Delaying an Air India flight can cost you a fine of up to Rs 15 lakh
After the Shiv Sena MP snub, Air India is going all out on unruly passengers with a new set of rules that includes steep fines. The airline, according to a TOI report, is planning to fine Rs 5 lakh for delaying a flight up to an hour; Rs 10 lakh for delay between one and two hours and Rs 15 lakh for delaying beyond two hours. “Recent incidents of unruly behaviour and assault on AI employees by passengers (whether VVIP or otherwise) have caused severe damage to the morale of employees. Even a hotel has right of admission reserved. AI must have a procedure for handling unruly passengers,” said an official. The airline took this step after three cases of high-handedness by MPs in past one year, the latest and the most-talked about was Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad’s action who beat up a 60-year-old staffer with sandals. Not just that, the national carrier plans to provide more autonomy to its managers at airports under a stricter framework being prepared to deal with unruly fliers. Since the incident of Gaikwad, the national carrier as well as the government have been exploring ways to bolster the existing mechanism to rein in unruly passengers. Providing more autonomy for Air India managers at airports, stronger mechanism to report incidents of untoward behaviour and possibility of seeking monetary compensation from the unruly flier are being looked at under the new framework, airline officials said. “The draft guidelines, which have been prepared with the assistance of Air India’s legal department, are now with the CMD Ashwani Lohani for his approval. Once we get the go-ahead from him, we will make them public,” one official said. According to the official, under the new guidelines, the airport manager would be empowered to take any “action” against a passenger showing unruly behaviour either onboard or on the ground without waiting for approval of the Chairman and Managing Director. “The draft guidelines also have a provision for seeking financial compensation from any such passenger for the loss of revenue if the flight is held up due to such incidents,” the official added. Duke Dawson Jersey
NTPC power generation cost drops 39.5 paise to below Rs 2/unit
The state-owned NTPC has managed to bring down its cost of electricity generation by an average 39.5 paise while for the Mauda project, it was a decline of Rs 1.65 per unit, mainly because of improvement in coal quality and supply. Data available with NTPC showed that the overall cost of power generation has come down to below Rs 2 last fiscal, driven by improved quality of coal and its supplies, a power ministry official said. The overall cost of power generation of the company has come down by 39.5 paise. It does not include taxes and cess primarily imposed to finance protection of environment, the official explained. According to the data, the overall cost of power production for the company stood at Rs 2.01 per unit in 2014- 15, which has declined to Rs 1.94 in April-February of 2016- 17. Elaborating, he said the actual reduction was 6.4 paise per unit, but if increased levies and charges are taken into account, the total drop in power output cost translates into 39.5 paise. The data further showed that NTPC’s Mauda project registered an overall fall in cost of power generation at Rs 1.65 per unit, taking into account the impact of revision in levies and charges. The official explained that new projects and plants with high dependence of imported coal have benefited the most. The other plants which gained due to improved quality and supplies of coal are Barh Stage-II (Rs 1.24 per unit), Badarpur (Rs 1.16) and Tanda (93.6 paise). The official said the NTPC plants represent a quarter of thermal power generation projects in the country and indicate an encouraging trend in power generation cost. Brandon Fusco Jersey
Flying overseas from India becomes cheaper as airfares fall
Flying on overseas destinations such as London, Singapore, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur from India became cheaper this summer with airfares going down up to 28 per cent amid capacity addition on international routes. The entry of foreign carriers including Brussels Airlines have also helped the airlines keep their ticket prices lower in April this year compared to same period of 2016, Tour and travel firm Cox & Kings said in a study. As per the study, the airfares for a Delhi-London journey came down to Rs 31,800 in April this year as against Rs 39,497 in the same month last year, a drop of 19 per cent. Similarly, airfares from New Delhi to Singapore also dropped by 22 per cent to Rs 22,715 in April this year from Rs 29,069 in April 2016. “Our research has indicated that fares this summer have been cheaper compared to the same period last year,” John Nair, Head of Business Travel at Cox & Kings said. The ticket prices for Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur saw the sharpest decline with airfares going down by 28 per cent to Rs 20,377 from Rs 28,342, it said. Airfares on Mumbai-Dubai route declined 11 per cent while Mumbai-Paris and Mumbai-Hong Kong route saw a drop of three per cent each this summer as compared to April last year, the report added. The ticket prices for Sydney from Mumbai decreased 16 per cent to Rs 60,345 from Rs 72,169. The key factor behind this is the increase in capacity from India thereby leading to increased competition amongst airlines, he said. “This has resulted in fares coming down. Secondly, airlines have also reduced fares due to a decrease in fuel prices,” he added. New airlines such as Brussels Airlines has entered India while Ethiopian has increased capacity. Besides, African nation Rwanda’s national carrier Rwanda Air has also started its flight services from Mumbai to Kigali. According to the report, even Air India’s flights to Madrid which started operations in December last year have become very popular amongst Indians. Tyson Alualu Jersey
Air India plans stricter framework to tackle unruly fliers post Ravindra Gaikwad incident
Air India plans to provide more autonomy to its managers at airports under a stricter framework being prepared to deal with unruly fliers. Since the incident of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer last month, the national carrier as well as the government have been exploring ways to bolster the existing mechanism to rein in unruly passengers. Providing more autonomy for Air India managers at airports, stronger mechanism to report incidents of untoward behaviour and possibility of seeking monetary compensation from the unruly flier are being looked at under the new framework, airline officials said. “The draft guidelines, which have been prepared with the assistance of Air India’s legal department, are now with the CMD Ashwani Lohani for his approval. Once we get the go-ahead from him, we will make them public,” one official said. AAccording to the official, under the new guidelines, the airport manager would be empowered to take any “action” against a passenger showing unruly behaviour either onboard or on the ground without waiting for approval of the Chairman and Managing Director. “The draft guidelines also have a provision for seeking financial compensation from any such passenger for the loss of revenue if the flight is held up due to such incidents,” the official added. Officials also said the airline has changed the log book entry format to ensure that exact reason for delay in flights are recorded rather than having generic explanations. Now, all details, including the specific reason for the delay, especially in cases of unruly passenger behaviour would be furnished in the eventuality of a flight failing to depart on time due to an unruly passenger, one of the officials said. The government is planning to come out with a ‘no fly’ list as part of stronger measures to deal with unruly behaviour by individuals on board flights. Following the Gaikwad incident, Air India and other domestic airlines had barred him from flying with them. The ban was later revoked. JC Tretter Jersey
Government’s coal reforms begin to pay off, reduce power costs
Coal sector reforms initiated by the Narendra Modi government are beginning to pay. Initiatives to improve coal quality and efficiency in the supply chain have brought down the cost of power from coal-fired plants in spite of revisions in coal prices, central cess and railway freight in the last three years. Decline in the cost of power has accrued mainly from power stations burning less coal to generate each unit of electricity on assured quality of domestic fuel. There is also import substitution worth Rs 23,349 crore, which saves fuel costs. Since cost of coal makes up 54%-60% of the price charged by power producers and is passed on to consumers, coal consumption has a bearing on tariffs and environmental dividend in terms of emissions. According to government data, power stations are now burning 8% less coal than they used to three years ago for each unit of electricity. State-run NTPCBSE -2.40 %, which accounts for 17% of all generation capacity in the country and is the key supplier to states, reduced its coal consumption by 5.5% in 2016-17. NTPC’s coal cost stood at Rs 2 per unit in 2014-15 and should have risen by 33 paise due to revisions in coal price, government cess and railway freight. Remarkably though, it stood at Rs 1.94 per unit for 2016-17. In other words, even after paying 33 paise more since 2014-15, NTPC’s power costs 6 paise less today. For discoms then, this actually means a saving of 39 paise per unit, taking into account the impact of the revisions, and translates into hundreds of crores of rupees. Lower cost of power ultimately benefits consumers by way of lower tariff. That happens only in an ideal situation. In reality, discoms coping with sagging bottomlines and commercial losses may not be able to reduce monthly bills of consumers immediately. But they will find it hard to justify demand for tariff hike to state regulators. In the long run, however, cheaper power will result in lower traiffs once the discom reforms take root. J.T. Compher Jersey
Prospects may not be bright for rooftop solar unit users
Tangedco’s plan to do away with concessions for those with rooftop solar units generating power for the grid has disappointed low tension solar power installers, who say the move will affect them financially. At present, under the bi-directional net meter connection system, the net consumption of electricity would be arrived after subtracting from the total units consumed the units of solar power pushed to the grid. This helps in saving power cost. In a State where there is a graded tariff based on the number of units consumed, this seemed to be of huge benefit to consumers. For instance, if a home had consumed 501 units of power, and had a rooftop solar installation that had produced 50 units of power for the grid, then the bill for that house would be calculated for 451 units only. The rate for 501 units is about Rs. 2,300, whereas, the rate for less than 500 units could be only Rs. 1,200, resulting in a substantial saving for the household. Feed in tariff Tangedco’s current proposal to introduce ‘Feed in Tariff’ — fixing a different rate for solar low tension power producers — will put paid to this level of savings. As per the new strategy, if cleared, the number of units consumed will not factor in the units of solar power let into the grid by a home or a school. Instead, they would have to pay, in case of the above instance, for the 501 units consumed. As for the power they send to the grid, a lower rate will be fixed and the amount (calculated by units) will be credited to the generator. Though Tangedco’s petition for the implementation of the new system is yet to be taken up for hearing by Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission, the move has confirmed the fears of solar installers who were wondering about the reasons for the delay in the installation of net meters for several roof-top solar plants. Several solar installers, having set up rooftop solar plants, have been claiming that they are unable to connect the plants with the electricity grid because of non-availability of net meters. Similarly, several low tension consumers, both domestic and commercial, say the shortage of net meters is causing a delay in completing their solar plant projects. Aggrieved consumers complain that despite their heavy investment on rooftop panels, now that there is a delay in providing government subsidy, they are unable to actually reap any of the benefits — either financially or in terms of savings in power consumption. A senior official of Tangedco, denying that there was shortage of net meters, says only a few applications for net metering are pending. He says several technical factors have to be weighed in before connecting to the grid such as the need for assessing the load of the transformers by the concerned local officials, as solar power could not be loaded more than 30 per cent with the electricity grid in a particular transformer. The senior official says they decided to go for the ‘Feed in Tariff’ system for rooftop solar plants after taking into consideration the falling solar prices. He said: “Net metering is proving to be a loss for us when it comes to commercial connections and so, the proposal was moved with the TNERC.” K.E. Raghunathan, Managing Director, Solkar Solar Industry, recalled the TNERC’s order dated November 13, 2013, which sought to encourage large scale solar power plants in the State through the implementation of a solar roof-top net metering policy. However, the proposed introduction of the ‘Feed in Tariff’ system at a time when installers are already shying away because of delay in getting net meters would sound the death knell for the solar industry. Several solar installers point out a recent comprehensive tariff order from TNERC indicates that the total connected load of solar power (from low tension generators) was roughly around 15 MW only. So, even if the net metering system continues, the electricity department is likely to suffer much losses, the solar installers point out, besides underlining the fact that the State government should be going in for more clean energy projects. Corey Grant Jersey
Essar, Adani and JSW to build LNG terminals at ports
Conglomerates in India now have a Rs 17,000-crore investment theme built around an industrial fuel: liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Essar, Adani and JSW Groups, among others, are setting up LNG terminals along India’s eastern and western water margins as natural extensions to the port infrastructure, reflecting the increasing demand for the gas as an alternative energy source in the country as global prices of the fuel head south. Essar Ports, part of the Essar Group, has won the recent bid for a Rs 450 crore, 1-million-tonne LNG import terminal at the Haldia port in West Bengal, according to two people aware of the developments. The Kolkata Port Trust had called bids for the terminal, for which staterun Petronet LNG and V Energy were also in the race. “As a group, we keep looking at growth opportunities in its businesses. But it is not our policy to comment on any specific proposal,” a spokesperson for the Essar Group told ET. Essar, Adani, and JSW Groups’ planned investments on their respective LNG terminal projects total Rs 17,000 crore: At its Dhamra port in Odisha, Adani Ports and SEZ is building an LNG terminal of 5 million ton capacity, entailing an investment of Rs 5,200 crore, and an LPG terminal of 2.5 million ton capacity, which would see an additional investment of Rs 2,300 crore. The JSW group has also tied up with the Hiranandandani Group, spending up to Rs 4,000 crore to set up an LNG terminal at JSW’s Jaigarh port in Maharashtra. Essar might sign the 30-year licence agreement in the next couple of months. It has already sought environmental clearance for the project that may come up in the next two years. The majority of the equipment would be on lease, keeping the investments relatively low, one of the two sources quoted above said. Later, Essar might set up a 5-million-ton LNG terminal at its facility at Hazira in Gujarat. “Going forward, LNG will be the focus for Essar,” the person said. A consortium led by Russia’s oil giant Rosneft has bought the group’s oil business for $12.9 billion putting the ports out of almost all liquid cargo. The resultant shift is toward hydrocarbons. “On a group level, Essar could be a large user of LNG, through its steel plants,” said the source. A fall in LNG prices amid rising demand stoked new investments in the fuel’s storage and transportation infrastructure. “There is high demand for LNG, and shift towards alternative sources of energy,” said Kalpana Jain, partner at Deloitte India. “Of course, the prices are a reason too. Landed rates in Japan, for instance, have fallen to $5 per unit from $16 in the last two years.” The Adani Group’s two terminals in Odisha would help close the gap in the state’s energy requirements, and support various local ancillary industries. At Mundra in Gujarat, the Adani Group is currently working on an LNG terminal that will have an initial annual capacity of 5 million tons a year. It is also working on a 1.6 million ton LPG import terminal. The project cost of the LNG import terminal is estimated to be about Rs 4,500 crore. Connor Brown Authentic Jersey
Assam’s NRL signs MoU with Paradip Port Trust and IOCL for Import of crude oil at Paradip Port
Under NRL’s proposed Refinery expansion Project, a 28 Inch Diameter 1400 Km long Crude Oil Pipeline of 1 MMTPA capacity will be laid for transporting 6.0 MMTPA of imported crude oil from Paradip Port in Odisha to Numaligarh in Assam. According to NRL,the MoU provides for utilizing IOCL’s spare capacity of existing SPMs (Single Point Mooring) at Paradip. Paradip Port Trust will extend land space for installation of Crude storage tanks, Pump house and Township at Paradip. The tripartite MoU was signed between Chairman Paradip Port Trust, Rinkesh Roy, Director (Technical) NRL,. B.J Phukan and ED (Pipelines.) IOCL, A. K Tiwari in the presence of Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari; Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan; Assam’s Finance minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam’s Industry Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary; and NRL MD P.Padmanabhan. Chris Pronger Womens Jersey
Cairn and partners to invest Rs 32.40 billion in Ravva Field
Cairn India Limited, along with its partners is set to invest Rs 32.40 billion in the Ravva Fields in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, to undertake 20 Developmental Wells and for setting up related infrastructure, as the oil and gas production is dwindling from the existing wells. Cairn India Limited approached the Ministry of environment Forest and Climate Change seeking necessary clearances for the proposed project. According to the minutes of the meeting by Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry, the proposal was given green signal as far as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) is concerned. “In order to enhance the hydrocarbon production within the already approved capacities, Cairn India Limited on behalf of Ravva JV proposes the following oil and gas developments to produce contingent hydrocarbon resources available in Ravva Field-Drilling of 20 developmental wells: 6 from new RI Platform and 14 from existing platforms… Drilling of 6 nos. of exploratory/appraisal wells to assess presence of hydrocarbons in identified pockets. “The cost of the above proposed oil and gas development is estimated to be approximately Rs 32.40 billion,” the EAC said in the minutes of the meeting held last month. According to the company’s annual report of FY 16, the Ravva Fields produced 18,602 Barrels of Oil Equivalent per Day (BOEPD) average daily gross operated production in 2016-17 against 23, 845 BOEPD in FY 16. Cairn India officials did not respond to mail seeking additional information. The Ravva field (PKGM-1 Block) located in the shallow offshore area of Krishna Godavari Basin, has completed 21 years of successful operations with, Cairn India as the operator with 22.5 per cent participating Interest. Exploration, development and production in the block are governed by a PSC that runs until 2019, which is in partnership with ONGC, videocon and Ravva Oil Singapore. Currently, there are eight unmanned offshore platforms and a 225 acre onshore processing facility at Surasaniyanam in East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh which processes the natural gas and crude oil produced from the field, the annual report said. Over the years due to ageing of the field, production of oil and gas has declined. The onshore processing facility though has approved capacity to produce 50,000 BOPD (Barrels of Oil Per Day) crude oil and 2.32 MMSMD ( Million Metric Standard Cubic Meters per Day) of gas and is presently producing approximately 22,000 BOPD of crude oil and 1.44 MMSCMD of natural gas, the minutes added. A.Q. Shipley Authentic Jersey
RIL, other CBM producers get pricing, marketing freedom
Reliance Industries and other producers of coal bed methane have been granted pricing and marketing independence as well as permission to sell fuel to affiliates after the formal policy notification. Through the April 13 notification, the oil ministry said a coal bed methane (CBM) producer has to call for open bids for sale of coal gas and seek price quotes to discover the market price. The producer will have to issue advertisement in national dailies and run a competitive bidding to arrive at the arms-length sale price, it said. The process prescribed is the same as the one Reliance Industries had run in 2012 to discover a price for CBM gas it is to produce in Madhya Pradesh. It had sought bids for 3.5 million standard cubic metres per day of coal gas from its Sohagpur CBM block in Madhya Pradesh at a benchmarked rate at 12.67 per cent of JCC, or Japan Customs-Cleared Crude, plus USD 0.26 per million British thermal unit. The formula was the same at which Petronet LNG, a joint venture of public sector oil companies, whose chairman is the oil secretary, used to buy long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar. At USD 100 per barrel oil price prevalent that year, CBM from RILs Madhya Pradesh block was to cost USD 12.93 per mmBtu. At USD 55 a barrel rate currently, it would cost USD 7.2. That formula was, however, rejected by the ministry even though 59 valid bids seeking about 70 mmscmd of gas were received in the open tender. “In the event of market-discovered price being less than the price notified by the Petroleum Planning Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the New Domestic Natural Gas Pricing Guidelines, 2014, the royalty and production level payment (PLP) shall be paid on the basis of the latter,” the CBM pricing policy notified last week said. The PPAC notified price of gas for April 1 to September 30 at USD 2.48 per mmBtu and the same for difficult areas is USD 5.56 per mmBtu, lower than the rate in RIL formula. “Sale of CBM to any affiliate of the contractor is permitted, in the event the contractor cannot identify any buyer following the procedure (of open bidding),” the policy said, adding that the reasons for sale to affiliates will have to be notified to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). The policy is expected to incentivise the CBM operation in the country to boost gas production. Of the 33 CBM-bearing blocks awarded so far in four auction rounds and on a nomination basis, gas is being produced from only four. The four CBM blocks in production have a combined output of 1.17 million standard cubic metres per day. As many as 18 blocks have either been relinquished or are in the process as operators found that it did not make economic sense to produce gas at the prevailing rates. According to the DGH, India has the fifth largest proven coal reserves in the world and holds significant prospects for exploration and exploitation of CBM. The estimated CBM resources in the country are about 92 trillion cubic feet. The 33 CBM blocks awarded so far hold a total of 62.4 tcf of the estimated resources, of which so far, 9.9 tcf has been established as Gas in Place (GIP). The pricing freedom will help quickly ramp up CBM gas production to targeted 5.77 mmscmd within a year, officials said. Wayne Gallman Jersey