Essar Power generation up 49 per cent at 11.33 billion units in FY17
Essar Power produced 49 per cent more electricity at 11.33 billion units (BUs) last fiscal ended March 31, as against 7.63 BUs in the previous year. The generation was up 57 per cent for the January-March quarter of 2016-17 at 2.92 BUs compared to 1.86 BUs in the year-ago period, Essar Power said in a statement. It said 165 MW generation capacity has been added by commissioning one unit each at its Paradip and Hazira plants. With the Commissioning of the second 135 MW unit of the 2×135 MW Hazira power plant in Gujarat, the project is now fully commissioned and operating on full load. The second 30 MW unit at the 4×30 MW Paradip power plant in Odisha was also commissioned in the fiscal. With this, half the targetted capacity of 120 MW for the Paradip power plant has been commissioned. In 2016-17, Essar Power’s Mahan plant resumed operations after a gap of 19 months. Operations restarted at the beginning of the financial year and have continued without interruption banking on e-auction coal provided by Coal India Essar Power MP Ltd, which operates the Mahan plant, procured over 3 million tonnes of coal through the e-auction route in 2016-17. Essar Power’s operational capacity in India now stands at 4,755 MW. The company is currently developing the 1,200 MW Tori plant in Jharkhand and the remaining 2×30 MW units in Paradip. Essar Power’s total power generation capacity when these two plants come on stream will be 6,100 MW (including the 85 MW plant that is operational in Algoma, Canada). Essar Power CEO KVB Reddy said: “Almost 80 per cent of our planned capacity of 6,100 MW is now operational with eight out of nine plants up and running. The initiatives of the ministries of Power and Coal in the last fiscal provided a fillip to the sector, helping us restart operations at the Mahan plant.” He said Domestic coal auctions have helped mitigate the issue of coal availability. Reddy said the government should consider reducing interest rates that currently make most power projects financially unviable. “Measures like the RBI’s 5/25 scheme will help optimise power generation costs.” Essar Power Ltd is a private sector power producer with over 20 years of operating track record. It owns power plants in India and Canada with a total planned generation capacity of 6,100 MW, of which 4,840 MW is operational. Of the total operational capacity, 3,240 MW is coal-based, while 1,600 MW is gas-based. The operating plants in India are at Mahan in Madhya Pradesh, Hazira, Salaya & Vadinar in Gujarat and Paradeep in Orissa. A 1,200 MW coal based power plant at Tori in Jharkhand state is under development. Fabian Moreau Womens Jersey
Gadkari keen to achieve 40 km a day road construction target
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that efforts are being made to further improve the road construction target to 40 km a day from the current 23 km per day. The minister said that 8,144 km of roads were constructed last fiscal. His ministry, Gadkari said, on an average has recorded road construction of 23 km a day as against 2 km a day when the UPA government was in power. “I had fixed the target of 40 km per day but I was not able to achieve that but… I am hopeful of achieving this target,” he said while addressing a national conference on the steel sector. The minister further said he intends to complete infrastructure work worth Rs 25 lakh crore in five years. Gadkari said all these initiatives would give a huge boost to the steel and cement sectors. Till March 31, the ministry has already alloted projects worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore in roads and ports sectors, he added. The government has decided to increase the length of national highways from the existing 96,000 km to 2 lakh km. “We have fast-tracked the decision-making process for the projects,” he added. Gadkari said there are also plans to make 11 expressways including Delhi-Katra and Delhi-Jaipur. “We will complete these two projects before August 15,” he said, adding that work on Mumbai-Baroda Expressway would start in three months’ time. Vladislav Namestnikov Womens Jersey
20 road developers exit projects worth Rs 12,327 cr in 2 years
With the relaxation in exit policy norms, nearly 20 road assets worth around Rs 12,327 crore have been monetised during the past 24 months, says a report. Sponsors in around 20 road assets involving a total cost of Rs 12,327 crore have monetised their assets as against around Rs 7,000 crore in the preceding 50 months, says a report by domestic agency Icra. “Asset sales in the road sector have picked up over the last 24 months with the relaxation in exit policy,” it said, adding three out of the 20 of these assets are state road projects and the remaining are national highway projects. Out of the 17 highway projects, 16 were awarded before 2009 and are the direct beneficiaries of the policy decision on relaxation of the exit policy for projects awarded before 2009 in May 2015. In May 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs relaxed the exit policy for projects awarded before 2009, allowing 100 per cent equity divestment by the developers as against 74 per cent earlier. This move not only attracted private equity players who are more comfortable when they own 100 per cent stake in projects, but also enabled the unlocking of additional 26 per cent of the developers’ equity invested in about 5,600 km of national highway projects in the PPP model, Icra said. This can result in freeing up of around Rs 4,500 crore of equity that can support equity contribution towards building 1,500 km of national highway projects in PPP mode. “In about 31 per cent deals, the return to developers is negative, indicating loss on investment. Developers with a weak credit profile are the ones who disposed of their assets at a loss as liquidity took precedence over profit-making for them,” Icra’s K Ravichandran said. He said the projects with highest returns are secondary sale transactions wherein the sponsors are private equity investors. “With the increase in headline inflation and the continued healthy growth in traffic, the toll collections are expected to grow by 10-11 per cent over the next two years. As the valuations have improved following a favourable outlook on toll collections and decline in interest rates, the asset sales are expected to gather further momentum,” he added. Brookfield Asset Management of Canada, Canadian Pension Funds, Macquarie Australia, I Squared Capital of the US (Cube Highways), Abertis Infraestructuras of Spain and IDFC Alternatives are the major investors currently looking for assets in the sector, the report said. Global pension funds are also increasingly looking at acquiring road assets and staying invested for the long term, Ravichandran said. M&A opportunities in the road sector are the highest among various infra sub-sectors with around 88 operational national highways projects totalling 7,192 km with a total project cost of Rs 69,327 crore and a median operational track record of four years, Icra said. Bradley McDougald Womens Jersey
Bhel sets up over 45K MW capacity; beats 12th Plan target
State-owned power equipment maker Bhel today said it has added 45,254 MW capacity during the 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-17) beating the targets set for the company. “Renewing thrust on accelerated project execution, Bhel has achieved a capacity addition of 45,274 MW of utility sets during the 12th five year plan, surpassing the Government’s capacity addition target by 9 per cent,” Bhel said in a statement today. The government had set the target of 41,661 MW power generation capacity addition for Bhel. Bhel said it continues to remain the single largest contributor to the country’s installed capacity of utility sets, with a share of 46 per cent in the 12th Plan capacity addition. Its capacity addition was 78 per cent higher than in the 11th Plan (2007-12). During 2016-17, Bhel has achieved a capacity addition of 6,317 MW in the utility segment, which is nearly four times of the next highest achievement by any other manufacturer. Besides, 1,422 MW of industrial sets and 78 MW of overseas sets have also been commissioned by Bhel during the year, in addition to 61 MWp of Solar Power Plants, including 50 MWp at Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh. With the commissioning of 4 Roof Top Solar Plants, totalling to 403 kWp, during the year, Bhel has enhanced its presence in this emerging segment as well. With this, a total of 8,538 MW has been synchronised/commissioned in the year. The company added another feather in its cap by foraying into the field of power generation as a co-developer, with the start of commercial operation of the first unit of its 2×800 MW project at Yeramarus, Karnataka. Montravius Adams Jersey
UDAY suggests power tariff hike only by 2019
The Union Power Ministry’s UDAY scheme which Kerala has finally joined does not anticipate any increase in power tariffs during 2017 or 2018. UDAY – short for Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) – expects a five-per cent hike in tariffs only in 2019, according to the tripartite agreement signed by the Power Ministry, Kerala government and the KSEB. The Central scheme recommends a hike only by 2019 at a time when domestic tariffs in the state are set to go up by an average 30 paise per unit this month. UDAY is a debt-relief scheme designed to bail out loss-making power distribution companies, but the state government had dithered in signing up as it would have to take over the KSEB’s debts. Although the agreement was signed in early March, it has not been publicised yet. In suo motu determining tariff revision, the state electricity regulatory commission had found a revenue surplus of Rs 740 crore for the KSEB during 2017-18, but ‘truing up’ its finances for 2011-12 and 2012-13, the commission finally concluded there was a revenue gap, and hence, the need for a revision. However, under UDAY, the past debts of state-run utilities have to be taken over by the government. UDAY lists out certain duties for Central and state governments and the KSEB. The state government has to review the KSEB’s performance every month. It has to ensure banks and financial institutions do ‘’not advance short-term debt to the KSEB for financing losses.’’ Outstanding power bill dues from state government departments are to paid up by March 31, 2019. The government will also improve the efficiency of KSEB’s power generation units. The KSEB must slash technical and commercial losses in power distribution to 11 per cent by 2019. It should launch a ‘name and shame’ campaign to check power theft, introduce proper electricity metering including smart metering, energy audits and ensure electrification of all households by 2017. It should also file tariff petitions on time before the commission. On its part, the Centre will facilitate coal linkages for the state. It will also take steps to quickly complete the construction of inter-state transmission lines. The tripartite agreement was signed by joint secretary Arun Kumar Verma on behalf of the Power Ministry, Additional Chief Secretary Paul Antony on behalf of the state government and KSEB CMD K Elangovan. On paper UDAY is optional, but the Centre had set a condition which said states which fail to meet ‘operational milestones’ would lose claim on grants provided under Central schemes for improving power supply in urban and rural areas. Derek Carrier Womens Jersey
India’s solar energy capacity expanded by record 5,525 MW
India’s solar energy capacity has expanded by a record 5,525.98 MW in 2016-17, according to the latest figures provided by the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE). In comparison, India had added 3,010 MW of solar capacity in 2015-16, which shows that growth nearly doubled over the past year. Cumulative solar capacity currently stands at 12,288.83 MW, against 6,762.85 MW at the end of March 2016. Officials said the ministry has strived hard to expand solar power generation as the power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal has set such ambitious targets that the growth is impressive even if it falls short of the target. The cumulative target the MNRE had set earlier was 17,000 MW by the end of 2016-17. “By the end of next year, our minister has committed to a cumulative target of 20,000 MW,” said Santosh Vaidya, joint secretary at MNRE. “This would mean adding another 7,750 MW in 2017-18. Once we do so, we will have reached the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) target two years in advance.” The JNNSM had initially set a target of 20,000 MW of solar capacity by 2020. However, that was scaled upwards by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he took over in 2014, raising it to 100,000 MW of solar power by 2022. Among the states, Andhra Pradesh added the maximum solar capacity in 2016-17 (1,294.26 MW), followed by Karnataka (882.38 MW) and Telangana (759.13 MW). Other major additions were in Rajasthan (543 MW), Tamil Nadu (630.01 MW), Punjab (388 MW), Uttar Pradesh (193.24 MW) and Uttarakhand (192.35 MW). With this year’s additions, Andhra Pradesh now leads in cumulative solar capacity among states (1,867.23 MW) displacing Rajasthan (1,812.93 MW), which had been No. 1for the past three years. Gujarat, which topped in solar generation for many years, is now at No. 4 with 1,249.37 MW, while Telangana with 1,286.98 MW is No. 3. As in previous years, many projects were commissioned just in time to beat the year-end deadline. Of the 5,526 MW added, only 2,803.77 MW had been commissioned till February end, but it was followed by a spurt of more than 2,700 MW in March 2017. “These projects were ready and were only awaiting their synchronization with the grid or state approval or signing of the power purchase agreement,” said Vaidya. Given the falling solar tariffs, use of solar energy is expected to keep increasing. “We have seen how low tariffs have fallen at bids such as the one at the Rewa Solar Park,” said Vaidya. The winning tariff at the last auction conducted for projects at the Rewa Park was Rs 2.97 per kwH for the first year, followed by small increases in subsequent years, well below the earlier benchmark price of Rs 4 per kwH for solar power. “Renewable energy can be an energy alternative now and states can go beyond fulfilling their renewable power obligations (RPOs),” Vaidya added. However, effective scheduling and forecasting for intra-state transmission of solar power is necessary to achieve future targets successfully. Bryan Bulaga Jersey
Gajendra Singh is GAIL’s new marketing director
Gajendra Singh on Wednesday took over as director (marketing) of state-run GAIL, a key responsibility at a time when the government is aiming to promote gas-based economy. He will be responsible for sourcing gas from international and domestic suppliers for marketing in the country, ensure capacity utilisation of pipeline infrastructure and expanding the pipeline network. Singh has 32 years of experience the oil and gas industry and has been involved in the execution of several prestigious projects of GAIL, including the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline. He was executive director (marketing) before his elevation. Nathan MacKinnon Womens Jersey
Here’s why India decided to cut Iranian oil purchases in row over gas field
The context to the apparently sudden dispute between India and Iran on oil has much more to do with expected trend in pricing of crude and less to do with the delay on the terms of Farzad B gas field. Indian policy makers feel they can slowly take on more risks in buying of crude from spot markets than stick to long term contracts. India has always played with a safety first approach to the purchase of its crude from abroad which accounts for 80% of its domestic requirement. The approach is a follow though from the impact of the successive oil shocks of the seventies and the periodic forex crisis, which has occurred even as late as 2013, all of which have left their scars on the economy. So the petroleum and natural gas ministry prefers to deal with the oil exporters to set a price band known as the official selling price (OSP). These bands are used to sign a long term contract, usually of one year where India is assured of the contracted supply at a price that hovers around the OSP. It is a hedge against the day when crude prices would zoom upwards. As a measure of further safety even within the set prices, India diversifies the list of countries from whom it shops for oil. Saudi Arabia accounts for 18% of the total imports, while Iran accounts for 6% (it used to be higher before the sanctions) Venezuela accounts for 12% and even countries like Angola account for 4% of India’s crude import. The ratio of long term to spot purchase for India at any given period is roughly 80:20. From early 2014, as prices of oil has dipped globally, the expected bad day when prices would shoot past $100 a barrel has not happened even once for India. Instead as the analysis of IEA or BP shows, there is very little reason to believe it would happen in future too. These trends give India the confidence to depend on the spot markets a wee bit more and diversify the market even more. India wants to buy more from the African oil producers—it also makes sense as India pushes up investment in their upstream and downstream projects. Other than Angola the shopping list includes Algeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. It would cut the share of the existing sellers, especially for the heavy crude that Iran has more of and is thus more keen to sell. The market for this variety is limited—India itself has only two refineries that processes this crude, the RIL refineries at Jamnagar and state-owned Mangalore Refineries (MRPL). It is a bit of a buyers’ market here, as the bulk competitors for this type of crude are only China and Japan in Asia. The decline that has set in the price of crude also now appears to be long term trend. Any spike is expected to come up against the world of shale oil. Prices are not expected to shoot up in this top heavy environment. To test the waters IOC had for some time raised its spot component to 30%. It has not come to grief. The lower price helps to keep the prices at the petrol bunks low back home—a huge political dividend for any Indian government. There is enough temptation for India to bargain with its buying power in the global oil markets now. Maxime Lagace Womens Jersey
Removal of subsidy to hit LNG Demand
India’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand could ease as the government has scrapped subsidies on gas sales to power companies, the chief executive of the country’s biggest gas importer said on Wednesday at a gas conference in Japan. Natural gas accounts for about 6.5 per cent of India’s overall energy needs, far lower than the global average. India plans to raise the share of gas in its energy mix to 15 percent over the next three years, but a major challenge to that goal is the price sensitivity of Indian consumers. India has for the last two fiscal years been giving discounts on the sale of imported LNG to revive more than 14 gigawatts of stranded power generation capacity that had been hit by domestic gas shortages. But a power ministry official confirmed that the LNG subsidy has not been extended beyond March 31, and Prabhat Singh, chief executive of Petronet LNG, said these gas-based projects cannot compete with plants using cheaper coal. “If (the power subsidies in India) don’t happen, then definitely around a million to 2 million tons of LNG which was going there will be lost,” Mr Singh told reporters at Gastech in Japan. After the subsidies were first put in place, India’s annual LNG imports surged 15 percent to 16.08 million tons in 2015/16. Then for the first 11 months of the 2016/2017 fiscal year – the April – February period – India imported 17 million tons. Data for March is not yet available. Shaquil Barrett Jersey
Tata Power Renewable Energy commissions 100 MW wind farm in Andhra Pradesh
Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL), India’s largest renewable energy company and Tata Power’s wholly-owned subsidiary, on Wednesday announced the commissioning of its 100 MW wind farm project in Nimbagallu, Andhra Pradesh. The Company had commissioned 36 MW wind capacity of the plant in December 2016, and today announced the commissioning of the balance 64 MW. With this, the operating renewable portfolio of TPREL grows to 1959 MW, comprising 907 MW wind, 932 MW solar, and 120 MW waste heat recovery capacity as of today. The Nimbagallu wind farm is built with Gamesa’s 2MW state-of-the-art Wind-Turbine Generation(WTG) platform. “The commissioning of the 100 MW wind power plant in Andhra Pradesh marks a significant milestone in our drive to grow our portfolio of clean and renewable energy generation. We are also developing another 100 MW solar plant at Anantapur Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh. With this commissioning, TPREL continues to fortify its position of being the largest renewable energy company in the country. We are extremely proud of this development and we continue to seek potential areas in India and in select International markets through organic and inorganic opportunities,” said Rahul Shah, CEO & Executive Director, Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited. TPREL completed the acquisition of Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd. last year to become the largest Renewable Energy Company in India. In 2016, TPREL has won 320 MW of solar bids, of which 15 MW was commissioned in February 2017, and the balance 305 MW will be commissioned in 2017-18. The company has organically added 159 MW wind & solar capacity in FY17. Jarius Wright Womens Jersey