Pilots may face strict action for failing flight duties
Pilots coming late for duty as well as falsely reporting sick are likely to face strict enforcement action, with the government proposing stringent regulations in this regard. The proposal comes against the backdrop of instances where pilots did not adhere to their assigned flight duties. To deal with such incidents, the civil aviation ministry has proposed new norms under the Aircraft Rules, 1937. As per the proposal, likely to be finalised by the second week of December, pilots who are found to falsely report illness to escape flight duty and those unwilling to follow the dynamic roster, among others, will be considered as acts against public interests liable for enforcement action. In a release today, the ministry said cases often have come to the notice of DGCA where pilots employed with air transport undertakings do not adhere to their assigned flight duties, at times reporting sick. “This has a bearing on flight safety and public interest, leading to last-minute flight delays or cancellation, thereby causing inconvenience and harassment to the passengers,” it noted. Any act on the part of pilots wherein they are found to falsely report illness to escape flight duty, coming late to the aircraft, not undertaking the flight even after reporting for flight duty or unwilling to follow the dynamic roster well within the FDTL would face strict action. FDTL refers to Flight and Duty Time Limitations. Such activities “which result in last-minute flight disruptions and may imperil safety of aircraft operations would be treated as an act against public interest and the pilots would be liable for enforcement action against them”, the ministry said. The proposal in this regard is being put up for public consultation. Kurt Coleman Womens Jersey
West Bengal government accepts Centre’s air connectivity scheme with rider
The West Bengal government today accepted the regional connectivity scheme in civil aviation as proposed by the Centre, but at the same time, threatened to pull out of it if the state had to bear in excess of the 20 per cent share as has been committed by the Centre under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF). “The VGF is to be shared between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the state governments in the 80:20 ratio. We shall pull out of the scheme if the state has to bear in excess of the 20 per cent share as committed by the Centre,” state Transport Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said while briefing reporters on the outcome of a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport with the state government. “The chief minister has discussed several issues relating to our state at the meeting. She has urged the MoCA to restrict the flight fare from un-served and under-served airports to Rs 2,500. The Centre will have to bear 80 per cent, while for the state, it will be a maximum of 20 per cent if the fare exceeds the limit,” Bandyopadhyay said. While the meeting was chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey led the visiting delegation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had proposed a fare of Rs 2,500 per hour of flying, for around 500 kms, under the regional connectivity scheme. The chief minister also urged the MoCA for direct flights from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the city to European destinations, Bandyopadhyay said, adding that the MoCA has assured her to look into the possibilities. The state government believed that four airports in the state — Balurghat, Durgapur, Cooch Behar and Malda — would benefit once the scheme became operational, the Transport Secretary said. The chief minister also urged the MoCA for the revival of Behala Flying Club, he said, adding that Choubey assured her that the Centre would float an expression of interest (EOI) shortly, inviting private agencies for the purpose. The MoCA would also form a three-member committee, comprising the state Transport Secretary, an Airport Authority of India (AAI) official and a Defence Ministry official, to look after the maintenance of Bagdogra airport near Siliguri. It may be noted that the main objective of the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016 was to make regional air connectivity a reality. Von Miller Authentic Jersey
DGCA proposes new rules to enable import of foreign registered aircraft
India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has proposed a new regulation which will enable operators to import foreign registered aircrafts and operate them on foreign registration with Indian crew. “This will also make the aircraft leasing environment user friendly,” the civil aviation ministry said in a statement. Currently, any aircraft that is being brought to India has to be first registered with the DGCA. The rule has been seen as a hurdle in taking planes on lease by airlines at a time when India is pushing for increased regional air connectivity. Exemption from this rule will make it easier for the lessor to take back the aircraft in case of a dispute with the airline operating the aircraft. The move reduces the risk of the lessors’ planes getting stuck in India and hence may encourage them to formulate easier leasing contracts with lower rentals. Last month, the civil aviation ministry had called a meeting of aircraft lessors as part of efforts to ensure availability of aircraft to implement the regional connectivity scheme. Mohamed Sanu Authentic Jersey
Nudge to Centre on airports, terminals
The aviation regulator has requested the Centre to speed up construction of new airport terminals and additional airports near metro cities, voicing concern about an anticipated rise in congestion and lack of infrastructure at major aerodromes. Officials in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said airports in major cities appeared headed towards a “clogged future” amid plans by domestic airlines to acquire more aircraft and increase passenger load next year. The DGCA estimates that scheduled commercial airlines are set to add at least 40 new and leased aircraft by next March and an additional 25 aircraft by end-2017. Indian carriers have also lined up delivery of about 550 planes over the next six years. “Most of the functional airports, particularly in tier I and tier II cities, are operational almost at full capacity. Unless we come up with new terminals and additional airports at these places, things are going to get very difficult,” a DGCA official said. “We have expressed this concern to the civil aviation ministry through a communiqué.” On October 4, the DGCA announced the winter schedule for domestic Indian carriers with at least 21 per cent more flights than last year. The winter schedule starts from October 30 and runs till March 26, 2017. “This has happened because of about 23 per cent rise in domestic traffic this year so far. We expect the trend to continue,” another official said. Marlon Mack Jersey
APTEL has allowed fuel cost pass through for power plant, says Reliance Power
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power today said that one of its arms Vidarbha Industries Power has got relief from Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) as it has upheld fuel cost pass-through in the tariff for its 600 MW plant in Maharashtra. This will allow the company to recover enhanced cost of power based on higher fuel cost. “APTEL judgement provides regulatory clarity & certainty for VIPL,” Reliance Power said in a statement. Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd (VIPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Power Limited, had challenged Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) on 20 June, which partially disallowed fuel costs for FY2014-15 and FY2015-16. The said MERC order pertained to truing up for FY14-15, provisional truing up for FY15-16 and Multi-Year Tariff for FY16-17 to FY19-20. MERC had earlier approved the Power Purchase Agreement for Butibori Project of VIPL under Section 62 of Electricity Act. “APTEL found merit in VIPL’s contentions against the disallowance of fuel costs in the said MERC order. APTEL observed that once PPA is approved under Section 62 of Electricity Act, the basic principles of tariff determination as per Section 62 have to be followed, where the fuel cost is pass-through in tariff,” Reliance Power said in the statement. “APTEL observed in its judgement that actual fuel mix used must be allowed while undertaking the prudence check. APTEL has accordingly asked MERC to rework fuel cost pass-through based on the decisions in its judgement,” it further added. FAQ Womens Jersey
NTPC aims to be the lowest emitter of greenhouse gases
NTPC, globally the third largest power company in terms of coal based power generation capacity, intends to ensure minimum impact on environment from its power stations. It intends to become a low cost and low emission coal burner to maintain its position as a leader in the sector. NTPC is creating additional carbon sinks by planting one crore saplings during this financial year and the upcoming Telengana Thermal Power Project shall be most modern complying with the latest environment norms. NTPC chairman, Gurdeep Singh, in a statement outlined the company’s efforts in bringing down energy charges by stopping coal imports, ensuring better quality fuel through third party sampling and coal rationalization. NTPC is at present 2nd terms of capacity utilisation and 3rd in machine availability globally. It is 7th in terms of electricity generation, among the top twenty coal based power generating companies globally. Shaquem Griffin Authentic Jersey
Power sector’s debt woes may continue for 18 months
The country’s narrowing power deficit and increased coal production may not be indicators of the end of stress in the industry. There has been a negligible change in the power sector’s stressed capacity and debt. According to data published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the infrastructure sector’s share in gross non-performing assets of banks was 13.90 per cent in June 2016, higher than 12.69 per cent in December 2015, and the power sector’s contribution to these numbers was 5.97 per cent and 4.99 per cent, respectively. “The primary reason for stressed assets in the power sector is weak demand. Demand has been weak due to muted industrial activity, resulting in ready capacity not finding long-term contracts, existing contracts running at low plant load factors and abysmally low spot power rates. Low asset utilisation is making it difficult for power producers to service debt,” said Debasish Mishra, partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India. According to Central Electricity Authority data, the plant load factor in September nationwide was 58.13 per cent . Legacy policy issues over coal allocation, low demand and banks’ unwillingness to take haircuts in acquisitions are some of the other reasons for the obstinate stressed debt in the system. “Coal production has increased, but the distribution and usage policy continues to be restrictive. The delay in announcing a new policy framework is leading to uncertainty,” said Ashok Khurana, director-general, Association of Power Producers. Khurana estimates the stressed power capacity at more than 50,000 MW, stating not much has changed in this number in the last couple of years. This capacity, Khurana said, lacked long-term power purchase agreements and fuel-supply agreements. “Around 18,000 MW faces under-recovery of fixed or variable costs due to various reasons and different stages of litigation,” he said. Multiple data points suggest stressed debt in the sector may linger. “Around 17,000 MW of projects, including those facing the consequences of aggressive bidding for coal supplies or huge cost overruns, and those with gas-supply issues, are projects where the debt at risk is the highest today. These are projects are not expected to turn viable in the long run even if they are structured under the 5:25 scheme or any other tool provided by the RBI,” said an October report by rating agency CRISIL. CRISIL estimated the debt exposure to these projects at Rs 70,000 crore. The 17,000 MW was higher than the 16,000 MW the agency estimated as debt at risk in July 2015. However, the quantum of debt involved in these stressed capacities has fallen marginally from Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 70,000 crore. “The debt situation will take time to resolve. One cannot undo the effects accumulated over the past five years with one year of better performance. The debt-earning ratio continues to remain high and balance sheets will take some time to deleverage,” said Vivek Jain, associate director with India Ratings. The ability to service debt with operational cash flow for four of the seven main power producers in the country continues to remain under stress with an interest coverage ratio at below 1.5 times, Capitaline data shows. (See chart) Revival in demand is likely to be key in improving the debt quality and the debt servicing ability of power companies. However, a revival in demand may continue to elude the sector for some more time. “Demand for power has not revived and I do not expect it to revive in the next year. Only after the debts of state electricity boards are transferred to the books of the state governments will demand improve,” said Anuj Upadhyay, analyst, Emkay Research. GBS Raju, chairman, energy, GMR Group, is hopeful the situation will improve in 18 months. “Every plant in the sector has a different issue–a long-term power purchase issue, a railway link issue, a transmission line issue–and has found itself stranded. Problems are being addressed plant by plant. I expect things to improve in the next 18 months,” Raju said. Kentavius Street Authentic Jersey
Huge spurt in imported coal prices to hit firms in entire power value chain
The 60 per cent jump in imported coal prices between April and October current financial year is likely to negatively impact the power sector value chain. The distribution companies (discoms), independent power producers (IPPs) with non-escalable fuel cost, merchant power producers and ports relying on imported coal for the bulk of their volumes will face volume and profitability pressures, research agency India Ratings has said. The increase in imported coal prices was more pronounced in October 2016, where prices rose by 25 per cent to around $85 per tonne from $68 per tonne in September 2016. DISCOMS “Anecdotal evidence suggests that most state regulatory commissions have not allowed for Power Purchase and Fuel Cost Adjustment (PPFCA) on an actual and timely basis, which has led to an escalation in the power purchase cost of discoms, without a commensurate increase in revenues,” India Ratings said in a report. Historically, the ability of the distribution companies to pass on fuel cost increases to the end-consumers has been limited and delayed due to the political intervention in the tariffs. The regulatory commissions can allow a pass-through of such costs, by way of PPFCA, since power purchase cost is an uncontrollable expense for the discoms. MERCHANT IPPs Merchant IPP’s which sell power through the merchant route will be impacted significantly since the prices on the exchanges or bilateral trades have not moved up at the same rate as the rise in variable cost of generation in October 2016, on account of the imported coal price increases, the firm said. This will lead to a significant compression in their gross margins, which have fallen to zero in October 2016. Hence, the viability of merchant IPPs on imported coal is doubtful in the current price scenario. REGULATED POWER PLANTS The research firm also said it expects the hike in fuel costs to be credit neutral for power generators which operate their plants on the cost plus return on equity (ROE) model. The plants running on cost plus ROE are allowed a complete pass-through of such costs to the consumers by way of the monthly fuel cost adjustment in the bills, thus insulating these plants from any adverse movement in coal prices. However, with higher fuel costs, the impact of under-recovery or over-recovery, if any, on the variable cost due to lower or better performance than the operating normative parameters including station heat rate and auxiliary consumption is likely to lead to a higher level of absolute disincentives or incentives respectively. IMPACT ON COAL IMPORTS The overall dependence of imported coal in India declined during 2015-16 as the output from Coal India Limited increased significantly over 2014-15 and 2015-16, leading to a 10 per cent decline in the overall non-coking coal imports in India to 156.4 million tonne last fiscal. “The volume de-growth of non-coking coal was not as sharp in FY16, despite the lower prices, because other end-user industries namely cement and non-ferrous metals found it cheaper to use imported coal to fire their kilns or boilers. However, with the rise in prices of imported coal, these end-user industries are looking at alternative fuel sources, which could pressurise imported coal volumes from these players. Moreover, in a scenario of power surplus with adequate domestic coal availability, the use of imported coal for power generation is likely to remain benign,” the report said. IMPACT ON IPPs WITH NON-ESCALABLE FUEL COST With the decline in coal costs, the stress on the imported coal-based plants namely Adani Power’s 1980 Megawatt plant in Mundra and Tata Power Limited’s 4,000 MW plant in Mundra under its subsidiary Coastal Gujarat Power Limited had reduced, despite the absence of compensatory tariff. However, with the prices of imported coal rising again and judgement awaited on the applicability of the force majeure clause in the power purchase agreement, the stress levels would start building up again on these generators with non-escalable fuel costs.
Power demand to rise in future: NTPC CMD
Exuding confidence that Centre’s UDAY scheme will help revive debt stressed discoms, NTPC Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh today said electricity demand is going to increase in future. The central government had launched UDAY scheme to help discoms reduce debt and improve their financial position which will ultimately help them buy power required for their customers. They were unable to buy power from generating firms despite having demand from their consumers. Singh was addressing employees’ on 41st raising day of the company today at Engineering Office Complex at Noida. He also spoke about efforts of NTPC’s to bring down energy charges by stopping import of coal, ensuring better quality coal through third party sampling and coal rationalisation. Singh urged NTPC’s Power Management Institute and research arm NETRA to play a crucial role the company’s development. Speaking about Environment Management, he said NTPC has to ensure minimum impact on the environment from its power stations and carry forward the slogan “Low cost Low emission” to maintain its position as a leader in the sector. NTPC is creating additional carbon sinks by planting one crore saplings during this financial year and the upcoming Telengana Thermal Power Project shall be most modern complying with the latest environment norms, he said. Inclusion of safety as a Core Values is to ensure safe practices in all areas of Company’s operations, he added. Singh lauded Team NTPC’s efforts for achieving highest generation on September 9, 2016, performance of Koldam Hydro project, start of work at Pakhri Barwadih coal mine, for being the first company to issue Masala bonds, Consultancy Wing for providing services to nearly 18000 MW projects in the country and construction of toilets for Swachch Bharat campaign under CSR. State-run NTPC is the third largest power company in terms of coal based power generation capacity, and among top 20 coal based power generating firms globally. Will Richardson Womens Jersey
Three firms move GERC for fixing tariff for energy to waste conversion
At least three firms already moved a petition in Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) for approval of a tariff of Rs 7 per unit for generate energy from water. The three firms that have moved GERC have expressed their willingness to generate around 48 MW of power from the nearly 3000 odd metric tons waste of Ahmedabad city. Pravin Patel, chairman, standing committee said, “The AMC has entered into contract with three firms and each firm will generate 1000 MT of garbage into 16 MW. These firms will gradually increase the capacity and will utilize around 1200 MT of garbage.” Patel said that as per the centre government policy, the power will be purchased at Rs 7 per unit and the centre government will give subsidy for the same. He said that the state government has already adopted the policy as the same has been formed by the centre government. The AMC will not incur any burden for setting up this power generation units. He said that the three units have moved GERC for getting the tariff fixed. Meanwhile, Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has also initiated the process for determining tariff for procurement of power by distribution licensees and others from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) based power projects. The power regulator has proposed a gross tariff of Rs 7.30 per unit for Pelletization or Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) technology-based power projects and Rs 7.25/unit for projects using incineration technology. Sources said that GERC is yet to come out with the final order on the tariffs. As per the state government’s Waste to Energy Policy-2016, Gujarat has the potential to generate approximately 100 MW of power from solid waste. The potential has been assessed for 8 municipal corporations and 162 municipalities. Under the Waste to Energy Policy-2016, the policy is aimed at reducing pollution caused by untreated solid waste. Under the policy, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), such as municipal corporations, will provide land on lease at a token rate of Rs 1 to business entities who wish to set up their solid waste-based power generations units. Brett Connolly Authentic Jersey