Centre accuses UP Government of false power position claim
The Centre is miffed with Uttar Pradesh’s claims about its power situation and has alleged that the pollbound state has been fudging data to project zero electricity deficit. Official sources said the state is not providing accurate data on supply and details on implementation of Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (Uday) to hide slow progress. The Centre had earlier clashed with the state after the Union ministry declared a village in Hathras district with no power connectivity as electrified. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation chairman Sanjay Agarwal did not respond to calls and messages sent by ET. A top power ministry official questioned the data provided by Uttar Pradesh on the ministry’s mobile applicationcum-portal Vidyut Pravah, which shows real-time power position in a state and the price at which it can purchase electricity from the power exchange. The portal showed that Uttar Pradesh faced 1.2 per cent power deficit and 3.1 per cent peak-hour deficit on Tuesday, meeting demand for about 12,000 MW. “The state faced a high power deficit when the electricity demand was at 11,500 MW a few weeks back. How can it claim to have met the demand with the addition of just 500 MW?” he said. Data available with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows Uttar Pradesh’s peak-hour deficit in January last year stood high at 16.1 per cent despite meeting power demand of 11,625 MW. The CEA, too, compiles the power supply position report based on data provided by states. The power ministry official said given federal structure, data provided by states cannot be questioned by the Centre. The power ministry had earlier clashed with the state after media reports highlighted that villagers of Nagla Fatela in Hathras district, referred as electrified by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, did not have electricity. Modi had said that although Nagla Fatela was only three hours away from Delhi, it had taken 70 years (since Independence) for electricity to reach there. Media reports, however, said villagers were using ‘katia’ connections, or tapping electricity illegally from agricultural feeders. Power minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday launched a mobile application and portal to track implementation of Uday by states. Goyal said his ministry will launch schemes to incentivise performing states that are a part of the Uday scheme. Telangana and Assam on Wednesday joined Uday, taking the count of states that are part of the discom revival scheme to 20. Telangana is likely to reap a net benefit of Rs 6,116 crore and Assam about Rs 1,663 crore through Uday, an official statement said. Tamil Nadu, with discom losses of Rs 50,000 crore, is likely to join Uday this week. Cortez Kennedy Authentic Jersey
Air Pegasus gets lifeline as FlyEasy picks up majority stake for Rs 70 cr
Air Pegasus has received a lifeline with another Bengaluru-based airline, FlyEasy, picking up a majority stake for around Rs. 70 crore. Sources close to the airline said FlyEasy has bought slightly over 60 per cent stake in Air Pegasus. Air Pegasus, whose operator licence has been suspended, will now start operations in a month’s time, a senior airline official told BusinessLine. The official said it expects to take on lease a single ATR soon and plans to get back its licence in a fortnight. As part of revamping its operations, Air Pegasus will induct 24 aircraft in the next four years, of which six will be inducted this year. “Air Pegasus will continue as a regional airline, operating in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, while FlyEasy Airlines will operate as a pan-India operator with an all-Airbus fleet and will have a commercial launch on May 2017,” said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director, Air Pegasus. ?”We intend to build a strong network with Flyeasy operating into long, thin routes and Air Pegasus connecting to tier-2 and 3 cities, concentrating on the South initially?,” s?aid Rajesh Ebrahim, the Managing Director of Flyeasy. “S?trategic partnerships and code-shares will be the future of Indian aviation and I feel that we have moved in the right direction,” he added. ?Sources said Zulfikar Ahmed Khan will be the group Chairman; Misbaudeen, the Managing Director of Air Pegasus; and Suhail Sheriff, the Managing Director of Flyeasy. Shyson Thomas will continue on the board as Vice-Chairman and Mr Rajesh Ebrahim will act as the Group CEO?. Kevon Looney Authentic Jersey
Cabinet note soon to make up for national highways operators’ toll loss
The road transport and highways ministry will soon move a cabinet note to compensate highway operators for the loss incurred due to suspension of toll collection following the government’s decision to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The government had directed toll operators not to collect user fee from the afternoon of November 9 till the midnight of December 2. This was done to ease the movement of vehicles on highways as lack of legally valid cash after the demonetisation was leading to long queues at toll booths. “We will be compensating highway operators for their loss. We are soon going to move a cabinet note for the same,” road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari told ET. National highway operators have pegged their losses at over Rs 1,000 crore due to the suspension of toll collection. “A decision is likely to come soon on the matter. The cabinet note is already under preparation,” Gadkari said. The government is also considering extending the toll collection period of the operators in their contract. But highway operators say they need immediate relief. Cabinet note soon to make up for national highways operators’ toll lossCabinet note soon to make up for national highways operators’ toll loss – Image“The move to extend the toll period does not mitigate the pain of road developers. The compensation in cash would be a welcome move,” said Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman at Feedback Infra. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also proposed an immediate relief for toll operators and said their interest cost along with the operations and maintenance costs should also be compensated. According to a senior ministry official, private toll operators for all BOT roads have already started submitting their claims for compensation. Gadkari said that of the total number of toll transactions on national highways, almost 20% have moved to the digital payment method. “There has been a huge increase in the number of transactions through the digital mode. We expect it to touch 30% of the total toll collection in the coming months,” he said. According to the ministry, over two lakh RFID toll cards have been sold since the November 8 demonetisation announcement. Trevor Plouffe Jersey
Exclusive – Airbus may post 8 percent rise in 2016 deliveries, narrow gap with Boeing
Airbus (AIR.PA) is set to post an 8 percent rise in deliveries for 2016, beating expectations, after a sprint to the finish line that narrowed the gap with arch-rival Boeing, according to industry experts and records of aircraft movements. The European planemaker was forced to accelerate deliveries sharply in December to meet its target after production problems earlier in the year. It delivered over 100 jets last month, a Reuters analysis of flight-tracking data supplied by FlightRadar24, unofficial airport data and plane-watcher reports suggests, lifting its 2016 tally well above 680 including 60 of the delayed A320neo. One industry expert estimated the total as high as 688, well above the company’s informal target of more than 670. Airbus remains in second place behind Boeing (BA.N), but its growth contrasts with a 2 percent drop in 2016 deliveries reported by its U.S. nemesis last week, to 748 planes. The higher-than-expected Airbus performance, up from 635 in 2015, is the latest evidence that planemakers are racing to whittle down big order backlogs and hoard cash as they face a potentially worsening slowdown in orders that began in 2015. Boeing temporarily eased output last year to make way for a new model but, like Airbus, plans to increase production of its best-selling aircraft. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment. Shares in Europe’s largest aerospace company clawed back losses to end up 0.2 percent in a weaker Paris market. The European planemaker is keeping operational data tightly under wraps ahead of its annual news conference on Wednesday. Airbus’s December deliveries would set a monthly record for the company, beating the previous peak by more than a quarter. The gap between Christmas and New Year, traditionally a groggy period for European industry, saw a record burst of activity at Airbus plants in France and Germany and included one of its busiest ever days with eight jets flying away on Dec. 29. “I was amazed,” said a veteran of such operations. Aiming to stay ahead of Boeing in the race for new orders, rather than deliveries where it lags, Airbus may book for December at least part of a recent order for 100 jets from Iran and tie up loose ends including completing a deal for 72 jets with India’s GoAir. It may announce a $6.4 billion order for 60 jets from Saudi carrier flynas, two sources said. Airbus needs to announce at least 259 orders for December to beat Boeing’s 2016 total of 668. With outspoken sales chief John Leahy expected to retire in the second half of this year, Airbus is looking to end 2016 with a flourish, though analysts say prices could suffer due to weakening global economies. CASH GENERATION Airbus delivered at least 70 A320-family narrow-body jets in December, according to the sources and data, also a record. These included at least 17 of the new A320neo, whose ramp-up had been disrupted by delays in receiving new fuel-saving engines from Pratt & Whitney (UTX.N). That brought 2016 deliveries of narrow-body jets – the most cash-generating models – to over 540. It also delivered more than 140 wide-bodies. Airbus expected to deliver more than 670 aircraft in 2016, unofficially revised up from 650 in October. It is accelerating deliveries of the existing A320 to keep cash pouring in from airlines while it adopts a more conservative timeframe for the switchover to the A320neo. Narrow-body deliveries generate cash for other developments and are increasingly vital as demand for larger wide-body aircraft suffers from a looming capacity glut. Experts say the delays in A320neo deliveries have masked some pressure on demand for those models too, caused by low oil prices that can make earlier versions just as attractive. On its other main profit-driver, Airbus delivered over 62 long-haul A330s in 2016, according to the estimates. But it was forced to step up customer financing to maintain that pace as major customer Turkey faced turmoil after a failed coup and as European states withheld export credits in a row over Airbus payments to sales agents. Airbus itself provided the financing for all seven new Turkish Airlines A330s in 2016, industry sources say. Despite separate delays due to shortages of cabin equipment, Airbus unexpectedly hit a target for at least 50 deliveries of the newer A350 after 16 in December, sources said last week. That includes one or two jets paid for but not yet in operation. The rush to get planes away extended to the mammoth A380 as Airbus delivered seven in December, including three in two days to dominant customer Emirates. That brought the annual total to 28, up one from the previous year and enough to keep Europe’s troubled superjumbo project at breakeven in 2016. However, it plans to cut A380 output from next year after demand sagged for the world’s largest four-engined jets. The programme took another blow in late December when Dubai-based Emirates, under pressure from the impact of low oil prices on Gulf economies, delayed some 2017 deliveries. That could put the iconic double-decker plane back into loss in 2017, marring celebrations for its 10 years in service. Sam Martin Authentic Jersey
India to discuss aviation assistance with Nepal tohelp build three airports
India is scrambling to offer assistance to Nepal in developing its aviation sector, an attempt to counter China’s initiative to help the Himalayan country build three international airports. The government has invited Nepalese officials to discuss issues including reviving an old plan of the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) to build and operate airports in the neighbouring country, officials told ET. “Authorities from Nepal are coming to India soon to discuss issues related to AAI,” said a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. Nepal had surprised Indian officials at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN), held in the first week of December 2016, by informing them that China is providing soft loans and expertise for three international airports in places including Pokhara and Janakpur, which shares its border with Bihar in India. Another official said that the issues to be discussed with Nepal include Air Traffic Control along with the AAI’s old plan. While the AAI renders ATC services to Nepal, it had earlier planned to build and operate Nepal’s second airport in Kathmandu. At the bilateral meeting held between the two nations during ICAN, India had offered open skies to Nepal, something that Nepal declined. At the same meeting, Sri Lanka agreed to open skies with India, allowing its carriers to add as many flights as they sought from six key cities in India, including four metros. ET’s query sent to external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup did not elicit any response till late evening on Monday. China’s moves to invest in infrastructure in countries neighbouring India, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been a concern for India for a while now. While Sri Lanka has been the recipient of Chinese investments in two ports and related projects, China has offered Bangladesh and Pakistan $24 billion and $46 billion in loans and private investments respectively. India and Nepal enjoyed close bilateral ties till 2015, before Nepal announced a new constitution which discriminated against Madhesis of Indian origin. Protests by Madhesis led to cessation of trade across the India-Nepal border as agitation grew increasingly intense in southern Nepal, depriving the country of much-needed fuel and other supplies. Nepalese authorities accused India of imposing an undeclared blockade, a charge India strongly denied. Niklas Kronwall Authentic Jersey
Performance data row: Jet, SpiceJet to take on Indigo
Airlines have got into a battle over on-time performance data, with SpiceJet and Jet Airways expected to fire the first salvo this week. Officials of both these airlines plan to meet the director-general of civil aviation on Tuesday to question the merit in IndiGo’s recent complaint about the veracity of on-time performance (OTP) data collected by the Mumbai airport. On-time performance is a measure of an airline’s ability to operate its flight schedule with punctuality. Airports monitor the arrival and departure time of each and every airline flight to deduce the OTP of each carrier and send a monthly data to the aviation regulator. No airlines had questioned the veracity of the data sent by airports till last month when IndiGo accused Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) of monitoring OTP in a way that shows some “competing airlines” as more punctual than they may be in reality . TOI had reported the issue on December 28, following which the the DGCA chief B S Bhullar had formed a panel to investigate IndiGo’s allegations. Last week, the panel found some discrepancies in the computation of OTP data, following which the DGCA constituted a committee to look into the matter and a publish fresh OTP data from March or April. Emmanuel Lamur Jersey
Air India Ranked Third-Worst Performing Airline In The World
For those who insist that traveling is all about the journey, we say this: It really depends on which carrier you’re flying. Aside from variations in cabins and service quality, there’s the major concern of how likely you are to get delayed. Fly on the wrong airline and your odds of a delay are as high as 55 percent; choose the right one and that number shrinks way down to just 11 percent. That’s enough to make or break a vacation’s spell, no matter where you’re sitting on the plane. But how do you know which airlines to steer clear of, and which ones to prioritize? Every year, the aviation insights company FlightStats puts together a list of the international airlines with the best on-time performance records. It’s the capstone to the company’s year-round efforts to track delay and cancellation patterns for airlines across the globe. We’ve asked them to share all of their annual findings so we can point out the losers, too. Without further ado, here are the full results, along with your likelihood of getting delayed on each carrier: The Worst 10 International Airlines of 2016 10. Hainan Airlines – 30.3 percent 9. Korean Air – 31.74 percent 8. Air China – 32.73 percent 7. Hong Kong Airlines – 33.42 percent 6. China Eastern Airlines – 35.8 percent 5. Asiana Airlines – 37.46 percent 4. Philippine Airlines – 38.33 percent 3. Air India – 38.71 percent 2. Icelandair – 41.05 percent 1. El Al – 56 percent The Best 10 International Airlines of 2016 10. Qantas – 15.7 percent 9. TAM Linhas Aéreas – 14.93 percent 8. Delta Air Lines – 14.83 percent 7. Singapore Airlines – 14.55 percent 6. ANA – 14.46 percent 5. Austrian – 14.26 percent 4. Qatar Airways – 13.66 percent 3. JAL – 12.2 percent 2. Iberia – 11.82 percent 1. KLM – 11.47 percent According to Jim Hetzel, vice president of aviation and distribution at FlightStats, compiling the list is no small feat. The only comparable resource is the monthly report (PDF) that the U.S. Department of Transportation puts out on major domestic carriers, relying uniquely on self-reported data from the biggest carriers in the United States; it doesn’t factor in any of those airlines’ international flights. Paul Krause Womens Jersey
Wind power tariff may nose down to Rs 4-4.5 per unit in the latest 1,000 Mw auction
Wind tariff is likely to come in between Rs 4 and Rs 4.5 per unit — below the average of around Rs 5 — in the auction being conducted by SECI to set up 1,000 MW capacities for supply of power to non-windy states. The state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) is likely to complete the bidding of the wind projects by the month end. “The average tariff of wind power is around Rs 5 per unit. SECI has not provided any benchmark tariff in the auction. But it is likely to range between Rs 4-4.5 per unit, which would be below the average of Rs 5 per unit at present,” a source said. On response to the auction, the source said, “The companies generally submit bids on the last date. We are expecting good response. The last date for submitting financial bids is January 9, 2017. After that, it will take about three weeks to complete the procedure.” Later last year, SECI had floated tenders for total wind power capacity of 1,000 MW. The competitive bidding is tariff based and will be awarded to those quoting the lowest price (power tariff). SECI will tie up long-term power purchase agreements of developers with non-windy states to whom power will be supplied through the central transmission utility. Under the scheme, the government will not acquire land or equipment as developers will have to do that on their own. They would also run and maintain their plants. According to the scheme, the project capacity will be determined by SECI for each tender, but will not be less than 25 MW for a single project developer at one site. SECI is the nodal agency for implementation of this scheme and is working on the e-bidding process followed by e-reverse auction for eligible bidders. It will also develop a suitable mechanism for project monitoring. It has been stipulated that no separate funding shall be provided by the ministry to SECI to implement this scheme. The objective is to facilitate supply of wind power to non-windy states at a price discovered through transparent bidding. The wind power deployment in the country started in early 1990s. The current wind power installed capacity is nearly 28.08 GW, accounting for around 9 per cent of the total installed capacity of 310 GW. Globally, India is at 4th position, after China, the US and Germany, in terms of wind capacity installation. The Centre has set an ambitious target of 175 GW power from renewable energy resources by 2022 and out of this, 60 GW has to come from wind power. Alexander Nylander Womens Jersey
SECI to call 2,300 Megawatt solar power bids soon: MD Ashvini Kumar
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) will shortly float tenders for putting up of solar power projects with capacity of 2,300-mw, its managing director Ashvini Kumar said on Monday. The corporation has committed to finalise tenders for producing 5,500-mw of solar energy, of which PPAs to produce 3,200-mw are already in place and tendering process for remaining 2,300-mw of solar power projects are at various stages of implementation, Kumar said. The tenders will require companies to source domestic equipment partially, he said. Tendering for 100-mw of rooftop solar power has also been approved for government buildings by the new and renewable energy ministry, he said. “Following encouragement from the government to spur up and promote Make in India, SECI has been specifying in its tendering documents domestic content in solar power plants to also ensure level playing field for indigenous developers of such projects”, he said. He said Tamil Nadu has taken lead setting up solar power projects with total capacity of 1,590-mw until now followed by 1,370-mw and 1,158-mw by Rajasthan and Gujarat respectively whereas Andhra has succeeded in creating a substantial solar capacity in its geographical landscape. M Kamalakar Babu, managing director, New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP said the state will set up an energy university is for which a draft bill would be produced in the state Assembly in its budget session. Wes Horton Authentic Jersey
Bihar, Jharkhand may face power outages with NTPC Kahalgaon facing coal issues
Bihar and Jharkhand are likely to face major power cuts soon, as their main power supplier is facing the possibility of a total shutdown in the next three days as it isn’t getting coal to run the plant since the Rajmahal mine accident. The 2,100 MW Kahalgaon Thermal Power Plant of NTPC supplies the bulk of power to the two eastern states and its source of fuel is Coal India’s Rajmahal mine. Since the December 29 accident that killed several miners, it hasn’t received any coal and the stock is depleting steadily. NTPC has already shut one of the plant’s 500 MW units. It is now running at 60 per cent capacity — 20 per cent less than on normal days.”Farakka and Kahalgaon power stations have been receiving around 45-50 tonnes of coal per day on normal days from Rajmahal. This has stopped since December 29,” a senior NTPC official said. “If we do not receive any coal in the next three days, we would be forced to shut down all units of the station,” he warned. An official from Coal India said Rajmahal has stocks of around 8 lakh tonnes of coal. “We have applied for a permission from the Director General of Mines to transport this coal to power stations. If the permission is received and we are able to transport the coal, it could ease the situation at both Farakka and Kahalgaon,” he said. Derek Carrier Authentic Jersey