Centre to notify guidelines for renewable power procurement: Haryana govt
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has clarified that a guideline for procurement of renewable power through competitive bidding would be notified shortly by the Centre, the Haryana government said today. Till then, projects may be set up under existing provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 under section 62 wherein the State Regulatory Commission is to be approached for fixation of tariff, a Haryana government statement said here. The release, quoting a spokesman of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), said that after the notification, any project developer may set up a project for generation of renewable energy as per the bidding guideline if it qualifies for the same. “In the National Tariff Policy 2016 purchase of power by the states from renewable energy sources has been contemplated through competitive bidding. “This created confusion among the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as on the site identified by them no one else could bid. Therefore, HAREDA sought clarification from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in this regard,” the release said. It added that in the renewable energy policy of the Haryana government, there is a provision for setting up of renewable power projects by independent power producers on the site identified by them. For this, they have to submit their proposal along with detailed project report (DPR) to HAREDA. After approval of the DPR, they have to file a petition before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for fixation of tariff for their projects for sale of power to the state grid. Miles Killebrew Womens Jersey
India’s first wind power auction: Developers sign PPAs for 550 Mw capacity
Major wind power developers including Adani and Mytrah Energy today signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Power Trading Corporation (PTC) for supply of 550 Mw power to states as part of India’s first wind power auctions scheme. The pacts were signed in the presence of power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal here. As per the PPAs signed, Mytrah Energy, Inox Wind and Ostro Kutch Wind would supply power of capacity 250 MW each. Further, Green Infra would supply 249.9 MW and Adani Green Energy 50 MW from their wind power projects through inter-state transmission system at a tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit discovered through open and transparent competitive bidding process,” the ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said in a statement. “For the first tender, a tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit is great news. Feed-in tariffs can be good for initial hand-holding period and we can look ahead now. I have been told that for the second tender we have already received bids of about 2,800 MW,” Piyush Goyal said. For these projects, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducted e-reverse auction on in February this year and issued Letter of Award (LoA) to successful wind power developers in April. The wind power projects under first wind auction are likely to be commissioned by September 2018. “As of today, we have 32.5 GW of installed wind capacity which amounts to only 10 percent of the total potential wind capacity. Earlier, transmitting wind energy from wind to non-wind states was a major challenge which prompted us to revise the wind policy. We are also planning to hold stakeholders sessions in order to address the challenges in the wind energy sector. The minister has asked us to come up with bids every month,” MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar said. PTC India has tied-up this wind power for sale to power distribution utilities of various states. As part of the scheme, Uttar Pradesh would receive 449.9 MW, Bihar 200 MW, Jharkhand 200 MW, Delhi 100 MW, Assam 50 MW and Odisha 50 MW for meeting their Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). MNRE had sanctioned a scheme for setting up of 1,050 MW inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected Wind Power Projects on 14 June last year with the objective to encourage competitiveness through scaling up of project size and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning process. Goyal also said it was time to review the need to have separate RPOs, adding the commercial aspects of such a move could be left to the states to decide depending on their requirements. Owen Tippett Authentic Jersey
UP government launches free power connection scheme for BPL families
Uttar Pradesh Power Minister Srikant Sharma today launched free power connection scheme for the BPL card holders in the state. “The scheme of providing free power connection to the BPL card holders has been launched at 624 places across the state,” he said. Sharma said the scheme would also benefit the poor people who do not have BPL cards at present. “Such people would have to pay between Rs 80 to Rs 120 for getting the power connection,” he said. “The scheme would also provide relief to the middle class people as the instalment payment facility would be admissible for them,” the minister said. Sharma said while the Centre had launched the free gas connection scheme for the poor, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is giving free power connection to the same class of people. “The Yogi government is working for the common man and the poor,” he claimed. Sharma accused the previous government of not being “worried” about the poor. “The body was in India, the soul was in Italy,” he alleged. He said, “The Saifai system is now over and the whole of the state is getting uniform power supply,” he claimed, adding that the same principle is being applied for development. “The work on making the state free of crime and corruption is going on a war footing,” he added. Isaac Rochell Womens Jersey
ONGC not to make open offer post HPCL acquisition: Official
ONGC will not be required to make an open offer to minority shareholders of HPCL after buying out government’s 51.11 per cent stake as the deal won’t trigger takeover norms as did the IOC-IBP merger in 2002, a senior government official said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) last week gave in-principal approval of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) buying out government’s entire 51.11 per cent stake in fuel retailing and marketing company Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. HPCL will continue to be a separate listed company. ONGC will not have to make an open offer to minority shareholders of HPCL as the government’s holding is being transferred to another state-run firm and the ownership isn’t really changing. “Open offer is not required because the management complexion is not changing. So it is a related party transaction,” the officer said. As per Sebi’s takeover code, if a company acquires more than 25 per cent in another listed company, it has to make an open offer to minority shareholders to buy at least 26 per cent more in the target firm. Way back in February 2002, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) had acquired government’s 33.58 per cent stake in fuel retailer IBP Co Ltd for Rs 1,153.68 crore and had to make an open offer for additional shares. “IOC and IBP merger had happened through bidding route. Reliance Industries was among the bidders. That time, IBP was being offered for outright sale, so when management chose to sell through bidding, the open offer got triggered,” the official said, requesting anonymity. In the present case, “in ONGC, I am transferring from direct government control to indirect holding,” he said. Government is 51 per cent owner of HPCL and 68 per cent owner of ONGC. “So, if one of the companies keeps the shares of the other, it is a related party transaction. But that does not mean government has sold the company. Government will indirectly hold stake in the company. “It is a related party transaction which should not trigger takeover code unless the valuations are absurd. If those conditions are satisfied, it will never happen. We have kept in mind interest of both ONGC and HPCL,” the official said. The deal, which flows from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget announcement of creating an integrated oil company, will help ONGC spread its risks. From being a mere oil and gas producer, it will also have downstream oil refining and fuel retailing business. “When upstream business is down, downstream does great and vice versa. So now ONGC will be able to better manage its risks,” he said. “Through this vertical integration, what private sector could not achieve, the government has achieved,” he added. HPCL will add 23.8 million tonnes of annual oil refining capacity to ONGC’s portfolio, making it the third-largest refiner in the country after IOC and Reliance Industries. ONGC already is majority owner of MRPL, which has a 15- million tons refinery. Patrick Onwuasor Authentic Jersey
Oil gains ahead of producer meeting; Nigeria, Libya output in focus
Oil prices gained on Monday after a steep fall the session before, buoyed by expectations that a joint OPEC and non-OPEC meeting later in the day may address rising output in Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC members so far exempt from a push to cut production. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other non-OPEC producers gather in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Monday to discuss the pact to curb output by 1.8 million bpd through the end of March 2018. The committee may recommend a conditional cap on Nigerian and Libyan oil production, sources familiar with the talks said, although some analysts were deeply sceptical the group would make such a move. “The committee may issue a statement on cooperation in production cuts, but output cuts by Libya and Nigeria would be next to impossible considering Libya was just re-emerging from the civil war, for example,” said Kaname Gokon, strategist for commodities brokerage Okato Shoji in Japan. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Libya and Nigeria should cap output when their output stabilizes, the Financial Times reported. London Brent crude for September delivery was up 24 cents at $48.30 a barrel by 0316 GMT on Monday. The contract settled down $1.24, or 2.5 percent, on Friday after a consultancy forecast a rise in OPEC production for July despite the pledge to rein in output. NYMEX crude for September delivery was up 17 cents at $45.94. Kuwait’s oil minister, Essam al-Marzouq, said on Saturday that compliance was good with oil production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries and that deeper curbs were possible. Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Sunday that a rebalancing of the oil market is progressing more slowly than expected, but will speed up in the second half of 2017. Elsewhere, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Sunday, the Gulf states’ official news agencies reported, as part of a diplomatic tour aimed at healing an Arab rift with Ankara’s ally Qatar. U.S. oil drillers cut one rig in the week to July 21, according to data from Baker Hughes. The United States is considering financial sanctions on Venezuela that would halt dollar payments for the country’s oil, sources told Reuters, which could severely restrict the OPEC nation’s crude exports. Aledmys Diaz Womens Jersey
RIL paying 6 per cent more to buy CBM gas from own block in MP
Reliance Industries is paying 6 per cent more price to buy coal-bed methane gas from its own block in Madhya Pradesh in the second quarter of current fiscal, the company said in an investor presentation. RIL had in May become the first buyer of gas it produced from its own coal-bed methane (CBM) block after agreeing to pay the highest price for the fuel. It paid USD 4.23 per million British thermal unit for the CBM produced during May-June. “For 2Q (July-September) FY18 supplies discovered price is USD 4.50 per mmBtu,” the company said in an investor presentation after announcing first quarter earnings. “RIL is the successful bidder.” RIL said it began CBM production from its Sohagpur blocks in Madhya Pradesh in March this year. “205 wells are flowing and production ramp up is in progress. Produced 8.6 million standard cubic meters of gas in 1Q FY18,” it said. Following the April decision of the government to give coal bed methane (CBM) producers freedom to discover market price, RIL invited bids from users of gas. The price discovered in the process was USD 4.23 for May-June and USD 4.5 for July-September. The rate is almost double the USD 2.48 per mmBtu price RIL gets for natural gas produced from its eastern offshore KG-D6 block. RIL said average production of gas from KG-D6 was 6.4 million standard cubic meters per per day and oil and condensate at 2,791 barrels per day during April-June quarter. This compares to 7.4 mmscmd of average gas production and 3,749 bdp of oil and condensate production during January- March. “Production continues to decline due to natural decline in the fields,” it said. “Currently eight wells in D1-D3 and three wells in MA field (in KG-D6 block) are under production.” RIL has invested about USD 500 million in CBM and laying a 300-km pipeline from Sohagpur to Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh to connect to the national gas grid. Through the April 13 notification, the oil ministry had stated that a CBM producer has to call for open bids for sale of coal gas and seek price quotes to discover the market price. The process prescribed was the same as the one RIL had run in 2012 to discover a price for CBM gas it is to produce in Madhya Pradesh. Back in 2012, it had sought bids for 3.5 mmscmd (as against 0.40 mmscmd put on offer this time) 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 RIL’s 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. This time, RIL sought bids in form of a deductible from Platts DES West India price of USD 7.659 per MMBtu. Roger Staubach Womens Jersey