Infrastructure: As far as private power producers are concerned, no light at the end of the tunnel
With around 45,000 MW of power capacity running at sub-60% Plant Load Factor (PLF), servicing their staggering debt of `1.9 trn has become a challenge for India’s thermal power producers. To make matters worse, state discoms have been unwilling to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private producers, opting for central and state power utilities instead. The PLF of the private sector’s coal-based plants fell to 56.45% in the ten months to January 2017 from 83.9% in FY10, as per data available with the Central Electricity Authority. The figure stood at 62.60% in January 2016. The authority estimates that another 50,000 MW capacity would get commissioned over the FY18-22 period. The central and state utilities would account for 50% of this capacity and the private sector for 40%. Unfortunately, things are unlikely to get any better in the near future. “As the short-term power prices are likely to remain benign and discoms are unwilling to sign PPAs, capacities are unlikely to see an increase in PLF going forward,” Salil Garg, Director Corporate at India Ratings, says. An analysis of the financials of power producers like GMR Infrastructure, GVK Power & Infrastructure, Lanco Infratech, KSK Energy, and Jindal India Power Ltd reveals the state of affairs as far as private power producers are concerned. GMR Infrastructure suffered a loss of `381 crore in the third quarter of FY17 compared with a profit of `40 crore a year ago. Two of its coal-based power plants—GMR Warora Energy Venture Ltd and GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd—registered an accumulated loss of `3,022 crore as of December 31, 2016. GMR Chhattisgarh Energy, another subsidiary, saw lenders taking control of the project in February by converting `2,992 crore of the `8,800 crore debt into equity. Lanco Infratech, an infrastructure-cum-power company, incurred a loss of `813 crore for the third quarter ended Dec 31 compared with a profit of `35.19 crore a year ago. The earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for its power segment dropped 47.24% to `232.10 crore and the revenues fell around 20% to `1,190 crore. The company is looking at options to sell its operational assets. As for GVK Power & Infrastructure, it incurred a net loss of `71 lakh in Q3, compared to a loss of `6.80 crore a year ago. For its single coal-based power plant in the Taran Taran district of Punjab, the company is facing fuel supply issues. Another Hyderabad-based power producer, KSK Energy Ltd, saw its losses growing to `17 crore in the third quarter from `14 crore a year ago. The company is believed to be in talks with lenders to refinance its Mahanadi project debt—`11,691 crore of the total `19,000 crore—under the 5/25 scheme of the Reserve Bank of India. The fall in tariffs in solar and wind segments has compounded problems for thermal power producers. “The drop in tariff for solar projects to `2.97 per unit in the latest bidding in Madhya Pradesh and the levellised tariff of `3.34 per unit would be an additional burden for conventional power generators, as their cost of production has gone up due to cost overruns on fuel supply and environmental clearances,” an analyst with a Mumbai-based foreign brokerage says. The renewable segment is likely to see consolidation going ahead as the government’s target of attaining 175,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 approaches closer, he adds. As much as 15,000 MW of solar and 9,000 MW of wind capacity creation is likely to be targetted in the new financial year (FY18). Maurice Cheeks Womens Jersey
Hot weather powers IEX volumes to all-time high; average trade price rises to Rs 3 kwh
The current heat wave conditions in North, West, and Central India has taken the trade volumes on the Indian Energy Exchange to an all- time high as discoms across states are resorting to the spot market to meet shortfalls, a senior exchange official told FE. The total volumes traded on the IEX has increased to 147 million units (MU) per day in the last five days as against an average of 120 MU per day earlier, Rajesh Kumar Mediratta, director Business Development at IEX told FE on Friday. “This time summer like conditions have come at least 15 days early. Last year we saw similar conditions in April. The average traded price has also increased to `3 per kwh compared with `2.20 to `2.40 in January-February,” Mediratta said. States like Gujarat and West Bengal are buying in large quantities of spot-market power, both to support shortages due to heat wave conditions and also to meet the shortfall due to shutdown of plants. Gujarat and West Bengal are at present buying around 1000 MW each from the exchange, while Maharashtra, and Southern States of Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are buying between 100-200 MW of electricity. Erratic temperature transition might also explain the sudden surge in exchange prices. The sudden change in temperatures has led to abrupt surge in electricity consumption. Temperature during the last week of March was 4-6 degrees above normal, constituting heat wave conditions in many areas of the country. The rise in consumption from government policies has also brought a lot of people into the electricity grid, leading to surge in power demand especially in the summer. Sambitosh Mohapatra, partner, energy and utilities at PwC told FE that the state discoms reaping the benefits of the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (Uday) scheme are partly responsible for the increase in spot electricity trading from the energy exchanges. Discoms across the participating states have saved `11,989 crore in interest costs till December 2016 after joining the scheme. Better liquidity has improved their ability to procure power. Off late, state discoms were signing long term power purchase agreements (PPAs) at a much lower rate. The power generators without any PPAs from the states would gain from the surge in spot market prices. That would indirectly benefit the banks and the financial institutions who funded these projects, as surge in spot market trade might help some power plants become operating assets from NPAs. Some analysts believe that thermal capacity of around 8,100 MW in North India was lying idle due to feasibility factor. These may come on-stream as demand for power surges in the coming months. “This would keep the increase in price on IEX under check,” said analysts. This is the first summer when the Indian power infrastructure is witnessing the combined effect of all these phenomena. The power ministry on Friday took a review of power supply position, and preparedness of various power utilities during the forthcoming summer. It noted that peak demand during the summer is expected to be of the order of 165 GW. “We see atleast 10% increase in solar power generation during the year if the trend continues in April,” said Gangadhar Rao, an independent solar power consultant based out of Bengaluru. However, Mytrah Energy, a developer of solar and wind energy plants, has a different outlook. The company noted that solar generation tends to be a little lower in summer as the heat affects the performance of the modules. Vita Vea Authentic Jersey
Renewable India ~ Green Revolution 2.0
Imagine a world where you wake up in a smart green home and go to school in a self-driving electric vehicle to another smart green building. Meanwhile at home, the washing machine automatically turns on when the electricity prices are at the lowest point during the day and turns off when the prices are high. The light bulbs, air conditioner, refrigerator, and any electrical device in your house can be turned on or off from your phone with an app and can be set to operate at the most efficient setting. The house is powered by solar panels on the roof and there is a battery system which gets charged so that the power consumed from the electric grid is minimised at night when no solar power is available. You can also use the battery system to charge your electric vehicle. You can make money when you are not using your electric car by selling power from your electric car to the grid when electricity prices are high. All of this is not in the distant future but is happening right now. The technology has been developed and is in the process of being commercialised and integrated to create smart, green cities. Types of renewable energy Energy efficiency and renewable energy generation are effective solutions to tackle climate change – an issue which affects all of us significantly. There are different types of renewable energy generation possible, of which, the most popular resources in India are wind, solar, hydro and biomass. Wind power is generated by converting air flow into electricity through turbines. Windmills have been in use for centuries to pump water and grind grain but they do not produce electricity. Solar power generation involves conversion of sunlight into electricity. This concept can be employed in calculators, lanterns and water pumps apart from large generating stations. Hydro power is obtained by harnessing the power of moving water in rivers by building dams or small canals to direct the flow of water through a turbine. Biomass is renewable organic waste which would be left in landfills or burned openly if not used. It may include scraps of wood, manure, forest debris and other organic wastes. Biomass is burned to heat water and the steam produced is channelled through turbines to generate electricity. India’s solar power potential is 5000 trillion kWh annually. That’s about 30 times the world’s annual energy needs. Advantages The advantages of renewable energy generation have been reiterated often: zero fuel cost and removing dependence on exhaustible supplies of fossil fuels, which keeps energy prices stable and carbon footprint low. Most importantly, it is environment friendly and leads to sustainable development. The reasons for lacklustre interest in renewable energy until recently can be attributed to relatively higher capital cost (cost in setting up the power plant), ambiguous or absent policies and regulations, inadequate accuracy in forecasting solar and wind output, lower efficiency of power conversion and lack of awareness. There were concerns that the electric grid cannot accommodate a large percentage of renewable resources. These concerns have been invalidated by countries like Germany, Denmark, Uruguay and Scotland which have successfully generated about forty percent or more of their electricity needs through renewable resources. India’s solar power generation quadrupled between 2014 and 2017. 175GW can power an additional 100 crore average Indian homes. Growth in India India’s renewable energy sector is growing at a fast pace. India accounts for 5.8 percent of the world’s total wind power generation and is the fourth largest producer of wind power in the world. By 2022, India plans to add 175 Gigawatt of renewable generation – which is almost 55 percent of the current installed capacity (meaning: the expected full-load output of a power plant). Renewable energy generation was close to 30 percent of the installed capacity as of July 2016, so there is a long way ahead. With Indian cities occupying almost half the spots in the list of most polluted places in the world, the government’s ambitious renewable energy target is justifiable. Your role As a developing country, India does have many challenges in implementing a large amount of renewable energy in the electricity grid. However, with rising pollution levels and increasing energy requirements India needs a focused approach at all levels to ensure that we reduce our carbon footprint. As citizens, we can participate in this process by utilizing LED lights, energy certified refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners, roof-top solar installations wherever possible and preventing wastage of electricity. Every unit of energy saved is energy generated. Be responsible, be smart and go green! Brian Sutter Authentic Jersey
Adequate Power Available To Meet Demand During The Summer of 2017, Union Power Ministry
There is no shortage of power and India’s generation resource is adequate to meet the country’s power demand during this summer season, provided states buy enough power which is available, senior power ministry officials said after a high level review on Friday. With rising temperatures, already at 4-6 degrees higher above normal during March, the Union Ministry of Power undertook a review of the power supply position in the country, especially the northern region, and preparedness of various power utilities during the forthcoming summer season. The meeting was chaired by Mr P.K. Pujari, Secretary, Power and attended by representatives from State Governments, India Meteorological Department (IMD), CEA, POSOCO, various Regional and State Load dispatch Centres (RLDCs/SLDCs). Based on IMD’s report, it was observed that temperatures would be above normal during the March–May 2017. IMD on 27th March 2017 had noted that the temperature during the last week of March was 4–6 degrees above normal, constituting heat wave conditions in many areas. During Friday’s meeting, the present prevailing power demand and the projections were reviewed for each state, region and an All India basis. It was observed that while the power demand in Northern Region would peak to the extent of 56 GW during April to Sep 2017 period, the demand in Southern region has already peaked to 42 GW while Western Region has touched 50 GW and expected to reduce to 46 GW between April–June. The All India peak demand during the summer is expected to be of the order of 165 GW. Officials said that it was noted in the meeting that generation resource was adequate during the period considering enough coal fired capacity available in the country. It was noted that the state utilities of Northern region are required to face the dust storm and thunderstorm related disturbances in the electricity grid during April–June period which often caused 6–7 GW reduction in load. They utilities were advised to coordinate generation reduction in such cases so that the disturbances in the grid are minimized. The State of Uttar Pradesh was advised to augment the intra state transmission systems expeditiously as the shortages reported by the State were primarily on account of lack of the necessary transmission & distribution infrastructure within the state. Principal Secretary, Energy, Government of Delhi informed that the transmission constraints within Delhi system is being resolved. However, there is a need to maintain generation in Badarpur TPS and ensure gas supply to the combined cycle gas stations within Delhi till then. Jammu & Kashmir was also advised undertake planned sub–transmission & distribution system within the state. Given that there is a fall in reservoir levels in Southern Region compared to last year, leading to 700 MU reduction in energy content as on date, the meeting note that certain states may experience constraints due to limitations in the transmission and distribution network at the intra-state level. To combat the same, the State utilities were advised to complete the transmission systems in the pipeline. Further, considering the past instances of transmission tower collapses, the state utilities were advised to keep Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS) ready. CEA would monitor the availability of ERS across different state utilities and transmission licensees. It was also decided that POSOCO and the SLDCs would work closely with IMD for getting tailor made forecasts/web based weather information for better planning and reliability of supply. Jaromir Jagr Womens Jersey
India’s Largest Power Producer NTPC Is Now A 50,000 Mega Watt Plus Entity
India has yet another reason to rejoice as its largest public sector power producer NTPC achieved a major milestone of becoming a 50,000 Mega Watt (MW) plus company. “Proud to announce that NTPC has crossed 50,000 MW of installed power generation capacity today. Another milestone towards 24X7 power for all,” Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power, RE, Coal and Mines Mr Piyush Goyal tweeted on Friday. Power ministry officials said that this milestone was achieved after the 500 MW capacity at NTPC’s Unchahar power plant at Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, was added to the grid. NTPC has been consistently commissioning a series of power projects including solar, wind, and thermal, which continues to be its mainstay portfolio. The company had recently commissioned a 55 MW of Bhadla Solar Power Project in Rajasthan after which, the installed capacity of Bhadla Solar Power project became 260 MW and that of NTPC’s solar power projects at 620 MW. NTPC has planned capacity addition of about 1,000 MW through renewable resources by 2017. Under implementation are projects including the 50 MW Solar PV at Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh, 260 MW Solar PV at Bhadla in Rajasthan, 250 MW Solar PV at Mandsar in Madhya Pradesh and 8 MW Small Hydro Projects. The total installed capacity of NTPC on standalone basis has become 43,532 MW and that of NTPC group after the Unchahar 500 MW unit, has become 50,498 MW. This includes 800 MW of hydro and 620 MW of solar energy. Various projects of NTPC with an aggregate capacity of over 20,000 MW are under implementation at 23 locations across the country. Jeff Locke Womens Jersey
India adds record wind power capacity of 5,400MW in 2016-17
India added a record wind power capacity of 5,400 MW in 2016-17, much more than the target of 4,000 MW it had set itself for the year, according to official data. The ministry of new and renewable energy said the previous best was 3,423 MW in 2015-16, and before that 3,197 MW in 2011-12. Of the new capacity, around 3,026 MW was added in March 2017 alone. With this, the country’s total wind capacity stands at around 32,177 MW. India’s renewable energy programme has accelerated rapidly in the past three years, starting with successful auctions of solar energy projects, which led to a sharp fall in tariffs. In the fiscal year that ended last week, the government has also launched several initiatives for the wind energy sector. These include introduction of bidding, steps to encourage wind-solar hybrid plants and new guidelines for the development of wind energy. Only nine states in the country have winds strong enough to generate power. Of these, Andhra Pradesh added the maximum capacity of 2,190 MW, or over 40% of the total capacity added. It was followed by Gujarat with 1,275 MW and Karnataka with 882 MW. In addition, Madhya Pradesh added 357 MW, Rajasthan 288 MW, Tamil Nadu 262 MW, Maharashtra 118 MW, Telangana 23 MW and Kerala 8 MW. Last year, Madhya Pradesh had added the maximum capacity of 1,291MW, followed by Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The wind energy sector saw a number of fresh initiatives in 2016-17, especially the holding of the first wind auction, which brought the wind tariff down to Rs 3.46 per kwH. Until then, the tariff, set by state power regulators, had varied between Rs 4 and Rs 6 per kwH in different states. Jake Butt Authentic Jersey
Government approves extension of mega power policy
The government on Friday approved the extension of mega power policy to benefit 24 plants of 30,000-mw capacity that are expected to get benefits of more than Rs 10,000 crore. The cabinet committee on economic affairs approved amendments to the mega policy and is is likely to extend term of power purchase agreements signing to enable these 24 plants to avail the benefits of mega status. The amendments also proposes to release bank guarantee in proportion to percentage of capacity for which long term PPA has been signed, an official statement said. While 11,000 mw of the capacity is commissioned, remaining is under construction. The policy will lead to lower tariff, affordable power for distribution companies, avoid potential stressed assets worth Rs. 1.5 lakh crore, the statement said. The mega status was provided to thermal plants of over 1000-mw and hydro plants of 700-mw. These plants however, had to fulfil provisions including 85% long-term PPAs. Having a mega status gave these plants various incentives including lower customs duty, exemption from excise duty and deemed export benefits. “Unfortunately, due to missteps and misgovernance of the UPA regime, the entire power sector was jeopardised. Many projects became stalled and caused stress on Bank balance sheets thereby limiting credit flow across the economy and affecting future investments,” the statement said. The policy was withdrawn for projects other than those already issued certificates before July, 2012 Tampa Bay Rays Womens Jersey
Mercury soaring, 2200 MW plant shut for maintenance in UP
The heat wave conditions in UP have brought the spotlight back on power shortage, accentuated by non-operational thermal power stations in the state. According to a latest report of UP State Load Dispatch Centre, power stations with a total installed capacity of over 2,200 MW remain shut even as mercury crosses a 40 degree Celsius-mark. The intense heat wave has also led to demand of 14,000 MW. The report shows that independent power producers (IPPs) comprising private sector and central sector power plants with around 1,750 MW installed capacity alone are shut for maintenance or have been closed down because of shortage of coal. And, they are expected to get fired up only by April-end or in the first week of May. The IPPs which are shut include 660-MW Bara, 300-MW Rosa, 110-MW Tanda, 660-MW Lalitpur and 200-MW Singrauli. While Bara has been closed till April 9 on account of coal shortage, the Lalitpur plant will remain closed till May 1 for maintenance work. The Rosa, Tanda and Singruali units, too, have been shut for annual over-hauling, an exercise which spans over a period of at least 30 days. In fact, the Singrauli plant, owned by NTPC, is scheduled to resume working only from May 3. Likewise, among the state sector power plants which remain shut for maintenance are a unit each of 50 MW, 94 MW and 200 MW in Obra, one 60-MW unit in Harduaganj and a 110-MW unit in Parichha. This way, the state sector power plants of over 500 MW remain shut for maintenance. The demand for power in UP has touched 14,000 MW. This is being somehow met with the help of centrally allocated quota. The report shows that against a quota of 4,943 MW, UP was getting over 5,200 MW of power from the central quota. On the other hand, the state-owned power plants wheeled in 4,250 MW of power, while another 750 MW of power was supplied by the co-gen companies (sugar mills). According to the supply chart of UPPPCL, urban areas and rural areas are scheduled to get 24 hours and 18 hours of power supply respectively. Power sector experts said the rise in day and night time temperatures will test the distribution and the transmission network of the state in the days to come. Scott Simonson Jersey
Kerala, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh join UDAY scheme
The state governments of Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh today joined the Union Government’s discom debt relief scheme, Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna. With the addition of these states, the total number of states under the UDAY scheme has reached 26. The scheme mandates that 75 per cent of the discom debt be taken over by the State Government and bonds be issued against them. The lowering of discom debt has been accentuated by the growing power generation. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Power, India became net exporter of electricity for the first time. According to the statement, “During the current year 2016-17 (April to February 2017), India has exported around 5,798 million units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar which is 213 million units more than the import of around 5,585 million units from Bhutan. Exports to Nepal and Bangladesh increased 2.5 and 2.8 times, respectively in the last three years.” Ever since the cross-border trade of electricity started in mid-eighties, India has been importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal in radial mode at 33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. On an average, Bhutan has been supplying around 5,000-5,500 million units to India. The government also said that India has also been exporting around 190 MW power to Nepal over 12 cross-border interconnections at 11kV, 33kV and 132 kV level. Export of power to Nepal further increased by around 145 MW with the commissioning of Muzaffarpur (India)-Dhalkhebar(Nepal) 400kV line (being operated at 132 kV) in 2016. Export of power to Bangladesh from India got further boost with the commissioning of 1st cross-border interconnection between Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh at 400kV in September 2013. It was further augmented by the commissioning of 2nd cross-border interconnection between Surjyamaninagar (Tripura) in India and South Comilla in Bangladesh. At present, around 600 MW power is being exported to Bangladesh. Export of power to Nepal is expected to increase by around 145 MW shortly over 132 kV Katiya (Bihar)-Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar)-Parwanipur (Nepal). Austin Czarnik Authentic Jersey
‘CCEA may amend Mega Power Policy to push 31 GW projects’
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is likely to approve tomorrow the amendments in the Mega Power Policy to push 31 GW stuck projects entailing an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Besides, the initiative is aimed at bringing down the power tariff for making electricity more affordable for domestic as well as industrial and commercial consumers. “The proposal to amend the Mega Power Policy for giving a boost to stuck coal and gas based power projects totalling 31GW capacities is listed for consideration and approval on the CCEA agenda for the meeting scheduled on March 29, 2017,” a source said. The source said that out of these stuck project which have not imported or not inked power purchase agreement would get extra time to seek various benefits under the policy. The source further said that all those plant which have already imported the equipment would get additional 60 months for inking power purchase agreements with discoms/states. The source also said that that an additional time period of 120 months would be provided to those project for which equipment has not been imported, under the policy for seeking various benefits. This relaxation in time frame would help all of these 31GW capacities to unlock total various benefit of over Rs 10,000 crore under the policy as they would get incentives ranging from Rs 30-40 lakh per MW. These 31GW include around 3,300 MW of gas based thermal power generation capacities and the remaining projects are coal based. The Mega Power Policy was unveiled in 2009 with an objective to increase power availability, to boost overall growth of the country and also to ensure that consumers are reasonably charged for electricity supplied. The policy was later amended in 2014 mandating developers to tie up at least 65 percent of installed capacity/net capacity through competitive bidding and 35 per cent under regulated tariff of host state under long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with discoms/State designated agency to avail benefits under the policy. The amendment had provided this dispensation would be one time and limited to 15 projects which are located in the states having mandatory host state power tie up policy of PPAs under regulated tariff. The other amendment was for extension of the maximum time period to 60 months instead of 36 months from the date of import for provisional mega projects, for furnishing final mega certificates to tax authorities. The benefits under the policy include zero customs duty, deemed export benefits and income tax benefits. The mega power projects include an inter-state thermal power plant of a capacity of 700 MW or more, located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It also include projects with a capacity of 1,000 MW or more, located in states other than specified the policy. These projects also include an inter-state hydel power plant of a capacity of 350 MW or more, located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Besides, it also include an inter-state hydel power plant of a capacity of 500 MW or more, located in states other than specified in the policy. Tennessee Titans Authentic Jersey