India stares at oil deficit in 15 years, says IOCs director for refineries
India, a net exporter of oil products, may not have any surplus capacity in 15 years going by the current rate of consumption and planned expansion, said the chief of refineries at Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest refiner. “We are already not very much surplus. In 15 years, in spite of all planned steps, the country might be in deficit. But that should not worry us as we can import,” Sanjiv Singh, the company’s director for refineries, told ET. India has a capacity to refine 230 million tonne (mt) a year. Singh said this will rise to 300 mt by 2030 based on expansion of existing facilities. In addition, the government is assessing the feasibility of building a new, giant refinery of 60 mt on the west coast, which can significantly change the demandsupply situation once it is erected. The net export of petroleum products has declined in the past two years, falling to 32.3 mt last fiscal from 42.6 mt in the previous year. This trend, Singh points out, will magnify in the following years despite plans to augment the refining capacity. In 2015-16, consumption of petroleum products rose 11% to 183 mt against a production growth of just 4.5%. Of the total output of about 230 mt, a tenth is consumed by refineries internally with the balance made available for domestic consumption and exports. The demand for energy is expected to stay strong in an economy that is expanding at 7.6%, throwing up opportunities for refiners to expand. “Nothing is going to drastically change till 2030. Oil and gas consumption is going to grow even till 2040,” Singh said referring to the possible impact of renewable energy and electric cars on the demand for oil and gas. But he also added a note of caution: “If technology radically changes and our consumption reduces, the demand will come down”. “The crude market is very wide but the products are available only with a few companies,” said Singh, explaining why the country is better placed importing crude rather than refined products and it should aim to have enough refining capacity to meet local demand. The only disadvantage of adding refinery is the potential of environmental pollution, but “if we can control that, it would be great,” he said. The government recently set up a committee to prepare a report for enhancing state refinery capacity by 2040. The panel, comprising oil ministry officials and executives of state and private refiners, will assess primary energy mix of the country and demand for petroleum products by 2040 in its report to be submitted in three months. Indian Oil Corporation plans to add about 20 mt in the next five years to take its capacity to 100 mt. Other state firms, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, too have major expansion plans. Justin Bailey Womens Jersey
Roads sector prospects brighten with new project awards
The prospects for India’s roads sector have brightened with new project awards and fewer stranded assets, after delayed clearances and poor traffic held up projects for years and soured bank loans. Regulatory changes and greater government spending have helped revive the sector, multiple sector analysts and companies said. According to a 3 July Deutsche Bank report, the number of stressed projects in the roads sector is now down to just 19 from 384 in 2014. Faster clearances and dispute resolution, last mile funding and easier exits for companies are among steps taken by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to help the sector since it came to power in May 2014, Deutsche Bank analysts said. In recent quarters, traffic has grown 6-9% across road projects, according to numbers reported by firms, a positive sign for the sector at a time large and debt-laden conglomerates are looking to sell assets have skipped bidding for new projects. “Increasing spending on infrastructure through reviving targeted public spends has been one of the core pillars of the Modi administration’s economic strategy. While there was initial skepticism on the success of this strategy, the progress—particularly in the power, coal, road and railway sectors—is now becoming visible and has also started showing tangible results,” the Deutsche Bank report said. The centre has spent about Rs.71,700 crore on roads and highways over the past two years, 70% more than the average annual spend of Rs.21,100 crore in fiscal 2013 and 2014. The total value of infrastructure projects awarded in fiscal 2016 is also up sharply by 28.3% to Rs.3.5 trillion—the highest in the past five years—led by roads and water, according to a 23 June report by Dolat Capital. “The Indian construction and infrastructure sector offers massive investment opportunities to the tune of about Rs.28.2 trillion in coming years. Of this, power, road and railways account for 81.7%. Moreover, the government will lead this uptick in investments with a 67% share and the private sector contributing the rest 33%,” the report said. The government has cleared several project proposals and offered a one-time capital infusion to revive those short of money. It plans to award 25,000km of road projects in 2016-17, compared with the 10,000km awarded in 2015-16. In January, it approved a so-called hybrid annuity model, where it commits up to 40% of the project cost. R. Shankar Raman, chief financial officer at Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T), the country’s largest engineering and construction firm, said these attempts are beginning to show results, but that the sector is only at the second stage of a full investment cycle revival. “There has been an attempt to revive the sector and I think today all that we see is the results of those efforts. It’s too early to conclude the sector has revived because the stranded assets and NPAs (non-performing assets) have still not got off the books of banks. With traffic improving and regulatory conditions becoming easier, maybe they have a better chance of turning around,” Raman said. Vinayak Chatterjee, chairman at consulting firm Feedback Infra Pvt. Ltd, says it takes at least 20 months for any government action to show results. “At a macro level, my theory is very simple—that the NDA government settled down around September 2014. From that day, the time theory of impact of public investments of 20 months is proving itself true, because all indicators across cement, steel, construction equipment, toll collection, freight movement and roads are showing an uptick,” he said. India has the world’s second largest road network, with about 4.8 million km, but national and state highways constitute a small percentage of that network. Only 24% of the national highways have four lanes or higher, indicating opportunities for expansion. Easier rules to exit projects have also helped, with at least five deals worth Rs.2,070 crore transacted in fiscal 2016 (see chart). Reforms in roads, construction and mining will have a lasting impact on the business environment of the sector and in kick-starting a new wave of capex cycle, Antique Stock Broking analysts Dhaval Patel and Rahul Modi wrote in a 28 June report. “Assuming GDP (gross domestic product) growth at 8%, investment in infrastructure can be expected to increase to Rs.76 trillion over the next five years (from an estimate of Rs.11.3 trillion in the current fiscal) assuming an increase in construction spend to 9% of GDP which provides significant opportunity for industry players,” they wrote. Investment in projects under implementation across sectors slowed during the quarter of fiscal 2017 with stalled projects at an all-time high, according to a recent report on India by Standard Chartered. While the stock of stalled government projects seems to have peaked at around Rs.2.8 trillion in the first half of fiscal 2016, stalled projects in the private sector continue to increase. About 56% of total stalled projects are in the electricity and metals sectors, and private sector investment at this point remains muted. Cole Bardreau Authentic Jersey
1,446 km long roads to be completed before March 2018
Raipur Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh has directed for completion of under construction roads in Chhattisgarh including those in Left Wing Extremist affected areas by March 2018. Dr Singh, who was chairing a review meeting of Public Works Department in Mantralaya, directed for timely completion of roads while also ensuring plantation on both sides. He directed the officials to monitor the Cement Concrete road between Kawardha and Chilfi as the road is being built using modern technology. The same technology may well be used in cement concrete roads in limits of municipal councils and municipal corporations. In the meeting, Dr Singh gave the target of completion of 100 kilometers road construction every month. It was informed in the meeting that a total of 1,446.65 kilometers of roads is under construction worth Rs 9264 crores. Arang-Saraipali (21.6 kms), Raipur-Bilaspur (126.5 kms), eight roads under NHDP are included in the package. Rs 656.48 crores worth four road works totaling 186.8 kms in all are also under construction in left wing extremism affected areas. Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat, Additional Chief Secretary N Baijendra Kumar, PWD Principal Secretary Amitabh Jain, Aman Singh, Principal Secretary to Housing and Environment department along with other officials were present in the meeting. Daniel Pribyl Authentic Jersey
Busy days for Highway Research Institute as high-rises shoot up
INCREASE in the number of high-rises in Thiruvananthapuram has benefited Kerala Highway Research Institute, which makes most of its revenue as a consultant in construction quality. Set up in 1972 at Kariavattom, the oldest research institute of Public Works Department is now the sought after lab for providing quality checking for various builders, road contracts and other government agencies. Buildings alone require 30-odd tests, ranging from soil, steel and concrete. The city has more than 250 high-rises and new constructions suggest that it is going upwards when it comes to living. “Many builders come to us because of specific demand from home buyers,” said Thrivikraman B S, Joint Director of the Institute. Besides builders, the Institute provides consultation for Power Grid, BSNL, VSSC, Airport, Army etc. With most tests costing less than Rs 1,000, the Institute has managed to generate a revenue of Rs 20 lakh a year. According to Thrivikraman, all PWD contracts will be passed only after a quality certificate from the Institute or from its regional labs in Ernakulam and Kozhikode. For such projects, cement properties, steel, sand, bricks, tiles, bitumen, aggregates of roads soil etc. are tested. The Institute also provides technical assistance for the Vigilance wing of PWD. It is also engaged in research work. “We are working on a readymade pothole patching mix using copper slag. The project has already been approved in Indian Roads Congress,” said an official of the Institute. According to her, the Institute has a staff of 40 against the sanctioned strength of 71 and has still a long way to go to get NABL accreditation for its laboratory. Cortez Kennedy Authentic Jersey
Nitin Gadkari to seek infra investment during his week-long US visit
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will invite investments in ports, ship building and coastal economics zones during his week long visit to the US. “Indo-US cooperation in the vital infrastructure sector will get a new impetus when (the minister) holds official talks with his counter-part US Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx in Washington tomorrow, on a wide range of projects of mutual interest”, an official statement said. The minister will be “particularly looking” for widening and deepening the scope of Indo-US cooperation in innovative technologies for improving highway development, road engineering, road safety and development of green fuels in automobile sector and electric vehicles, it said. During his interaction with the US captains of trade and industry and pioneers in the maritime sector, he will highlight investment opportunities in Indian maritime sector. He will invite US investments in building ports, port-led industrialization, coastal economic zones, construction of new berths/terminals in existing ports like JNPT, Mumbai and Kandla Ports, capital and maintenance dredging, mechanization, hinterland connectivity and evacuation infrastructure, ship building, ship repairing and ship recycling. India has envisaged USD 50-60 billion foreign investment for infrastructure. Another USD 100 billion is envisaged towards industrial development for port-led economic growth and inland waterways, water transport, coastal and cruise shipping and solar and wind energy generation to further boost the country’s growth momentum. The minister hopes to add two percentage points in India’s GDP through creating world-class infrastructure. At the US Department of Transportation, Gadkari will witness Modal Presentations by Federal Highway Administration, US Maritime Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During his visit to New York on the second leg of his visit, he will visit New York City State Transport Department to understand intelligent transport management, city traffic management and control centre and other technology-based transport solutions. In the commercial capital of the US, Gadkari will also have a series of interactions with investors at the meets organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, J P Morgan, Goldman Sachs and US Indian Business Council. “Some of these interactions will be a follow up of the deliberations at the Maritime India Summit in Mumbai where a large number of US companies had evinced keen interest in promoting bilateral cooperation with India in Maritime sector,” the statement said. Gadkari will invite US companies for technology cooperation in road and highway building, road engineering, innovations in automobile sector, road safety and green fuels. Gadkari will also visit St Louis to understand Inland Waterways System on world famous Mississippi River by undertaking a boat trip. On the next leg of his visit to San Francisco, he will have talks with senior officials from the California Transportation Agency, and departments of International Affairs and business development. He will also visit Tesla, manufacturers of electric cars, and hold a meeting with investors and interact with TiE Charter members over dinner. TiE is a global organisation of entrepreneurs with over 12,000 members. He will also have interactions with and visit Oracle and Bloom Energy. More than 150 projects were identified under the ambitious Sagarmala Programme at the recent Maritime India Summit in Mumbai. India has 7,500 km long coastline, 212 ports, 70 coastal districts, one billion tone cargo handling currently, 111 waterways and 90 per cent of export-import trade (by volume) handled at ports. Deadrin Senat Jersey
National Highways sells 10,000 tags for cashless payment
The sale of FASTag, which is a cashless payment mechanism on toll plazas on National Highways, crossed the 10,000-mark in June, said a release. The monthly transaction through Electronic Toll Collection during the month has crossed Rs. 1 crore. NHAI rolled out the cashless payment mechanism (FASTag) on toll plazas on National Highways on April 25. FASTag offers near non-stop movement of vehicles through user plazas and the convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter-operable Electronic Toll Collection Services. FASTag is operational on more than 335 toll plazas on National Highways across the country. A dedicated FASTag lane has been earmarked at 48 toll plazas on the Delhi–Mumbai and Mumbai-Chennai corridors. To facilitate purchase of FASTag by road users, Points of Sale (POS) on 23 toll plazas are available on these two corridors. In order to promote cashless payment through FASTag, Government has allowed NHAI to give a 10 per cent cash-back incentive on toll payments in financial year 2016-17 for FASTag users. The cash-back amount for a particular month is credited back to the FASTag account at the beginning of the next month. In addition, NHAI has decided to provide FASTag to existing monthly pass-holders by absorbing the one-time cost of their FASTags. NHAI aims to cross two lakh FASTags by the financial year-end and fix dedicated lanes for ETC/ FASTag on all national highways. Use of FASTag would increase user convenience from payments without stops at toll plazas, thus, saving on time, money and fuel. The online payments would improve transparency of toll transactions and reduce revenue leakages, thus, improving overall efficiency and commercial competitiveness. Javorius Allen Womens Jersey
NPCIL plans to generate 13,000 MWe power by 2023
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, which generates 5,780 MWe power through its 21 nuclear power plants, has planned to step up production to 13,000 MWe by 2023, Chairman and Managing Director, NPCIL, S.K. Sharma, has said. Speaking to reporters at Kudankulam after the second 1,000-MWe VVER reactor of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project attained criticality on Sunday night, Mr. Sharma said the NPCIL, which had a humble beginning, operated 21 nuclear power plants across the country. The KKNPP’s second reactor, on attaining criticality, had become NPCIL’s 22nd reactor, which would add another 1,000 MWe on reaching maximum generation capacity. Four more reactors were under construction — Rajasthan Atomic Power Project reactors 7 and 8 and Kakrapar Atomic Power Project reactors 3 and 4 and the KKNPP 3 and 4 would be completed within next 75 months. Mr. Sharma said site excavation for reactors 3 and 4 of KKNPP had been completed and the NPCIL was scouting for contractors with excellent track record for the construction of Rs. 39,000 crore-worth reactors. “The ‘first pouring of concrete’ for these two reactors will happen in April 2017. While the construction of the 3rd reactor will be completed within 69 months from the ‘first pouring of concrete’, the fourth reactor may consume another six months to become operational,” he informed. Rs. 3,000 cr. revenue He said KKNPP’s first reactor had so far generated 1,006 crore units and ensured a revenue of over Rs. 3,000 crore. “While power from the first reactor is being sold at the rate of Rs. 4 per unit, it will be Rs. 6.30 per unit when the third and fourth reactors become operational,” Mr. Sharma said. Site Director, KKNPP, R.S. Sundar said the second reactor would reach 240 MWe stage before 30 days and the quantum of power generation would be increased in several stages during which mandatory tests would be conducted. “The second reactor will reach its maximum generation capacity in 90 days from now,” Mr. Sundar said. Mike Singletary Jersey
Power tariff hike: FSA of Rs 1.40 per unit likely to be imposed in Haryana
Although, Haryana Discoms have proposed no direct tariff hike this year but consumers will have to pay additional fuel supply adjustment (FSA) charges of about Rs. 1.40 per unit on account of previous years pending dues and recent judgment of APTEL. Haryana Discoms have revised their annual revenue requirement (ARR) petitions after taking into account the implementation of UDAY scheme, which leads to changes in the projections of interest and finance charges for the Discoms, which had an impact on the revenue requirement of the Discoms. First tranche of UDAY bonds against 50 per cent of the debt of Discoms as on September 3, 2015 amounting to Rs 17,300 crore has been issued and the second tranche will be taken over by September end, towards 25 per cent of the debt amounting to Rs 8,650 crore. As per ARR, the total revised cash gap for Haryana Discoms for the year 2016-17 comes out to be Rs 4,106.87 crore. The Discoms have proposed no tariff increase and have submitted that cash gap is proposed to be funded through the operational funding requirements (OFR) allowed under UDAY scheme. However the cumulative gap is estimated at Rs 7,695 crore. APTEL, in its judgment dated 7th April has allowed certain generators like Adani Power, GMR Kamalganga, Sasan Power Ltd and CGPL recoveries on account of force majeure / change in law / date of commercial operation date (COD) etc. The above is expected to have an implication of Rs 1,240.90 crore on account of recovery of arrears pertaining to previous years and needs to be recovered therefore; the total net unrecovered is Rs 1,958.26 (1240.90+717.219) crore. The Discoms propose to recover this amount by the end of financial year at the rate of Rs 1.06 to Rs 1.27 per unit and government would give a relief of 25 paise per unit on this to the consumers. In addition to the above, it is proposed that the fuel supply arrears (FSA) of last two years and the current monthly impact of APTEL’s judgment will be met through the concurrent FSA @40 paise. The net revenue requirement has been projected as Rs 31,156 crore. The major component of this is power purchase. The total power purchase cost has been increased from 21,787 crore to 24,908 crore. The operation and maintenance expenses include employee’s salaries, terminal liability and administrative expenses. Even the loan liabilities of 50 per cent taken over by the state interest component are 2,893 crore. The total revenue receipt has been assessed as Rs 18,637 crore from sale of power at current rates, leaving a gap of Rs 12,518 crore. The government subsidy for cheap power will be Rs 6,800 crore. The net gap remains Rs 5,718 crore. The fuel supply adjustment charges at current rates will be Rs 3,205 crore. The provision of liability under APTEL judgment has been taken as Rs 1,291 crore, thus creating a net gap of Rs 4,106 crore which the Discoms have proposed to be funded through OFR. The proposed loss reduction from 33 per cent plus to 25 per cent plus will be a major challenge before the Discoms, as net power available for sale has been worked out on this assumption. Nicklas Backstrom Jersey
‘Cheaper electricity is not all that easy’
Pramod Deo, former Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is direct and forceful. He minces no words to put things in perspective. Business Line recently caught up with Deo on the sidelines of a training programme organised by the IPPAI Regulatory & Policy Research Institute in collaboration with the India Smart Grid Forum. He shared his views on a number of issues. Edited excerpts from the interview. The success of UDAY (Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) hinges on States undertaking regular tariff hikes, wherever required. But, according to ICRA, the average tariff hike for 2016-17 has been only 5 per cent. Does this suggest that we are off the UDAY track? In 2016-17, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal went to the polls. So, you could not have expected them to revise power tariffs. What matters is whether they do it next year. To expect that States would hike tariffs, particularly when they have such an event (elections), is like asking somebody to commit political suicide. For other States, getting their balance sheets in order and following yearly tariff hikes to reflect the full cost of running their business is important. The discoms have to also improve their efficiency, for which they will require network strengthening, which will mean incurring capital expenditure. This will finally add to the tariff in later years because the fixed cost gets built into your tariff. So, to say that tariffs will go down is difficult, unless you are talking only about commercial losses, which can be controlled and do not require any capital expenditure. But, the discoms are government-owned entities and have certain limitations. So, increasing the efficiency dramatically becomes difficult. The employees who are hand in glove with big consumers in pilferage have their own political links. What do you think of UDAY? UDAY gives the discoms an opportunity to clean up their balance sheets. There is talk that people will be getting cheaper electricity. But, that is not easy and it will be a long process because the coal linkages of power plants have to be reassigned. Only then will it be possible. Seventy to eighty per cent of the cost of power comes from fuel cost. What you need to see is the price line of all commodities and how power tariffs have moved relative to that. CRISIL had done a study a few years ago that showed that the price index of power tariffs is actually lagging behind the general price index. Also, certain performance improvement goals have been given to the state discoms. It is now for the State government to see that these goals, even if not fully achieved, are not lost sight of. Tariff hikes are a politically sensitive subject. Do the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) really have the power to take tariff decisions independent of political influence, if they so want to? SERCs are supposed to be independent. But, a lot also depends on how active consumer organisations are. A case will always be made out by the discoms (when they file a tariff petition with the SERC) on how justified their demand for a tariff hike is. But, it has to be critically examined and the consumer organisations can question this. Maharashtra, for instance, has very active and knowledgeable consumer organisations. But many States do not. The tariff petition filed by the discom must undergo proper technical scrutiny. Consumer organisations can play an important role here. Under the law, every regulatory commission has to appoint designated consumer representatives for their respective States. But, training these consumer bodies is a big challenge. So, the discoms have been asking for tariff hikes but the SERCs haven’t been approving them? The discoms make inflated demands knowing that these will be slashed by the SERCs. It should not be like that, it must be based on certain objective principles. The SERCs are under political pressure to not propose tariff increase for certain categories of consumers, such as agriculture, public drinking water schemes. If the State government does not give upfront subsidy committed by it, the regulator should go ahead with the proposed higher tariff. So, the SERCs work out the cost of power and the discoms are allowed to recover it either through tariff or subsidy? Normally, the regulation should be such that the SERC should not have to go to the government to check on whether the latter wants to give subsidy or not. The SERC should declare the tariff and then the government should decide what it wants to do (allow hiked tariffs or provide some subsidy in lieu of tariff hike). But, many States have regulations where the SERCs have to make a reference to the State government on this issue. That gives the government an opportunity to pressurise the regulatory commission. In the Tata Power and the Adani Power compensatory tariff case, the CERC and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) came out with completely different orders. Doesn’t this undermine their credibility? The regulators come out with speaking orders, that is they have to give the reason for their decision. Now, in the Tata-Adani case, APTEL accepted the plea of ‘force majeure’, whereas CERC’s logic was that there is no force majeure but there is a case for ‘mutually agreed compensatory tariff”. The argument given by APTEL is that nobody could have foreseen such upheaval in Indonesian coal prices (which affected the companies’ cost of power production). But APTEL rejected CERC’s power to grant compensatory tariff. Now, whether the arguments given by CERC or APTEL are correct or not shall only be decided by the Supreme Court. Actually, this should not reduce their credibility. Credibility gets reduced if your order is absurd. What is important is what logic has been used and whether that is plausible. There is a common thread in both the judgements — you cannot run a power plant making monthly losses. The reasons on the basis of which you are compensated can be different. Jason Sanders Jersey
Is India really power surplus?
According to a recent report by the Central Electricity Authority, the country is expected to become ‘power surplus’ in 2016-17. Data too show that the all-India ‘power deficit’ has been easing. From 8.7 per cent in 2012-13, the shortfall was down to 2.1 per cent in 2015-16. While this is good news, it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Powerless For, the numbers show the extent to which power supply falls short of the demand by those connected to the grid. ‘Connected’ is the word to watch. With nearly six crore rural households, comprising a third of rural households, not having an electricity connection, the reported numbers under-estimate the country’s real demand for electricity. Many urban households, too, have no electricity connection. Also, the supply of electricity to farmers (which is subsidised or free) is limited to few hours every day. It is these limited hours of supply that are taken into account while calculating the power requirement of agricultural customers to arrive at the overall deficit or surplus. “The deficit is only capturing the unmet demand of the people connected to the grid. However, people who are yet to be connected and those with poor supply quality are not being taken into account,” says Ashwini Chitnis, Senior Research Associate, Prayas (Energy Group), a not-for-profit organisation working in the energy sector. “In an absolute sense, by which I mean the availability of 24×7 power supply to all, we still have a deficit,” says VP Raja, former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission. The true picture is captured by India’s per capita electricity consumption: at 957 kWh (kilowatt hour) in 2013-14, it was less than one-third the world average of 3,104 kWh in 2013. Is there an improvement? The narrowing deficit does point to improving supplies and, therefore, reduced load-shedding for those with electricity connections. On the supply side, additional generation capacity, better availability of domestic coal and stronger transmission network have bumped up power availability. On the other hand, industrial slowdown and the strained finances of Discoms have curtailed demand. It’s still dark But for States where access to electricity is poor, the declining deficit that the Centre is harping about does not mean much. Take, for instance, Odisha, Mizoram and Tripura, which are expected to be power surplus in 2016-17 going by CEA data. But as of May 2016, the percentage of un-electrified rural households varied 22 and 52 per cent, with Odisha at the top end. With these States being largely rural, poor electricity access for rural households implies poor access for households, in general. “Since the potential electricity demand of these people does not get registered on the system, the deficit number is artificially low,” says Balawant Joshi, Founding Director, Idam Infrastructure Advisory, a power sector consultancy firm. It’s even worse for the significantly rural UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. As many as 87 per cent of rural households in Bihar, 70 per cent in UP and 63 per cent in Jharkhand have no electricity connection. Bright spots There are, however, some States such as Gujarat and Maharashtra where the access to power is almost universal and the deficit, according to the CEA, is also close to zero. Tamil Nadu is yet another State with almost universal access and a power deficit of 0.7 per cent in 2015-16. According to Joshi, the commissioning of the Tuticorin thermal power plant and the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the State has made a difference. Tommylee Lewis Authentic Jersey