DIAL defers charging fee on in-flight food & drinks
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) today agreed in Delhi High Court to defer till February 8, its decision to charge a fee on in-flight food and beverages provided by private airlines like Spicejet, Indigo, Goair and Jet Airways. DIAL gave this oral assurance before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva who issued notice to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, DIAL, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and four flight kitchen operators — Oberoi Flight Services, Taj Sats Air Catering Ltd, Ambassador (SkyChef) and Sky Gourmet Catering Pvt Ltd — and sought their replies on a plea by Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) against the levy of 16 per cent fee on the cost price of food and beverages procured by the carriers. It asked the airlines to provide a copy of their food procurement agreement and the agreements they have with the various flight caterers to provide in-flight refreshments. FIA, which represents Spicejet, Indigo, Goair and Jet Airways, has claimed that as per the letter of November 11, the in-flight kitchen operators had to pay the fees to DIAL with effect from November 15. Another letter of December 1, 2016, which too has been challenged by FIA, had said that DIAL will not allow inside the IGI Airport any flight catering vehicle carrying items procured outside. FIA, represented by senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, has contended that DIAL’s actions will have a direct impact on the airlines as the in-flight kitchen operators will recover the charges from them and this in turn will affect the air fares. DIAL, represented by senior advocate Arvind Nigam, said the airlines cannot carry on the business of flight catering. He contended that once the agreements are perused, it might turn out that the airlines were procuring food through their sister concerns. The judge asked FIA to provide copies of its agreements to DIAL after redacting the confidential portions, but to file unedited copies in a sealed cover before the court and listed the matter for further hearing on February 8. DIAL agreed to defer its decision till then. In its petition, FIA has said that DIAL was already charging a fee from the flight caterers for allowing their vehicles to enter the airport and its latest decision to deny entry to them “amounts to abuse of dominant position”. Carlos Hyde Jersey
Vistara aims to be profitable by 2020-21
Vistara, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, aims to be cash positive by 2018-19 and profitable by 2020-21. The estimates were given by the airlne’s CEO Phee Teik Yeoh during the course of the Tata Sons board meetings on June 29 and June 30. The minutes of the board meeting have been reviewed by ET. Yeoh had also proposed an incremental equity requirement of Rs 600 crore. The board finally approved an equity investment of Rs 310 crore. For the year 2015-16, the airline posted a loss of Rs 400 crore. The airline posted revenue of Rs 713.6 crore for the year, missing the budgeted figure by 10%. Yeoh however said the airline is taking revenue enhancement steps including higher aircraft utilization, increasing seats and cargo capacity, innovative pricing, enhanced branding, increase in partnerships with international airlines, better network planning as well as higher perks to corporate clients. Donald Penn Authentic Jersey
Hardening crude will test diesel deregulation: K Ravichandran, Senior Vice President, ICRA
The expected hardening of crude oil prices following the latest OPEC decision to cut output may not adversely impact the government’s pre-budget calculations but a rise in oil prices over the coming months, if sustained, could test the deregulation of diesel, K Ravichandran, Senior Vice President at ratings agency ICRA tells Bilal Abdi in an exclusive interview. Edited excerpts.. Now that prices of crude have started going up, should the consumers brace themselves for Rs 5-6 per liter hike in petrol as being speculated? A Rs 5-6 hike in petrol would be a requirement from next month. As of now, the oil companies would not be comfortable passing on the burden especially when the overall consumer sentiment is very low due to the demonetisation issue. They would do it in stages. It will definitely be an added burden on the consumers’ pockets. Do you think a Rs 5-6 per liter hike in petrol prices would be the stage at which the government would intervene and announce excise duty relief? The government may be reluctant to cut excise duty as long as the crude oil prices are below $60 per barrel, as they also have to account for the subsidy outgo provided to consumers as well as take care of the under-recovery burden. The centre had budgeted for a petroleum subsidy burden of around Rs 27,000 crore for the current financial year. With the fiscal drawing to a close, what is the expected outgo? The actual subsidy outgo in the first six months of the present fiscal year was only Rs 8,000 crore. Hence, the government is in a very comfortable situation for the current fiscal in spite of the recent hardening of crude oil prices. As for 2017-18, the government’s finances will be impacted only if crude prices increase by $20 from the current level and the rupee also correspondingly depreciates to around 70. In that situation, it will be interesting to see whether the government will stick to its de-regulation policy on diesel as diesel has become an important fuel be it in agriculture or the industrial sector. How much are the total Gross Under-Recoveries (GURs) suffered by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the first half current fiscal? What are the chances the subsidy burden would be passed on to upstream firms? The overall under-recovery outgo was approximately Rs 8,000 crore which was entirely borne by the government. As per the current policy, upstream companies are asked to bear the burden when Kerosene under-recoveries go beyond Rs 12 per litre and for LPG, the cap is around Rs 255 per cylinder. Currently, the under-recovery for Kerosene is around Rs 11-12 per liter which is close to breaching the ceiling fixed and the ceiling will be breached if the crude prices harden at $60 per barrel. In case of LPG, the under-recovery level is around Rs 110 per cylinder. So, the upstream companies have a lot of buffer before they are asked to share the burden. At what level would the centre’s petroleum subsidy burden stand if prices were to cross anticipated level in near future? If crude prices are below $60, and the rupee hovers between Rs 68-70, the government’s outgo should be between Rs 25,000-Rs 35,000 crore in 2017-18 and for 2016-17, it would be around Rs 21,000 crore. A major reason why the government’s subsidy maths would not be affected is the increase in prices and reduction in subsidy volumes. In LPG, key policy initiatives from the government like Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) helped weed out a lot of bogus connections and the “Give it up” campaign helped reduce subsidy volumes. The demand for Kerosene has become almost flat mainly due to electrification, LPG penetration and increase in prices. While the government’s balance sheets are expected to be stable in the next fiscal year, the end consumer may have to face the brunt of hike in fuel prices. Dylan Strome Womens Jersey
Power transmission companies must monetise transmission assets, says Piyush Goyal
Power minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday urged central electricity transmission utility Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL) and state transmission companies to unlock capital that has accrued over years in transmission assets. “It is high time PGCIL looks at moving from an asset holding to a project implementing company,” Goyal said at a conference to launch multiple reports on power sector. ET had on June 15 reported that global investors may get to own power transmission lines in India as the government is looking at monetising the assets by offering equity to international pension funds aimed at mopping up Rs 10,000-12,000 crore investments. The proposal aims at unlocking value of the existing power transmission lines to generate revenues that can be re-invested in strengthening transmission system and other infrastructure projects. PGCIL is India’s central transmission utility that owns and operates 131,728 circuit-Kilometer of transmission lines and 213 substations across the country with an inter-regional capacity of over 61,000 Megawatt. Xavier Williams Authentic Jersey
PSUs, private sector companies can swap coal: Piiyush Goyal
The government today approved swapping of coal supplies between public sector and private sector companies, a move that may help augment availability of fuel and reduce transportation charges. “Only today I have approved the proposal … henceforth government and public sector companies can swap their coal with private companies also and I would like it to be across sectors,” Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said here. “To begin with we are working on power to power sector,” Goyal said further. He was speaking during an event organised by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). The guidelines which were being framed on the same would be out in the next 30 days, he said. “We would be allowing all public and private companies to swap coal to achieve the next level of efficiency through rationalisation of coal linkages…I would urge you..(power ministry) to talk to DIPP or any other administrative ministries or the coal ministry if possible we could look at the next stage where we could allow swaps across consumers in the country,” he said. He further stressed upon exploring the possibility of buying additional lands and setting up of industrial parks at the places where solar parks were set up so that power produced from the plant could be used in-situ. He also pressed upon the need for round the clock power supply to every telecom tower across the country and added that “not a drop of diesel should be used for the telecom tower”. He also added that the PGCIL should consider halving balance sheet size to unlock capital. “I think it is time now for Power Grid to seriously look at moving out of becoming an asset holding company into a project management, implementing company. These assets which have accrued over the last 25 years, it’s time to look at at least halving the balance sheet so that it can unlock your capital,” the minister said. He further said that Power Grid should explore infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) mode to unlock capital from assets. “You must look at investment trust that are permitted by the law. I would urge…(power ministry) to look at some amendments to the regulatory framework so that the projects which Power Grid has and any other transmission company has, can move from a cost plus scenario to possibly an escalating formula or a fixed plus, or inflation linked formula,” he said. David Perron Womens Jersey
Lenders seek Andhra govt help in saving Rs 10,500-cr power plant
The Andhra Pradesh government may come to the rescue of the 12 lenders of the Rs 10,500-crore under-construction 1,320 MW power project at Kakarapalli village in the state’s Srikakulam district, according to a source. Power Finance Corp leads the list of 12 lenders, 11 of them public sector undertakings. Besides PFC, the list of lenders to the project includes State Bank of India , Punjab National Bank , Bank of Baroda , Corporation Bank and Federal Bank , among others. The total debt of the project, being developed by East Coast Energy, is Rs 8,700 crores. The total cost of Rs. 10,500 crore is for phase-I of the project, the phase-II too being of the same size in capacity and as of now only existing on paper. East Coast is promoted by a consortium of companies. “We have already met officials of the Andhra government and the due diligence is on. The response of the state officials has till now been positive,” an official with one of the lenders told Moneycontrol. So far, Rs 2,969 crores have been disbursed in loans. This comprises both fund-based and non-fund based lending. Similarly, Rs 836 crore have been infused in equity. PFC has so far disbursed Rs 1,055 crore to the project, SBI Rs 594 crore, PNB 264 crores and BoB Rs 310 crore. The successful completion of the project is not only crucial for the lenders but also PTC India and its subsidiary PTC Financial Services in which it has a 60 percent stake. PTC India Financial Services holds 8.09 percent stake in East Coast Energy while its parent PTC India has a 20 percent stake in Athena Energy Ventures, one of the promoter companies of East Coast with a 25.93 percent stake in the special purpose vehicle. Athena is promoted by KV Vijayakumar and some high networth individuals from India and abroad. This includes promoters of Karvy group. Besides PTC India Financial and Athena Energy Ventures, Singapore-based Asian Genco Pte, Indus Clean Energy Fund, Navayuga Engineering Company and Abir Infrastructure are the other promoters of East Coast Energy. PTC India Financial had invested Rs 133 crore for its 8.09 percent stake in East Coast as on March 31, 2016. Similarly, PTC India had brought in Rs 85 crore as equity in the special purpose vehicle. Kevin Durant Womens Jersey
DERC seeks opinion on revising charges for migrating customers
In the draft order issued this week for consumers opting for open access, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has modified various charges. These include subsidy charge, wheeling and transmission charges, and additional surcharge. This revision will benefit those who wish to source power from another distribution utility than those operating in their jurisdiction. Consumers, discoms and expert bodies have been asked to submit their suggestions on the draft by January 20. The draft aims to ensure that low-end consumers do not get burdened with higher tariff on account of high-end consumers opting out of their network. Hence, all those opting out would be paying some charges to the home discom for crosssubsidising domestic consumers. The charges payable to Delhi discoms differ as per category and the discom. For Tata Power Delhi, industrial consumers will pay approximately 165 paiseunit, DMRC 136 paiseunit and domestic consu mers 5-11 paiseunit as cross subsidy charges. DeAndre Washington Jersey
Malaysia’s Petronas to study two oilfields in Iran
Malaysia’s state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Berhad inked a deal to study two oilfields in Iran with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Petronas, as the firm is known, will conduct studies at South Azadegan and Cheshmeh Khosh that are expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2017, the Malaysian firm said in a statement late on Wednesday. Iran, OPEC’s third largest oil producer, plans to launch next year a new-style contract for helping develop its oil and gas fields, part of an effort to sweeten the terms it offers and attract more foreign investment. It has in recent weeks signed agreements with other oil producers such as Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd for oilfield studies. Petronas used to import 50,000-60,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude before it stopped buying due to Western sanctions. Malaysia’s cabinet on Wednesday also gave the go-ahead to pursue a free trade agreement with Iran, state news agency Bernama reported. The potential for trade with Iran was enormous in areas such as oil and gas, and palm oil, trade minister Mustapa Mohamed was quoted as saying. Jussi Jokinen Womens Jersey
Oil and the Arctic: what is at stake
A US-Canadian move to block new leases for oil or gas drilling in sovereign Arctic waters is designed to protect an area already severely disrupted by climate change. A quick tour of the Arctic and what is at stake: – THE ARCTIC – The Arctic Circle, which starts 66.5 degrees north of the equator, marks an area where on at least one day of the year there will be no light or no night — and that period is longer, the further north you go. It covers more than 20 million square kilometres (7.7 million square miles), an area bigger than Russia, cutting through northern Canada, Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia and Greenland. About a third of the area is land. The part of the Arctic Ocean permanently covered by ice has been diminishing steadily for several decades due to global warming, making the region more accessible to shipping, and thus oil and gas extraction. The record low ice cover — 3.41 million square kilometres in September 2012 — was 44 percent below the 1981-2010 average. Some of the ocean falls under the national jurisdictions of the countries it borders, but most is not subject to any national laws or regulations. An Arctic Council created in 1996 to address territorial and political disputes has so far only dealt with peripheral issues such as protocols for sea rescue and oil spills. – ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS – The biggest threat — driven by the burning of fossil fuels — is climate change, which has pushed temperatures in the Arctic up twice as fast as the worldwide average. Scientists have calculated that global oil, gas and coal projects already under construction or in operation will push Earth past the threshold of dangerous global warming, heating the planet by more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial era levels. Developing even a portion of the Arctic’s massive as-yet-untapped gas and oil reserves would exacerbate climate change even further. The region’s human communities and wildlife — from polar bears to bowhead whales, from seals to sea birds — are also at risk. Dozens of distinct indigenous cultures within the Arctic depend directly on the ocean and its wildlife for food and income. Oil production, and spills, difficult to clean up in icy conditions, could threaten livelihoods by damaging fragile ecosystems. Dirty fuel from ships operating in the Arctic is also a source of pollution. Climate change, meanwhile, has already had a major impact on these mostly coastal communities, some of which are literally falling into the sea. – NOT ON THE SAME PAGE – The US decision designates the vast majority of its waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas — an area covering some 50 million hectares (125 million acres) — as “indefinitely off limits” to offshore oil and gas leasing. Canada said all its Arctic waters were off limits. Both the United States and Canada have aggressively developed other fossil fuel resources in the last two decades — gas extracted via “fracking” and oil from tar sands, respectively. The same is not true for Russia and Norway, whose economies depend heavily on oil, some of which is taken from the Arctic Circle. “The economy-energy balance of the US is not the same as for Russia and Norway,” notes Laurent Mayet, France’s representative to the Arctic Council. – NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE? – In September 2015, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell abandoned exploratory drilling operations in the Alaskan Arctic, saying not enough oil and gas had been discovered to make extraction worthwhile. The licence had been granted by the Obama administration. The British company Cairn Energy likewise gave up on its forays, said Pierre Terzian, head of French consulting firm Petrostrategies. “There were no imminent prospection projects” before the joint US-Canadian announcement, Terzian told AFP. “Why go into the Arctic when there is plenty of oil and gas elsewhere that is technically less expensive to extract and does not carry as much risk in terms of image?” French group Total has gone further, renouncing the exploitation of oil fields in the Arctic. “The best insurance for the Arctic is a low price for oil,” Terzian added. Dan Feeney Authentic Jersey
India map wrongly depicted in annual diary of ONGC’s overseas arm
In an embarrassment to state-owned ONGC Videsh, an annual diary distributed by the company had to be withdrawn after wrongly depicting the map of India. The “inadvertent error” meant all 2,100 copies had to be recalled after being distributed to employees and others. The diary contained a small map that depicted ONGC Videsh operations around the world in its introductory pages. However, it did not correctly outline the state of Jammu and Kashmir as public domain images from the Internet were used. Officials described the error as an act of omission and said that immediate steps were taken to ensure all published copies were withdrawn. “One of the pictorial representations showed the world map pinpointing regions where ONGC Videsh had its presence,” an ONGC spokesperson told ET. “The erroneous map was noticed and the diary was withdrawn immediately. The error was inadvertent and an act of omission and insufficient proofreading, caused due to usage of public domain pictorial representations.” The withdrawal took place within a few days of the diary being issued after the error was discovered. Some of the copies were sent back by officials who were posted abroad. India views what it considers to be erroneous map depictions seriously and, for instance, seizes copies of magazines that contain these unless stamped with a disclaimer. ONGC Videsh is the overseas arm of the Oil and Natural Gas Corp with a presence in 17 countries including Vietnam, Russia, Venezuela and New Zealand. It has 37 oil and gas assets at locations across the world. Latavius Murray Womens Jersey