercise and NHAI would take it from time to time. “We hope that in the next two months we should be able to bid out our first few projects. We are getting DPRs (detailed project reports) prepared …we will be looking at the issues connected to the projects,” the NHAI chief said. “The traffic studies related to that projects, the revenue streams available and overall the viability of the project. As soon as those are ready, we will bunch some of these projects and would be able bid them out,” Chandra said. He said there was enthusiasm about the scheme and NHAI was confident there will be a large number of takers for these. “We already have extremely positive enthusiasm there for this with all kinds of borrowing investors, the Canadians, the Europeans, the Americans and so on and especially the sovereign wealth fund etc in the Middle East,” he said. NHAI is hopeful that as soon as it launches the scheme there will be a sufficient number of takers, he said adding, this would be good in the overall interest of the country as private sector operators will come to manage the roads and “they will be able to bring in a special focus on safety practices”. He said, “Monetisation of projects would be undertaken in a selective manner so that we can raise funds, we would like private sector efficiencies in operating and managing those projects and we do require monetisation to be able to provide us with the requisite fund support that we require to expand our footprint in our programme.” The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on August 3 authorised NHAI to monetise the public funded highway projects which could result in funds in the range of Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh crore initially, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. Around 75 operational NH projects completed under public funding have been preliminarily identified for potential monetisation using the toll operate transfer (TOT) Model. The corpus generated from proceeds of such project monetisation could be utilised by the government to meet its fund requirements regarding future development and operation and maintenance of highways in the country and could address development of highways in unviable geographies. Market feedback indicates that certain institutional investors from outside the country have a long term investment appetite and are keen to participate in operational highway projects with stable toll revenue outlook. Marcedes Lewis Womens Jersey
Murray Energy CEO calls Tesla a fraud and musk tweets it
The head of the biggest privately owned US coal producer on Monday called electric-car maker Tesla Motors a “fraud” for failing to turn a profit despite subsidies. Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla, fired back at Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray within hours on Twitter. In his post, Musk said Tesla gets “pennies” on the dollar in subsidies compared with the coal industry, and that climate science denial is the “real fraud”. The verbal sparring between Murray and Musk comes as seismic changes in energy policy and competition from natural gas have pummelled coal miners, leading to bankruptcies and record production cuts. In his interview with CNBC on Monday, Murray said Tesla was an example of the many companies collecting subsidies through energy policies supported by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “Here again, it’s subsidies, and Hillary Clinton said they need government help,” he said. Murray added that such policies were about Clinton “supporting her friends” rather than protecting the environment, and that the shutdown of all US coal plants would do nothing to fight climate change. Charley Taylor Jersey
On Some Power Projects, PM Narendra Modi Finds His ‘Hands Tied’: Foreign Media
In a small Himalayan village near a wildlife sanctuary in India’s north, 200 families have banded together to decide whether a hydroelectric power plant slated for their land can go ahead. To the chagrin of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, their answer will be a resounding “no”. Surrounded by chilgoza, or pine nut trees, Lippa in Himachal Pradesh is only the second known case in India where a court has allowed a community to determine the outcome of a commercial project. While this is a victory for villagers using the 2006 Forest Rights Act — which says no forest land can be taken for a developmental project without the consent of those affected — experts say it will also lead to the derailment of other major projects as communities push back against land grabs. Hands tied The empowerment of villages by the National Green Tribunal is causing further challenge for Modi, who was forced by farmers’ protests to step back from a push last year to allow companies to acquire land in non-forest areas. While Modi is promoting the ease of doing business in India, he is restrained from overhauling the Forest Rights Act to free up more land for companies. In the meantime, the opposition has blamed him for leading a government that favors the business elite over the poor. “There is bound to be more conflict because the government is not resolving the problems and the industry is not keen to look into the genuine demands and needs of people,” said Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer and managing trustee of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, who fought on behalf of Lippa villagers in National Green Tribunal. “They are bypassing the law.” There are no official figures available on number of industries affected — projects including mining, coal and pipelines have either been scrapped or trapped in disputes as tribals refused to give consent or protest when local governments strip their rights. The Tribal Affairs Ministry told the Indian Parliament in July that of the 2,306 projects received over the last three years, 432 were pending environmental clearance. It is unclear how many are being held back by the act, however the tribunal has commented on the “magnitude and scale at which hydro projects are being set up in the state of Himachal Pradesh”. A group of neighboring villages in Odisha were the first to beat the system when the Supreme Court in 2013 awarded power to locals to decide on a proposal to mine bauxite in Niyamgiri hill. They refused to give the land over to the project, forcing Vedanta Resources Plc. to abandon its plan to source minerals for it alumina refinery plant from the area. Investments On Hold mberg | Updated: October 10, 2016 15:33 IST EMAIL PRINT 19 COMMENTS On Some Power Projects, PM Narendra Modi Finds His ‘Hands Tied’: Foreign Media The empowerment of villages by the National Green Tribunal is causing challenge for PM Narendra Modi. In a small Himalayan village near a wildlife sanctuary in India’s north, 200 families have banded together to decide whether a hydroelectric power plant slated for their land can go ahead. To the chagrin of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, their answer will be a resounding “no”. Surrounded by chilgoza, or pine nut trees, Lippa in Himachal Pradesh is only the second known case in India where a court has allowed a community to determine the outcome of a commercial project. While this is a victory for villagers using the 2006 Forest Rights Act — which says no forest land can be taken for a developmental project without the consent of those affected — experts say it will also lead to the derailment of other major projects as communities push back against land grabs. Hands tied The empowerment of villages by the National Green Tribunal is causing further challenge for Modi, who was forced by farmers’ protests to step back from a push last year to allow companies to acquire land in non-forest areas. While Modi is promoting the ease of doing business in India, he is restrained from overhauling the Forest Rights Act to free up more land for companies. In the meantime, the opposition has blamed him for leading a government that favors the business elite over the poor. “There is bound to be more conflict because the government is not resolving the problems and the industry is not keen to look into the genuine demands and needs of people,” said Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer and managing trustee of Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, who fought on behalf of Lippa villagers in National Green Tribunal. “They are bypassing the law.” There are no official figures available on number of industries affected — projects including mining, coal and pipelines have either been scrapped or trapped in disputes as tribals refused to give consent or protest when local governments strip their rights. The Tribal Affairs Ministry told the Indian Parliament in July that of the 2,306 projects received over the last three years, 432 were pending environmental clearance. It is unclear how many are being held back by the act, however the tribunal has commented on the “magnitude and scale at which hydro projects are being set up in the state of Himachal Pradesh”. A group of neighboring villages in Odisha were the first to beat the system when the Supreme Court in 2013 awarded power to locals to decide on a proposal to mine bauxite in Niyamgiri hill. They refused to give the land over to the project, forcing Vedanta Resources Plc. to abandon its plan to source minerals for it alumina refinery plant from the area. Investments On Hold Ads by ZINC “A negative impact is visible on the land acquisition process, and fresh private investments are on hold,” said D.S. Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. “As central and state governments are working hard to attract investments to cater
Centre tells state powers to push reforms, unlock demand
The Centre has put the proposed amendment to the Electricity Act on the backburner, opting instead to work with state governments on measures to open up the power market and unlock latent demand through regulatory reforms. “Do you see any work (reforms) suffer or stalled (in the absence of the amendments)? Our initiatives are progressing well even without the (proposed) amendments to the Act. We are working with states on taking things forward,” power minister Piyush Goyal said in reply to a question whether the amendment Bill would be re-introduced in the next session of Parliament. The amendments seek to segregate the distribution (carriage) and supply (content) businesses. This is expected to bring competition by having multiple distribution licences in an area, giving consumers the freedom to choose their supplier. The amendment Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2014. It was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy. The panel submitted its report on May 7, 2015. The refreshed amendment Bill, incorporating the committee’s recommendations, will have to be cleared by the Cabinet before it can be reintroduced in Parliament. The Centre’s unwillingness to move the Bill at this juncture is understandable, given the prevailing conditions in the power market where most of the generation units are running at only around 60% due to subdued demand. Besides, the scheme for turning around state discoms has been rolled out only recently and is yet to take root. So the government appears to be gradually prepping the market and the state governments for a full-on competition. As a first step, at last week’s consultations with states at Vadodara, Goyal got them on board to free up unused plant capacity under their contract so that utilities can sell power in the spot market. To supplement this move, Goyal said an hourly purchase framework would also be developed alongside the day-ahead market. “This will help generators recover costs and also increase availability of cheaper power. This is a natural progression as we are moving from an absolute deficit to a power surplus situation,” Goyal said after the conference. Power secretary P K Pujari said the provision allowing generators to sell ‘unrequisitioned’ power in the spot market was there in the tariff policy. But the various levels in state administration reluctant to taking decisions. “The issue is administrative or regulatory, not of policy. We will work out the details,” he said. Boomer Esiason Womens Jersey
Kerala:Soon, power cut alerts on SMS
Complaints about power cuts taking consumers by surprise will soon be a thing of the past with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) planning to inform citizens about such shut downs in advance through a short messaging service (SMS) facility. Power minister Kadakampally Surendran said here on Tuesday that his department plans to provide more information technology-based services to KSEB consumers as part of efforts to improve efficiency. He said that there are complaints that section officers do not respond to phone calls regarding power failure. To tackle this, the board has come up with a toll-free number — 1912 — where such complaints can be registered. In addition, the consumers can also send complaints to the KSEB’s WhatsApp number, 9496018367. The minister said that the board will provide the option to access the electricity bills through emails and SMS. The board has installed cash deposit machines (CDMs) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode by which a consumer can pay his electricity bill anytime. Once the facility is found to be successful it will be extended to other places, the minister said. Also, the board has decided to simplify the formalities for availing a new power connection. The application form will hereafter be a one-page document. Along with it, only the identification document and ownership certificate needs to be produced. James van Riemsdyk Womens Jersey
A new lesson in saving energy in Kerala
The students of Government Mappila UP School, Ozhukur here are set to put in all efforts to reduce their domestic electricity consumption and the best part is the luckiest among them would get their power bill paid by the school. As per the new project Vilakkanakkam inaugurated at the school two days ago, electricity bill of those students who have successfully saved energy will be paid by the school management. The initiative is supported by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). The beneficiaries will be selected through continuous monitoring of the households. A two-member committee has been formed for each class to document power bills and select eligible households every three months. Coordinator of the project, R K Das said the project aimed to make students aware of the importance of saving energy . “We have a strength of 1,500 stu dents and are hopeful that the project will effectively bring down power consumption in the region. We are already getting feedback from parents that their children are now vigilant about saving power,“ he said. The school has also organized a one-day workshop for students and parents on manufacturing of LED bulbs. The institution also has plans to start commercial production of LED bulbs and distribute them among students, with the support of energy management cell (EMC). Brian Robison Jersey