Noida toll company put on notice over pending salaries of laid-off staff
The deputy labour commissioner (DLC) of Gautam Budh Nagar has sought a response from the company managing the DND Flyway as to why it should not be ordered to pay remaining salaries to 141 employees who were laid off by the company without any intimation on November 18. The workers were laid off after being paid the salary for 24 days, which includes full payment till November 18 and for six of the remaining 12 days of the month. But the employees had started a sit-in outside the company’s office on November 14, demanding salary for the remaining six days of November. “Since the total six-day salary of the 141 workers amounts to over Rs 50,000, an order can be issued to the company directing it to pay the entire amount under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978. We have sought a response from the company, failing which an order to this effect would be issued,” DLC BK Roy told TOI on Wednesday. The 141 workers of DND Flyway who were laid-off by ITNL Toll Management Services Limited (ITMSL), a subsidiary of Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL), on November 18 had approached the DLC against the toll company the next day, following which the DLC had issued a show-cause notice to the company on November 19 itself. The employees had hired a lawyer and complained to the DLC that the company had not taken permission from the state government before announcing the lay-off. “The firm does not come under the Factories Act but is registered under the UP Shops and Establishment Act, which does not have any provision for lay-off, meaning that the action is totally inappropriate and illegal,” the complaint said. Anwar Abbasi, a spokesperson for the company, said the lawyer of the company will clear its position in the next hearing of the DLC and any order from him would be complied with. Pharoh Cooper Jersey
NHAI garners over Rs 5,000 crore via bonds on BSE e-book platform
State-run NHAI has raised a staggering Rs 5,020 crore through the issuance of debt securities on BSE’s electronic book mechanism platform. This was the highest ever mobilisation of debt capital by a PSU through the BSE-Bond platform. The platform was launched on July 1 this year to facilitate online bidding for private placement of debt securities. Since then, 48 issuers have raised Rs 1.2 lakh crore through the exchange mechanism. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has successfully raised Rs 5,020 crore, by attracting an over-subscription of more than 10 times on the BSE-Bond platform on December 21, the bourse said in a statement today. The platform, which allows all categories of investors to place bids, helps bring in transparency and efficiency in price discovery for private placement of debt securities. It is optional for issues below Rs 500 crore, but the issuers will have to disclose coupon, yield, amount raised, number of investors and category of investors to the electronic book provider or the information repository for corporate debt market in the format as specified by regulator Sebi.
MP to identify roads which can be turned into national
To reduce financial burden on road maintenance, the Madhya Pradesh government is going to start the process of identifying roads which can be converted into national highways. The officials of public works department (PWD) and MP Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) were directed to identify the roads having the potential of being turned into national highways. “(MP) Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the officials yesterday during a review meeting to list the roads which can be proposed as national highways,” a public relation department official said today. The official informed that in addition to existing 4,771 kms long national highways of the state, another 3,035 kms long state roads have been declared as national highways. “Now state has a total of 7,806 kms long national highways. Also approval in principle has been given by the Centre to declare other 2,383 kms long roads of the state as national highways,” he added. Chouhan told the meeting that the financial burden on maintenance by the state government will be lessened by handing over the roads to the Union government. “Chief Minister said that the funds saved from such roads can further be utilised for construction of rural roads,” the official added. Willie Snead IV Jersey
Third-Party rooftop solar units cost 40 per cent cheaper than discoms
Rooftop solar units installed on industrial and corporate establishments by third parties are offering power 30-40% cheaper than the rates offered by the state’s power distribution companies. This gap is expected to widen further as thermal power companies would need to increase tariffs to accommodate inflationary measures and solar modules prices fall further. The model popularly called Opex model, includes a rooftop solar company setting up solar units on rooftops of industrial and commercial complex. They would run the plant and sell the power to the company at a rate which is cheaper than tariffs at which the discoms sell power. “Upfront investment for setting up solar units on rooftop are being undertaken by solar companies who are selling the power generated at a price which used to be 20% cheaper last year. This gap has now increased to as much as 40% for certain states,“ said Kuldeep Jain Managing Director, CleanMax Solar. “Corporates end up saving at least 20-30% on their power bills as a result of this difference in tariffs. The savings would rise as the difference rises,“ he said. Sunil Jain, chief executive officer at Hero Future Energies said: “The gap between prices offered by utilities and power tariffs for rooftop has widened the most in states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka.“ “The reason,“ Jasmeet Khurana, Associate Director Con sulting from Bridge to India said: “There has been a large fall in prices on solar modules the main input for solar units, in the international prices because China reduced its buying after the first half of the current financial and prices crashed.Solar module price have come down come down by at least 20% in the last 12 months.“ According to an industry official: “Tariffs of a large number of states-owned power distribution companies have increased this year as thermal power companies witnessed increased costs on account of rise coal costs and transport costs.“ Sabyasachi Majumdar, senior vice president at ICRA Ratings said: “The between solar rooftop prices and tariffs offered by state owned distribution companies to commercial and industrial segments is expected to widen due to two reasons.Discoms need to accommodate inflationary costs into new tariffs which, among other things, could be rise in coal costs.Solar module costs, on the other hand, is also likely to fall further as demand rises and lead to increased economies of scale“ According to a study by Bridge to India, the gap between Discom’s tariffs and solar prices are the largest in Maharashtra, followed by Harayna, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh. The firm has estimated that India’s rooftop solar segment crossed the symbolic 1 GW mark in September this year, growing by 135% over last year.Attractive capital subsidies and substantial demand from public sector are expected to continue to provide great demand boost to the segment over the next few years. Virgil Green Womens Jersey
India Investing $1.8 Billion on Lines to Transmit Solar Power
India will invest 127 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) on lines to transmit power from solar parks to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of boosting clean-energy capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022. The dedicated transmission lines, part of the so-called green corridor project, will transmit 20 gigawatts of power capacity from 34 solar parks across 21 Indian states, the government said Wednesday in a series of reports commissioned by Minister for Power, Coal and Mines Piyush Goyal. The reports were written by Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. to develop plans to integrate renewable energy on the national grid. The green-energy corridor is part of the country’s plans to boost transmission capacity to enable a seamless flow of electricity from clean electricity producing states to consuming states that face power shortages. New lines will also help manage intermittency challenges of renewable energy, especially as clean sources increase their share of power generation to almost 50 percent in some states. The inter-state portion of the transmission investments will cost 80 billion rupees, while intra-state lines will require another 47.45 billion rupees, according to the government. India will receive a soft loan of about one billion euros for the corridor’s development from the German development bank KfW, Goyal informed India’s lower house of Parliament last week. Intra-state transmission under the plan will be funded through a 20 percent equity state held by the state government, 40 percent in the form of a grant from the National Clean Energy Fund and the soft loan accounting for the remaining 40 percent. The inter-state transmission schemes are to be funded as 30 percent equity by Power Grid Corp. and 70 percent as a soft loan, according to Goyal. Shea Weber Authentic Jersey
Need for better management of grants-in-aid for power sector
Comptroller & Auditor General of India (C&AG) in one of their latest Audit Reports No.34 of 2016 has highlighted that grants-in-aid given by the Central Government to its Power Sector has increased to Rs. 12388 crore during the last two financial years amounting to 27 Office of Ministry of Power`s (MoP)`s total revenue expenditure. The grants have flowed primarily under Deen Dayal Urja Jyoti Yojana (DDUJY) for electrifying village households, on augmenting the Integrated Power Distribution System (IPDS) for strengthening the distribution network, as well as to the Power Safety Development Fund (PSDF) for disbursements towards promoting efficiency and safety in grid operations. Major portion (97 %) of the grant-in-aid funds of MoP were intended for creation of assets. C&AG have however pointed out that there were lacunae in fund management by the recipient agencies. Audit has critised MoP for failure to ensure timely utilization of the grants, long-drawn procedure for transfer to establishments and organizations which were to utilize these resources and parking of the funds at intermediate stages leading to delayed end-use. Asset registers required to be maintained under Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Rules : 2004 were not properly prepared, thereby not enabling monitoring on whether the very purpose for which a portion of the grants was provided ie. for asset creation, was achieved. Shortcomings as above are all the more regrettable because, the funds were not channelized through the Public Fund Management System (PFMS), which is an on-line network operative for tracking fund flows and ensuring that excess funds do not remain in a transitory state for unduly long periods before end-use. Audit has given an example of a major part of a grant-in-aid amounting to Rs. 146.79 crore to Power Finance Corporation (PFC) in (2015-16), intended for improvement of power systems in the states, was unjustifiably retained by PFC unutilized for nearly two months, with only Rs. 50.31 crore disbursed to the state utilities. While the Central Government justifiably advocates the benefits of digitization, electronic networking of transactions, etc., the well organized system – the PFMS – instituted as a sequel to the recommendations by the Rangarajan Committee (a committee set up in the late 1990s under C. Rangarajan : former Chief Economic Adviser for efficient management of public expenditure), has not been availed of adequately. Though the investment scenario in the power sector as a whole is presently positive, the Government sector needs to upgrade its management. This is necessary from both the social angle as well as economic perspective. The uneven installed capacity throughout the country needs redressal. While maximum (36 %) of the present overall installed capacity is in the western region, as per Central Electricity Authority`s November 2016 report, Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East, despite their huge potential, have only 1.99 % and 1.73 % respectively, of the country`s installed capacity in the state and central sectors combined. The distribution and transmission capacity have also to be boosted in both the extremities of the country. While there is an improvement in extending the overall transmission network – 28114 circuit-km installed during the (2015-16) period vis-à-vis 22107 circuit-km during (2014-15), the MoP`s grants-in-aid could help measurably improve equity and efficiency of power generation, transmission and distribution, as well as grid safety through optimum utilization of the resources downloaded from the PSDF. As part of the national clean energy drive, a necessity from the national health perspective as well as part of our commitment to the international consensus on climate change ie. UN Framework Convention for Climate Change obligating India to reduce carbon emissions 20-25 by 2020 vis-à-vis the level of 2005, more and concerted emphasis on non-conventional and solar energy sources is required. Solar energy is an important alternative source needs to be promoted. A reduction in grants-in-aid budgeting by MoP may be appropriate, and the manner of its distribution needs a techno-economic reappraisal. Instead of the present trend, increasing the allocation for Ministry of Non-Conventional & Renewable Energy (MNRE) may be more judicious. Reorienting of the government grants-in-aid towards promotion of alternative energy, solar energy development , its distribution through grid connectivity and in an cost-effective manner, may be in the national interest. Grid connected solar energy generation and distribution was `nil` in the beginning of the Eleventh Plan. It rose to 2656 MW in March 2014, but was 0.35 percent of the solar energy potential of the country amounting to 478990 MW. At present, the quantum of solar energy is transmitted through grid connectivity is not substantially more. Government grants may also be deployed on metering of this energy usage. The CEO of NITI Aayog has recently emphasized this point. C&AG through another Report – 34 of 2015 – which is a critique on the Government`s performance in the MNRE sector as at the end of 2014, had highlighted that of the ten states endowed with substantial solar energy potential, they had exploited a meager 2.56 %. Gujarat and Rajasthan were the two states which had operationalised more than 50 % of the developed capacity, whereas, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh despite having a total solar energy capacity of 33840 MW, had contributed negligibly. Therefore, there is a case to restrict disbursements of government grants-in-aid exclusively for research and development undertaken in Government establishments like power training institutes, and autonomous bodies working in the areas of innovation towards system improvement , safety of operations and energy conservation. The major public sector enterprises like Power Grid Corporation of India, PFC and Rural Electrification Corporation should be left to themselves to work in these areas with their own investible resources and even utilising their corporate social responsibility funds. A reorientation in the deployment of Government grants-in-aid in the power sector is therefore warranted. Nick Vigil Womens Jersey
NO POWER FOR FULL 24 HRS, SO THAT THERE’S ENOUGH FOR NEXT DAY
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has a brilliant plan for farmers struggling with frequent power cuts: consolidate all the load-shedding hours into one day, and then release uninterrupted power the next. Which means that there will be no power for one whole day so that there is enough power the next day. He made this announcement at a review meeting for drought-relief measures in Vijayapura district on Thursday, saying he wanted to deliver on his promise of uninterrupted power supply for farmers. He asked officials to run a pilot in North Karnataka. “There should not be any disruption in the power supplied to farmers,” he told officials. “As promised, they must be provided with power for five to six hours. In fact, there is a system in Maharashtra in which power is saved for an entire day, and the additional hours are added to the very next day’s power supply. The same model can be adopted here and implemented on a pilot basis in Vijayapura,” he said. This suggestion, however, has caught the Energy Department off guard. Many find it impractical to replicate the model in Karnataka, considering its infrastructure and power capability. A senior engineer with Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) said: “We can cut power for 24 hours, but it’s impossible to supply power for 24 hours straight without any interruption. There will be technical problems at feeder level that would scuttle the plan. While people may agree for power cuts, they may become rebellious if there are any power cuts during that 24-hour supply period.” Currently, on an average, every feeder trips at least 100-120 times in a month. “In a day, it trips at least 2-3 times due to heavy load and poor maintenance. All of us are aware of how efficient the maintenance system is in rural areas. As a result, management of the situation becomes difficult and it would have severe impact on water supply and lighting. You cannot expect people to finish off their work in 24 hours and sit idle for the next 24 hours,” said an independent power analyst from Bengaluru. DIFFERENT STATES A senior official from the Energy department said he was surprised at the suggestion. “We have no knowledge of CM’s direction. Karnataka and Maharashtra are radically different in the Energy sector. While farmers in Maharashtra pay for what they consume, in Karnataka it is provided free of cost. Average voltage across Maharashtra is more than 22 kV and above, while in Karnataka, it is still supplied through 11 kV network,” the official said, adding that they would seek a clearer picture on the announcement with CM’s office. To supply power for 24 hours straight, the state needs to be able to generate it. Energy can’t be stored; it has to be supplied as and when it is generated, explained an expert from the sector. “This being the case, how could one save power for 24 hours and utilise the same the very next day? While the Energy minister says there will not be any power cuts during summer, why is the CM looking to enforce 24-hour power cut at all? It is completely illogical.” Tony Perez Authentic Jersey
Haryana discom reports Rs201 crore profit in first half of 2016
One of the two state-owned power distribution companies in Haryana, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd, has become the first power utility to turn around under rescue scheme Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY), rolled out in November 2015, raising hopes that fortunes of the entire electricity value chain including of coal mining and power generation will benefit from better electricity demand in coming days. An analysis of the financial health of the utility released by the power ministry on Thursday said the company has reported “remarkable achievement of turnaround” from a loss of Rs479 crore in 2015-16 to a profit of Rs201.35 crore in the first half of 2016-17. Turnaround of distressed state power distribution firms is crucial for the health of other segments of the electricity value chain which depends on power offtake. Better power demand from distribution firms will help generation companies, especially thermal power plants, to step up their capacity utilisation which is currently at about 60%. Coal demand, too has been sluggish in the past as loss making distribution firms were not able to cater to the actual energy demand. Monthly coal production recovered from a contraction and grew for the first time in three months in November, indicating improving power demand during winter. As per data from state-owned monopoly Coal India Ltd (CIL), monthly production grew 5.3% to 50 million tonnes in November from a year ago, after a bearish trend in mining since August when output had shrunk by 10%. The power ministry analysis said that the Haryana utility still has to improve upon its performance in meeting the target of lowering losses on account of billing inefficiency and power theft. The UDAY scheme rolled out last November gave performance and efficiency improvement targets to loss making utilities in order to narrow their gap between cost of power supply and the price realised from consumers. Their accumulated debt up to September 2015 was allowed to be taken over by respective state governments to make available low cost credit. Haryana’s second distribution firm, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd, however, continued to make losses in the first half of this year. It reported a loss of Rs1,233 crore in the first half against the loss of Rs336 crore in the full year of 2015-16, said the analysis. Carl Banks Womens Jersey
Turkish electricity prices soar as gas supplies struggle to meet winter demand
Turkey’s electricity prices rose to their highest in years, as natural gas consumption soared due to higher household demand amid cold weather, forcing state pipeline operator Botas to cut supplies to power plants and advise industries to reduce output. Turkey’s daily natural gas consumption has risen to above 200 million cubic metres in December, gas industry sources said, from around 175-180 million last month and in same period last year due to colder than average December weather. To help ease the situation, Botas has cut supply to gas-fired power plants in the public and private sector by 90 percent and advised some industrial firms to reduce non-critical production, energy sources said. The day-ahead electricity price at Turkey’s energy exchange (EPIAS) was 586 liras per megawatt hour and the December monthly average was near 225 liras, both at their highest levels for years, traders said. One trader said the figures were at an all-time high. “There are issues in meeting the rising consumption,” one energy industry source said even though gas flows to Turkey from foreign supplies such as Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan continued without hitch. The three make up nearly 85 percent of Ankara’s natural gas imports. The source said expected deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a few days could help alleviate the supply squeeze. But electricity traders said power prices rallied to multi-year highs on concerns about supply and what they described as lack of planning for winter conditions. They said there was little communication from the state authorities on supply conditions, adding to worries. “It is obvious that there was neither any planning nor any coordination by the energy administration for these market conditions,” one trader said on condition of anonymity. “It began with Iran cutting supplies to Turkey. Market recovered from that but then came the colder average December, boosting household consumption,” the trader said. “The state’s response has been to keep cutting supplies and now power plants cannot operate.” On average, around 30 percent of Turkey’s power generation is from natural gas although it could rise above 50 percent during winter. It has nearly 80,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity production capacity but cuts in gas supply means those plants cannot operate, thereby reducing supplies. Iran cut flows of natural gas to Turkey by a third earlier this month due to harsh winter weather, but the flows were back to normal after several days. Latavius Murray Womens Jersey
Government asks Power Grid Corp to consider selling stakes in projects
Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd., a state-run electricity transmission company, should sell stakes in its projects to unlock capital for future expansion, according to the nation’s power ministry. The company should cut its balance sheet size to half by selling stakes in projects, power minister Piyush Goyal said in New Delhi on Wednesday. It should consider an infrastructure investment trust, or InvIT model to monetize assets, he said. Selling stakes in projects will help the company free-up capital and raise more debt for future projects at competitive rates, federal Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Pujari said. “We want to avoid a situation where raising debt in the future becomes difficult,” Pujari said. An asset-sale plan has been on the government’s agenda. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked state-run companies to sell assets to unlock value and make investments in new projects in his budget speech in February. Goyal’s advise that Power Grid should reduce its balance sheet size by half is an endorsement of that plan. Power Grid, which owns and operates more than 85 percent of India’s inter-state power transmission capacity, plans to invest 1 trillion rupees ($6.8 billion) in the next four years to build new projects, it said in November. It had fixed assets worth 1.58 trillion rupees as of Sept. 30, including plant machinery, transmission projects, telecom equipment, buildings and land. The company’s debt-equity ratio was 71:29 as of Sept. 30, compared with a 70:30 ratio recommended by power regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, which determines transmission charges based on capital and operating costs. “The minister has advised but there is no decision yet,” Power Grid Chairman I.S. Jha said about the asset-sale idea. “We are in a regulated business, which will need to be considered. Only then we can proceed with this.” Kerryon Johnson Jersey