Bills inflated as discom staff ‘fail to read meters’
Consumers have complained of having been issued ridiculously high power bills this cycle, which discom officials claim can be blamed on linemen’s ‘laziness’. Daskshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has said it has received complaints from consumers, most of which are in the new city, that their meter readings as per bills do not correspond with thier usage, and the amount hence calculated is inflated. “My bill for the month of June and July has come to be Rs 31,500 which is ridiculous given that both my wife and I are working and are out most day and both our kids go to school,” said Amit Agarwal, a resident of Malibu Towne, a township on Sohna Road. For some residents, a two- to three-fold jump has been recorded, without substantial change in consumption patterns. “My average daily consumption was 9-15 units between 26.9.2015 and 26.05.2016. It shot upto 35 units/day between 26.5.16 and 26.7.16 despite no change in usage pattern,” said Ram Mohan, also a resident of Malibu Towne. The residents approached their respective circle offices for an explanation, however, nothing came of it. Some were, in fact, told the bill has increased due to the increased usage of air conditioner this season due to humidity. Consumers have been left clueless by the the lack of communication from sub divisional offices. The residents, instead, argued that if that were the case, bills would have spiked proportionally across the city, instead of a selected few. “I agree summer months require more AC usage but the units consumed were beyond expected calculation. We all try to keep a slight record or check on our usage, and bills go up or down. However, so many consumers cannot be wrong about the same thing at the same time,” said Sardar Gurviner Singh, a resident of Sector 52. Officials at DHBVN claimed that the discrepency has taken place because of the laziness of their technical staff who is supposed to take readings. The said the linemen did not actually take readings out of ‘laziness’ and generated random readings averaging the previous months’ consumption. Consequentially the discom ended up generating random power bills basis the average consumption. “Our staff that is supposed to take the reading used to avoid going to the field and give a reading averaging the previous month’s bill which has caused a backlog of unpaid consumption,” said a senior DHBVN official. He added that department has now taken it up with their staff who will be now taking regular readings not causing such problems in the future. Adam Boqvist Jersey
Industry can return to Singur: Bengal Power Minister
Among the decade-old unused structures on the 997-acre abandoned Tata Motors plant site in Singur stands the transmission and distribution towers built by the West Bengal government to supply power to the proposed factory. Announcing the road map for implementing the Supreme Court order on giving physical possession of the land back to the villagers, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on September 1 that the power plant spread over 40 acres of land would have to be dismantled. At a time when work is going on in full swing for land-plotting on the site, the State’s Power Minister, Sobhandeb Chatterjee, said the power plant would be rebuilt in nearby areas, kindling fresh hopes of industry coming to Singur. “I have told officers that the machinery relating to the transmission towers should be carefully removed. We have discussed with district administration availability of land near the project area,” Mr. Chatterjee told The Hindu. “The stations are reusable, we have to make power stations in this area only,” he said, adding that Rs. 80 to 85 crore had been spent building this power infrastructure. The Power Minister is among those senior Trinamool Congress leaders who did not rule out industry returning to Singur. “If the people of Singur want industry and they tell that to the Chief Minister, industry will be set up here. It was for the people that she [Mamata Banerjee] fought such a long battle,” Mr. Chatterjee said. Since the Supreme Court verdict of August 31, at least one State Minister is visiting the site every day to take stock of the work. Garret Sparks Womens Jersey
‘APEPDCL aims to provide uninterrupted power supply’
Mudavatu M Nayak, chairman and managing director of Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL), has several plans up his sleeves to transform APEPDCL into one of the best discoms in the country. A graduate in mechanical engineering from Andhra University, Nayak joined the Indian Administrative Service in August, 2005. Before he took over as the CMD of the APEPDCL in July, Nayak served as the district collector of Vizianagaram. In an interview with V Kamalakara Rao of TOI, Nayak speaks about his plans to develop APEPDCL and protect the interests of its over 50 lakh consumers. What’s the current status of the APEPDCL? We have reduced the transmission and distribution losses. The sale of meters is up by 84%. We have strengthened the network system. It has surplus power, and ranks among the best discoms in the country. However, there is a gap between the consumer and the service provider. We will reduce this gap. The services will be streamlined. The toll free number 1912 will be strengthened. A dedicated ADE-level officer was appointed to handle consumer grievances. There are interruptions in power supply. This is due to maintenance of power lines. What are your plans to reduce interruptions in power supply? The discom has installed equipment to prevent interruptions in power supply. We identify outage feeder on a real time basis to improve power supply. We have also planned to replace the existing ordinary conductors by advanced imported covered conductors. It will reduce power supply interruptions. We will implement this on a pilot basis in Visakhapatnam. Are the applications for new connections cleared promptly? Yes. I noticed several applications for new connections pending with us. We are now attending to them. Some of the applications were kept pending for technical reasons. What is your main objective? My plan is to see all APEPDCL consumers get uninterrupted and quality power supply. We will achieve this. What are the core areas before you? The core areas are better services to consumers, strengthening of power supply network and infrastructure and improving the quality of our staff. Are any new ventures or projects coming up soon? We have planned to install 146 sub-stations in next 18 months. This will reduce voltage fluctuation and power interruptions. We have proposed indoor sub-stations in urban areas including Visakhapatnam and outdoor sub-stations in rural areas. Infrared meters will also be installed in next three months. Are there any information technology-enabled projects? Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is being planned in sub-stations. It works on IT. Smart grids and smart meters are also planned. We will install smart meters in 1,000 houses on pilot basis. Remote-operated agricultural pump sets are also part of our plan. Do you have any ‘outsourcing’ plans? We will extend all our services through Mee-Seva centres. Consumers need not approach us for any service. They can go to the nearest Mee-Seva centre. This will reduce the burden on our staff. It will also help the consumers. We are also planning to launch a pilot programme of door-to-door collection of electricity bills at Rajam town in Srikakulam district. We are planning to use the Kaizala App, which helped government officials for group communication during the Krishna Pushkaram. The Kaizala App can help my staff too. Any plans to use social-networking platforms? Presently, we are not on Facebook and Twitter. We will explore these platforms too. What is present status of underground power supply network project for Vizag city? We will shortly go for tenders for the first phase of the project aided by the World Bank. What steps do you plan to take to check corruption? Corruption prevails everywhere. I hope the IT-enabled smart systems and awareness among the consumers about the ill effects of bribe will bring down corruption. We take action whenever we receive complaints from consumers. Tommy McDonald Authentic Jersey
Rural households still bereft of electricity: Report
Nearly 35 per cent of rural households across the country are still bereft of electricity mainly due to lack of effective monitoring and co-ordination between the Centre and state governments, a recent report has said. “Access to electricity is a key socio-economic development indicator – an area where there is still a significant gap in India. As of May 2016, 35 per cent of rural households are bereft of electricity with sharp variation across the country,” as per a study by financial services firm JM Financial. While 87 and 71 per cent household in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, have no reported access, there is universal electricity access in states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, it added. “As electricity is a concurrent subject, lack of effective monitoring and co-ordination can be attributed to the wide variance across states,” the brokerage firm noted. It pointed out that there has been a delay in execution of projects and was evident from the low actual spend in past programmes. By May 2016, only 25 per cent of the 12th Plan’s amount allocated to rural electrification programme has been spent and 81 per cent for the 10th-11th Plan has been spent. The Narendra Modi government has launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) as the flagship rural electrification programme. “DDUGJY incorporates real-time monitoring of work progress, independent verifications through Gram Vidyut Abhiyanta (GVA) engineers and is likely to see improved execution,” the firm said. As per the report, rural electrification, along with the urban T&D development plan, is expected to drive massive spending of Rs 1.6 trillion (USD 24 billion) over FY16-22; benefiting companies across the electricity chain. According to the study, five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Assam, account for 80 per cent of un-electrified households. These states account for 38 per cent of total population, are economically weaker (GDP/capita at 55 per cent of the national average) and also have inferior power generation infrastructure (18 per cent of national installed power capacity). “However, due to the way village electrification is currently defined, even Bihar and UP report 98 per cent of villages as electrified, even though only 13 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, of rural households have electricity access in these states,” it said. JM Financial, therefore, noted that the criteria for declaring a village as electrified should be relooked and focus should be on monitoring household electrification more than village electrification. Steve McNair Womens Jersey
Over 15.45 crore LED bulbs distributed so far under UJALA scheme: Govt
As many as 5.15 crore households in India have so far used over 15.45 crore LED bulbs under the Unnat Jyoti Affordable LED programme, a government release said. “UJALA is the world’s largest Light Emitting Diode (LED) programme for the residential sector. The initiative is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) a public sector undertaking of Ministry of Power,” the release said. The scheme is presently operational in 18 states and four union territories. EESL will roll out the scheme in West Bengal and North Eastern states in the coming days. In the remaining states and union territories, the decision to roll out the scheme is pending with the respective state governments. Under the UJALA scheme, consumers can avail these LED bulbs at an upfront cost and can save nearly Rs. 336 every year on their electricity bills per LED bulb, making the bulbs free to the user in just 3 months. The government has a target of replacing all the 77 crore inefficient bulbs in India with LEDs. This will result in reduction of 20,000 MW load, energy savings of 100 billion kWh and Green House Gas (GHG) reduction of 80 million tonnes every year. Adrian Wilson Authentic Jersey
Tangedco to join central scheme for power distributors
After much dithering, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has decided to join the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (Uday) scheme of the Central government. A team from the state led by power minister P Thangamani will soon meet Union power minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the modalities for joining the Centre’s flagship scheme for power discoms across the country. March 2017 has been fixed as the deadline for the states to join the scheme, and 15 states have already joined the scheme. Tamil Nadu has been reluctant to join Uday, as it would be mandatory for the states to revise power tariff every quarter under the scheme. The state has also been pushing the Centre to allow it to cross the fiscal deficit limit of 3% of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) to enable it to absorb Tangedco’s debt of 80,000 crore. Once the loss-making discom joins the Uday scheme, the company’s overall debt and amount apportioned to service the interest component will come down. Though Tamil Nadu has been reluctant to join the scheme, Goyal wanted Tangedco to join the scheme, and finally, according to sources, the deal was clinched when he met chief minister J Jayalalithaa last July. Carson Tinker Jersey
India, Canada hold third round of energy dialogue in Delhi
The third round of the India-Canada joint energy dialogue was held here on Thursday in the context of both nations seeking to expand co-operation in the sector, the government said on Thursday. “Received Energy Minister of Canada Mr Jim Carr for the 3rd India-Canada Energy Dialogue in New Delhi,” Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a tweet. Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Carr is leading a high-level business delegation to India from September 7 to 9, which includes representatives from Canadian natural resources and tecnology firms. He is the first Canadian minister to visit India after the formation of the Justin Trudeau government there. “This is the 1st Ministerial Visit 4m Canada after the new Govt has taken charge;Discussed whole range of issues to further energy cooperation,” Pradhan said in another tweet. India and Canada signed an agreement last year for the latter to supply uranium for five years to fuel Indian nuclear power plants. “Both sides agreed to define a clear roadmap of actionable areas of joint collaboration in a time bound manner,” Pradhan said in a separate tweet. Carr on Wednesday delivered the keynote address at Renewable Energy India Expo at Greater Noida, where he emphasised his country’s commitment to clean energy and innovation. “IOC (Indian Oil Corp) along with its partners has 10% stake in Pacific North West LNG Project & is expected to offload 1.34 MT of LNG once it gets operational,” Pradhan added, referring to Indo-Canadian cooperation in the area of natural gas. Jean Segura Womens Jersey
ONGC denies prior knowledge of link with RIL gas field
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had no prior knowledge of its KG Basin reservoir being connected with that of Reliance’s before 2013, its chairman DK Sarraf has said, disputing an official committee finding. But the state-run company is happy that the panel confirmed the flow of gas to RIL’s adjoining field, he said. Talking to reporters on Thursday, Sarraf alleged that the staterun firm’s submissions were not reflected in the final report of A P Shah, the retired chief justice of Delhi High Court tasked with studying the gas dispute between ONGC and Reliance Industries (RIL) after the state-run company accused RIL of pumping out natural gas from its adjacent field in KG Basin. The recently submitted report said RIL and ONGC probably knew for long about their reservoirs being connected but didn’t bring it to the notice of the regulator on time. “We had no knowledge of this earlier. And as soon as ONGC came to know of this, it took effective action in 2013. Whatever submissions we had made to the Shah committee, there is no mention of that (in the report). We do not know what is the reason for that. And why there is no mention of our submissions. But conclusion did appear in the Shah committee report,” Sarraf told a news conference in the company’s first response to the Shah Panel findings. The panel found that gas had indeed migrated from ONGC’s fields to the adjoining field of Reliance and that the latter had produced it, leaving the reservoir depleted with no scope for development. The panel said that RIL made unjust gains from this. “We had said about two years back that we apprehend that some portion of natural gas has flown from our fields to the fields of Reliance adjacent to us. It was a very tough statement to be made… But we are happy to report that our apprehension has been confirmed by the committee,” Sarraf said. The panel has also said that the government alone can claim compensation for the gas that Reliance had pumped out, not ONGC, pointing out that the latter failed to develop its field for years. “Whether we get paid for that or government of India will be paid for that is a subsequent thing, which would need to be addressed by various stakeholders,” Sarraf said without commenting on the next course of action or whether ONGC would approach the court for this. Two years back, ONGC approached the Delhi High Court alleging Reliance Industries was illegally pumping out gas from the adjacent fields of the state firm. Following this, the two firms appointed a US-based technical consultant to study the data to find out if it was correct. The court ordered the government to help resolve the dispute within six months of the submission of the consultant’s report. The Shah panel was set up to study the consultant report and quantify any unjust gains made by Reliance Industries. The panel in its report, however, said the oil ministry itself should determine the amount of compensation because the panel had technical limitations. RILhas not reacted officially to the report but had maintained in the past that it had drilled strictly within its own block and had done so with full knowledge of relevant authorities. Natrell Jamerson Womens Jersey
Cheap oil propels RIL to 8th top global oil company
Powered by low oil prices and rising refining margins, India’s Reliance Industries has leapfrogged to rank 8th among 250 global energy companies in the latest survey released by Platts. In the same list state-owned Indian Oil Corporation ranked 14th. Reliance Industries has been ranked 8th among top 10 global oil companies in ‘Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings 2016’, up from 14th last year, while state-owned Indian Oil Corporation jumped to 14th from 66th last year and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation bettered its ranking to 48th from 133rd last year. Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd, the country’s top oil explorer, however, slipped to 20th position this year from 17th a year ago, on the back of low oil prices. “The ranking reflected the oil market’s biggest price collapse in nearly three decades, a resulting re-drawing of the lines in the fuels mix and the successes of energy players less exposed to the price rout triggered by OPEC’s defence of its global oil market prominence,” it said. The Platts Top 250 Global Energy Companies 2016 ranks publicly traded energy companies with assets above $5 billion based on a combination of asset value, revenue, profit and return on invested capital (ROIC) for 2015 (January-December) fiscal year. “India was also the only prominent country for coal demand, boosting Coal India’s standing in the world energy companies,” it added. “Strong performance of the coal industry enabled the largest pure coal mining company in the world, Coal India, to hold its place at 38th in the top 250 ranks. Consumption rose nearly 5 per cent, regaining its share as the dominant fuel in the energy mix at 56 per cent, Platts said. Adani Power Ltd, an independent power producer was ranked 250th. With a 3-year compound growth rate of 54.9 per cent the company is the fastest growing energy company in Asia-Pacific and the second fastest in the world. Elandon Roberts Womens Jersey
ONGC in talks to acquire stake in GSPC gas field
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is in talks with Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) for acquiring a stake in its gas field in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, ONGC chairman and managing director, D.K. Sarraf said. “We have been talking to GSPC for acquiring a certain percentage stake in their field… some technical studies have been done on the field since it’s a difficult field and the investment is high,” Sarraf told reporters after an annual general meeting of ONGC in the capital. ONGC, the country’s flagship public sector oil and gas explorer, has appointed Ryder Scott as a technical consultant for evaluation of the GSPC’s assets and Sarraf said that the evaluation is currently underway. GSPC owns an 80 per cent participating interest in the KG Basin block while Jubilant and Geo Global Resources have 10 per cent each. Heavy investments in the block had driven GSPC’s debt to Rs.197 billion by the end of March 2015. No objection Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had recently said that the government would have no objection if ONGC and GSPC reached an understanding on a stake sale. Sarraf expressed surprise that the Justice A.P. Shah committee report, which has confirmed the PSU firm’s apprehension that gas had flown from its gas block in the KG basin to an adjoining block owned by Reliance Industries (RIL), implies that ONGC was aware of the problem earlier but remained silent till 2013. “The A.P. Shah Committee has confirmed that gas has flown from our field to Reliance Industries’ field and a significant portion has already been produced. Many consequences follow out of that, including whether we get paid or the government of India should get paid (for unjust enrichment),” the ONGC chief said. “We told the committee we had no knowledge of this earlier. It was a very tough statement to make when we raised our apprehensions (but) as soon as we got to know, we took action in 2013 by approaching regulatory authorities,” Sarraf said, adding that the strong submissions on this aspect made to the committee have not been mentioned in the report. “It seems there is no mention of our submission on this in the report and I don’t know the reason why that’s not part of the report,” he said. The committee’s report, submitted on August 31, noted that Reliance should pay the government for unjust enrichment by drawing gas from an adjacent block, but also recorded an RIL charge that ONGC knew of the connectivity issue way back in 2007. When asked if ONGC was confident of getting the government’s support in its dispute with Reliance, given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image was used in an ad for Reliance’s new telecom business soon after Pradhan committed to act on the A.P. Shah report, Sarraf said the two issues are unrelated. Centre unbiased “The current government is acting without any bias for public or private sector players. This is my firm belief. That the government itself appointed a committee to look into the matter confirms it means business,” Sarraf said. Mark McGwire Womens Jersey