Thermal power plants may get more time to meet emission norms
Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said the Environment Ministry is on board to consider extension of December 2017 deadline for coal-based thermal power plants to meet stricter emission norms. “I don’t want that we import equipment (to meet deadline for meeting emission norms). We realised after discussions that it would put more burden on the consumer and they will have to pay more for electricity,” Goyal told reporters at an NTPC conference here. He was responding to queries on Environment Ministry’s tougher norms for power plants relating to consumption of water, particulate matter, SO2, NOx and mercury. “We took up the issue with Environment Ministry. They agreed with us that deadline should be extended so that old polluting plants can be replaced with supercritical super efficient plants. This will reduce the pollution to just 10 per cent of the existing levels of these old plants,” he said. “The discussions are on to increase the deadline. I think it should be extended (beyond December 2017) because it should be done in a way so that the poor should not be affected,” the minister added. In December, 2015, the Environment Ministry had brought new norms for coal-based power stations to cut down emissions of particulate matter (PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and improve the ambient air quality around power plants. The ministry had for the first time fixed SOx and NOx norms for power stations and mandated that plants adhere to these guidelines by 2017. According to industry estimates, the cost for technical changes at these plants could be up to Rs 1.5 crore per megawatt. Besides, the domestic capacity to manufacture power equipment for the upgrade is not more than 15 GW a year, compared to demand of around 40 GW per annum for meeting SOx norms alone. The minister is of the view that instead of going for renovation and modernisation, the power plants should be replaced with latest energy efficiency and less polluting technology. He had also announced replacement of 11 GW of old power plants of NTPC at an investment of over Rs 50,000 crore in the next 3-4 years. Jihad Ward Authentic Jersey
Smart electrical grids prone to hacking: Study
Though technological advancements in smart electrical grid create improvements in monitoring, they also act as an entry point for hackers, researchers have revealed. Researchers from the Michigan Technological University said the reliability measures of electrical grid have risen to a new norm as they involve both physical security and cyber security. Threats can trigger instability, leading to blackouts and economic losses. “Ten years ago, cyber security simply didn’t exist — it wasn’t talked about and it wasn’t a problem. Now hackers can plan for a cyberattack that can cause larger power outages, people are starting to grasp the severity of the problem,” said Chee-Wooi Ten, Associate Professor at Michigan Technological University. Hackers target specific parts of the control network of power infrastructure and they focus on the mechanisms that control it. Automated systems control much of the grid from generation to transmission to use but without solid security measures, it also makes the systems vulnerable. According to Ten, the fundamental problem is a gap between physical equipment and intangible software. “With a better understanding of the system’s weaknesses, it’s easier to be strategic and shore up security risks. In the long run, improving regulations with specifics to match actual infrastructure needs and providing cyber security insurance will help,” Ten suggested in a the paper published in journal IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. Beau Allen Authentic Jersey
Standard formula for power data to end manipulation
The government will soon standardise ways to foolproof the power sector of data manipulation by states. Come April and all states will calculate commercial losses — gap between cost and revenue on a standardised formula — while the data on the power supply position and billing efficiency will be sourced directly from electricity feeders without manual intervention. This will limit the scope of data manipulation by states. Experts say such measures will help bring transparency to the power sector that grapples with mistrust on data provided by states. At present, state distribution companies calculate the gap between their average cost of supply and average revenue realisation based on their own formulae. A senior government official said states do not follow standard procedures in calculation of losses. While some states calculate losses on the basis of energy fed into the system, some do it on the basis of energy sold to consumers. Some states take subsidies into account while calculating subsidies while others do not. “We have prepared a standard formula for calculation of losses. The report has been sent to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which will communicate it to states,” the official said. Currently, CEA collates data from states and drafts periodic reports. But there have been several instances of a state presenting different data to the CEA, electricity regulators and other forums. The power ministry is bound to accept the data given the country’s federal structure. The power ministry will next month also launch a web portal called National Power Portal and a mobile application connecting all 110,000 electricity feeders — equipment that links consumers to substations — in the country. The ministry has already connected and made 25,000 urban feeders live for energy auditing. “As data is completely automated, we’ll be able to conduct audits and ascertain the hours of energy supply and level of commercial and technical losses at feeder level in each state,” said the official. There have been instances of states fudging data to show zero power deficit, especially during elections. The official said once the national power portal and standardised formula are put in place, data collected from states on performance of the discom debt restructuring scheme, Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY), can be also be verified. Data shared by states show that states like Jharkhand, Goa, Gujarat and Puducherry have been able to reduce technical losses. Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have also significantly reduced the gap between revenue and cost. Besides measures like curbing thefts, energy conservation and regular tariff petitions, power distribution companies are introducing innovative schemes to reduce losses. Power distribution companies of Bihar have implemented a billing software and started spot billing through mobile application. The Haryana government has announced Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon scheme to provide 24-hour power supply in rural areas. If the village pays bills to the extent of 90%, the electricity supply to the village is increased from 18 to 21 hours. In Bithur village in Rajasthan, women have been engaged to curb transmission and distribution losses.Manipur has taken up installation of prepaid meters to reduce outstanding debts, energy theft and improve billing efficiency. Jimmy Hayes Womens Jersey
India has 10-year window to shift completely to renewable energy: TERI
Excess power generation capacity provides India an opportunity to shift completely to green energy. If the country can halve storage technology prices in 10 years it can do without the need for new coal based plants, a study by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) said. The TERI report indicated that current installed capacity and the capacity under construction would be able to meet demand till about 2026, keeping India power sufficient. The report estimates that no new investments are likely to be made in coal-based power generation in the years prior to that. The TERI report also estimates that beyond 2023-24, new power generation capacity could be all renewables, based on cost competitiveness of renewables as well as the ability of the grid to absorb large amounts of renewable energy together with battery-based balancing power. It also said that all new investments in power generation are likely to develop new storage technologies. LeBron James Womens Jersey
New Record Low Solar Tariff of Rs.3.30/kWh Logged at Rewa Solar Park Auction in Madhya Pradesh, India
In the recently concluded 750 MW Rewa Solar Park auction in Madhya Pradesh, bids reached a new record low of Rs.3.30 (~$0.494)/kWh (levelized tariff over 25 years) over a rupee lower than the previous low tariff of Rs.4.34 (~$0.065)/kWh, which was recorded in the state of Rajasthan in January 2016. The winning bid for first year tariff hit a new low at Rs.2.97 (~$0.0444)/kWh and will escalate by Rs.0.05 (~$0.0007) over 15 years, bringing the levelized tariff to Rs.3.30 (~$0.494)/kWh over 25 years. In an extremely competitive auction, bids submitted were 10x the tendered volume at 7,500 MW for a tendered capacity of 750 MW. Last year the state government of Madhya Pradesh approved extending a payment guarantee for the Rewa Solar Park. The guarantee will ensure against any payment default to projects inside the solar park, stated an Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigan (MPUVNL) official. The official also added that the solar park is a joint venture of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and MPUVNL. The payment guarantee and deemed generation benefit were contributing factors in attracting these low bids. The implementing agency (MPUVNL) did not put an upper limit capacity for bidders – any bidder was able to bid for the entire capacity (750 MW). ACME Solar won with the lowest bid to develop a 250 MW project (Unit-2) quoting a tariff of Rs.2.970 (~$0.0444)/kWh for the first year and a levelized tariff over 25 years of Rs.3.30/kWh (~$0.0494)/kWh, followed by Solenergi which won a 250 MW project (Unit-3) quoting a first year tariff of Rs.2.974 (~$0.0444)/kWh at a levelized tariff of Rs.3.304 (~$0.0495)/kWh. Mahindra Renewables was the other winner for a 250 MW project (Unit-1) with a first year tariff of Rs.2.979 (~$0.0445)/kWh and a 25 year levelized tariff of Rs.3.309 (~$0.0495)/kWh. Sembcorp Green Infra, SBG Cleantech, Hero Future Energies, Enel Green Power, Solairedirect, ReNew Power, Azure Power, Adani, and Canadian Solar were some of the other developers who participated in the auction. “We saw record low bids largely because of our progress made on the solar park infrastructure, unlike other solar parks where projects were tendered during initial stages of park development. We in Madhya Pradesh waited to create conducive infrastructure, and the results are here for everyone to see,” said an official at MPUVNL. Another official at MPUVNL believes that this low tariff is feasible. “The low tariff is not a surprise as these projects are viable for developers at these costs. If you factor that all of these projects are in the same location, developers have eliminated a lot of extra work [costs] compared to, for example, a situation where the same capacity is divided into 15 projects that would have included expenses like temporary transmission and infrastructure costs related to each project. This is not the case here,” stated another official at MPUVNL. The construction of a transmission substation within the solar park has also led to heightened interest among developers said a government official. This substation will take care of all evacuation from the park. Inefficient evacuation infrastructure was one of the major problems faced by developers in other solar parks, according to the recent Mercom Quarterly India Market Report. “Although this is the lowest tariff ever recorded in India, this auction has several special attributes which makes it hard to directly compare with previous low bids. The size and location of the projects, payment guarantees, deemed generation benefit, longer construction timeline, the recent solar module price crash, and yearly tariff escalation for 15 years – all make the low bids unique,” said Raj Prabhu CEO of Mercom Capital Group. “The fear is that media, government officials and analysts will hype up the low bids and other states will then start pressuring developers to match bids from the Rewa auction tariffs, which has happened in the past. A positive takeaway from this auction is it demonstrates that if you remove some of the developer risks by offering payment guarantees and deemed generation benefits in a park with a solid infrastructure, tariffs have room to come down. However – mostly thanks to Chinese module prices declining by about 30 percent over the last year – without which any bids to build projects below Rs.4.0/kWh would have been almost impossible,” he further commented. Even though direct tariff comparison between countries is challenging due to many variables, the new low tariff of Rs.3.30 (~$0.0494)/kWh, a record low for India, is still not the lowest tariff in the world (see chart below). IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is extending its global expertise to structure and implement the transaction to help attract private investments of about $750 million (~Rs.50.2 billion) for the development of the 750 MW Rewa Solar Park. Morgan Burnett Authentic Jersey
Big utilities try to tilt solar energy market in their favor
Indiana’s energy utilities want state lawmakers to pass a law that critics say would muscle out smaller companies from the emerging solar energy market. Solar power provides only about 1 percent of the country’s energy, but it is growing rapidly, with U.S. Energy Department figures showing solar industry employment grew 125 percent since 2010. Much of the growth has come from homeowners or businesses taking advantage of its bill-lowering potential. That could eventually eat away at the business of the big utilities — in Indiana Duke Energy, Vectren and Indiana Michigan Power — which have a powerful voice and donate handsomely to political campaigns. Indiana legislators started debate Thursday on a proposed law that in five years would eliminate much of the financial benefit Indiana homeowners, businesses, schools and even some churches reap harvesting the sun’s rays. Republican state Sen. Brandt Hershman’s bill would overhaul a practice called “net metering,” which allows solar panel owners to feed excess energy into the power grid in exchange for a credit on their power bill. Hershman’s bill would lock in a substantially lower rate of reimbursement than what is currently guaranteed — a move that solar advocates say would make it difficult to break even during the useful life of a solar panel. “I have nothing against solar. I’m simply trying to reset the marketplace,” said Hershman, who says solar panel owners are reimbursed at too-generous of a rate. But the measure comes as investor-owned utilities across the U.S. are also looking to take advantage of plunging costs for sun-generated power and carve out a share of the market. And critics say the bill amounts to utilities muscling out small companies, threatening the 1,500 jobs the Solar Foundation estimated in 2015 the industry had created in Indiana. Utilities are also promoting an alternative to installing home solar panels called “community solar” that involves customers agreeing to buy or lease panels from the utilities on large panel farms. “Utilities like solar if they can control those assets,” said Ryan Zaricki, who owns Whole Sun Designs, a solar panel installation company headquartered in Evansville. Zaricki, who employs five workers during busy months, said that if the bill passes “it means that, in the long term, I won’t have a business.” Duke Energy Corp., the largest electricity company in the nation, this year plans to launch a “community solar” program in South Carolina and seek regulatory permission to do so in North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky and Ohio, as well as Indiana, utility vice president Melisa Johns said. Indiana is not the first state to consider a solar industry overhaul. Michigan, Illinois and Iowa are phasing out net metering at a gentler pace, according to advocates. In Maine, Republican Gov. Paul LePage last year vetoed a bill that would have overhauled the state’s approach. Montana also is considering policy changes, according to The National Conference of State Legislatures. Utilities say the current Indiana compensation system is unfair because it requires them to pay solar panel owners for power at retail cost — which is more than it would cost them to produce the energy. They also stress that they own the infrastructure solar panel owners rely on to feed their excess power onto the grid and should be compensated. “The simple logic for us is if you’re using it, you should pay for it,” said Mark Maassel, president of the Indiana Energy Association, which represents the largest power utilities. The solar measure is the latest pushed by Republicans in Indiana, who dominate the Statehouse, which would corner a market, or benefit longtime political allies and campaign donors. A bill last week that would have effectively blocked electric car maker Tesla from selling in Indiana was overhauled after opposition. Last year lawmakers passed vaping industry regulations that created a monopoly for one security firm that became the sole gatekeeper of who could manufacture the nicotine-laced liquid consumed through vaping. GOP leaders pledged to “fix” the law this year after the FBI launched a probe. Over the past three years Duke energy and its affiliated political committees funneled $76,000 to state Senate members of both parties. Hershman has collected $9,000 from the company since 2010, according to state campaign finance records. The utilities also donated more than $1 million to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, which helped finance trade missions former Gov. Mike Pence led to several foreign countries in 2014 and 2015, according to data obtained through a public records request. The corporation is a quasi-governmental agency that regularly uses private donations to fund VIP trips for state officials. Luca Sbisa Womens Jersey
Govt released Rs 509 crore for grid connected, small solar plans as on Jan 31: Piyush Goyal
An amount of Rs 600 crore has been allocated for projects under Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme and Rs 508.84 crore has been released as on Jan 31, Piyush Goyal, power, coal, mines, renewable energy and mines minister today said in a written reply Lok Sabha. As per the figures given by the government, Tamil Nadu has been approved to set up the highest capacity of 312 Megawatt followed by Maharashtra at 100 MW and Gujarat at 81.75 MW. The Solar Energy Corporation of India has been sanctioned to set up projects of total 899.6 MW capacity, railways 502.5 MW, and government and PSU offices 482 MW. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been promoting ‘Grid Connected Rooftop and Small Solar Power Plants Programme’ with a central financial assistance (CFA) of up to 30 per cent of benchmark cost in general category states and up to 70 per cent in special category states, north eastern states, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Residential, institutional and social sector are covered under this CFA pattern. For government sector, achievement linked incentive up to Rs 1,8750/KW in general category states and Rs 45,000/kW in special category states, north eastern states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep is available under the programme. In a separate reply, Goyal also said a total of 852 projects (based on Solar PV) have been operational under Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) implemented by Ministry of Power as on Jan 31. Emmanuel Lamur Authentic Jersey
UP Election 2017: Akhilesh Yadav promises 24 hours power supply after polls
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said rural areas of the state will get round the clock power supply after the Assembly polls. “At present, power supply in urban area is 22 to 24 hours and in rural area, it is 14 to 16 hours. However, after the Assembly election, 22 to 24 hour supply would be ensured in rural areas as well,” he said at an election rally in Kosi town of Chhata assembly constituency here. He said 108 ambulance type services would be introduced for cattle. The Samajwadi Party leader also promised opening up of more sugar mills and milk plants in the constituency. Akhilesh hit out at the Modi government over demonetisation and its “failure to rein in black money hoarders”. “No compensation was announced by the Centre for those who lost their lives while standing in serpentine bank queues in the wake of demonetisation. Nevertheless, the SP government has given Rs 2 lakh each to the deceased’s families,” he said. The first phase of the crucial Assembly polls will begin on February 11. The ruling Samajwadi Party has entered into an alliance with Congress for the state polls. Rod Smith Womens Jersey
NSE pulls plug on power exchange ahead of IPO
In what could potentially disturb the power trading market in the country, National Stock Exchange (NSE), with the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has voted to shut down their power trading platform, the Power Exchange of India (PXIL). NSE-NCDEX collectively own 61 per cent stake in the power exchange. They said at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) dated January 25, they’d decided to shut the “loss-making” bourse. Sources say there was strong dissent from stakeholders in the power sector. “We recently advised PXIL to consider taking immediate steps to close down its business as early as possible and in any event not later than February 28, since PXIL has been incurring heavy cash losses,” said NSE in the draft prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for its upcoming initial public offer of equity. Persons close to the development said NSE put this statement to a vote during the EGM. “Other shareholders, all of which represent the power sector, voted against it. Tata Power Trading Company, with 5.16 per cent holding in PXIL, was not even present when voting took place,” said an executive. Other shareholders are GMR Energy, Tata Power, JSW Energy, state-owned Power Finance Corporation, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam and West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company. An NSE spokesperson declined to comment. Sources in NSE said the decision was because of the losses at PXIL. “The business of PXIL is very limited and the market is not growing. NSE decided to come out of it. There are extraneous factors responsible,” said a source privy of the matter. PXIL’s losses widened to Rs 2.45 crore in 2015-16, from Rs 1.8 crore a year before. Under power sector regulations, approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is also required for closing down an exchange. Section 36 of the latter’s Power Market Regulations state: “Power exchanges shall have their exit scheme approved by the Commission during the registration process, detailing the manner in which the running contracts on the exchange shall be closed or the succession plan for all transacted contracts in case of closure of a power exchange, cancellation or withdrawal of registration under these regulations.” NSE will be seeking CERC approval. India Energy Exchange is the only other power trading marketplace in the country. PXIL has only two per cent in the power trading market, with average daily traded volume of close to three million units. However, in the Renewable Energy Certificates market, its share had risen to 49 per cent in 2015-16, from 23 per cent a year before. Bo Jackson Womens Jersey
12,033 un-electrified villages provided power, says power minister Goyal
As many as 12,033 villages out of 18,452 un-electrified villages have been provided with power till last week and the remaining ones would be electrified by May 2018, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said. The Power Minister told the Lok Sabha that 4,220 Decentralised Distributed Generation (DDG) projects costing Rs 1,354.60 crore have been sanctioned till January 2017. These projects cover 3,285 un-electrified villages in different states. DDG comes under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) — which is meant for providing electricity access to villages and habitations. “As reported by the states, there were 18,452 un-electrified villages in the country as on April 1, 2014. Out of these, 12,033 villages have been electrified as on February 6, 2017. Remaining villages are targeted to be electrified by May 2018,” the Minister said. Answering to a separate question, Goyal said the government is working to reduce coal imports and reduction in it has helped in foreign exchange savings. To reduce import of coal, coal companies have been advised to improve domestic coal production. Further, to reduce import of high grade coal, Coal India Ltd has been asked to take steps for import substitution, he added. Among others, state-owned Coal India is offering higher grade coal through various types of e-auction. “In the current year (2016-17) till December 31, 2016, indicative import substitution by Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) holding consumers of Coal India Ltd has been to the tune of 12.8 MT,” Goyal said. Conor Sheary Womens Jersey