Solar tariffs set to reach a record low with reserve price at Rs 4/kwH
Solar tariffs are set to reach a record low with the Solar Corporation of India’s latest tender, which sets the reserve price at Rs 4 per kwH. SECI has invited online bids for setting up projects with capacity of 750 MW at the Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district — 500 MW in Bhadla Phase III and 250 MW in Bhadla Phase IV — as part of the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Bhadla has the highest solar radiation in the country and thereby can generate power at the cheapest cost. So far, the lowest bid had been Rs 4.34 per kwH, offered by Finnish major Fortum Finnsurya to set up a 70 MW plant at Bhadla in an NTPC-conducted auction in January this year. In a number of subsequent auctions, SECI had set the reserve price at Rs 4.35 per kwH. The latest reserve price thus indicates a steep reduction. “We want tariffs to go lower, so that states show more interest in solar energy,” said SECI Managing Director Ashvini Kumar. State discoms have often shown reluctance in buying solar and other forms of renewable power, since power from conventional thermal sources is cheaper. But a rate of Rs 4 per kwH competes very well with that of new coal. It remains to be seen, however, how solar developers, who have already been complaining about falling solar tariffs affecting their margins, respond to the new reserve price. As in earlier auctions, the government will provide viability gap funding as well, but projects will go to those seeking the lowest VGF. Latavius Murray Authentic Jersey
‘Termination’ clause in India-Japan civil nuclear deal not binding on India
The landmark civil nuclear deal signed with Japan last week has a “termination” clause contained in a note attached to the main text, which India says is not binding on the country. The Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Friday, has a note on “Views and Understanding”, in which the Japanese side cited India’s September 2008 declaration of a unilateral moratorium on atomic tests, saying if this commitment is violated, the deal will be terminated. According to the Indian government, the note merely records the views of the two sides. “That note is simply a record by the negotiators of respective views on certain issues. It is not the NCA (Nuclear Cooperation Agreement) which is what is binding,” a person familiar with the development said. The clarification comes in the wake of confusion on whether the note is part of the operative text of the agreement. “On termination, there is no change from the US template,” the person said. According to the 2008 India US agreement, in case either of the two countries terminates the agreement, the country that terminates the pact will have to give a year’s written notice to the other. “A Party giving notice of termination shall provide the reasons for seeking such termination,” says the text of the India-US agreement. “Before this Agreement is terminated… the parties shall consider the relevant circumstances and promptly hold consultations…to address the reasons cited by the party seeking termination. The party seeking termination has the right to cease further cooperation under this Agreement if it determines that a mutually acceptable resolution of outstanding issues has not been possible or cannot be achieved through consultations. The parties agree to consider carefully the circumstances that may lead to termination or cessation of cooperation. They further agree to take into account whether the circumstances that may lead to termination or cessation resulted from a party’s serious concern about a changed security environment or as a response to similar actions by other States which could impact national security,” says the text of the India-US agreement. Japan, the only country in the world to suffer nuclear attacks, has made a major exception by signing the atomic cooperation agreement with India, despite the latter not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). After the India-Japan deal was signed, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar had said that the pact was strikingly similar to atomic agreements India inked with the US and most of the other countries, having provisions like “termination” clause. During the joint press conference with Modi after the deal was signed, Abe had referred to India’s declaration of September 2008 with regard to voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests. “This agreement is a legal framework that India will act responsibly in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and also in Non-Proliferation regime even though India is not a participant or signatory of NPT,” he had said. P. J. Williams Authentic Jersey
Chandigarh: Power department to set up call centre
THE CHANDIGARH electricity department will set up a round-the-clock centralised call centre in a bid to ensure quick response to the complaints of city residents. The call centre is part of the ambitious Smart Grid Project under the National Smart Grid Mission, which is being implemented in the city. Presently, for grievances related to power supply, the consumers call on the telephone numbers of their respective sub-divisions. The consumers face inconvenience due to the time taken in restoring power in case ofd a breakdown. They often complain about numbers being busy or not being answered whenever there is power outage. The complaint numbers are manned by untrained staff. In daily routine, the department receives around 300 complaints. The centralised call centre will have trained staff to attend to consumer complaints. The call centre will be equipped to feed the complaints lodged by the residents into the database and forward it to the field staff of the sub-division concerned for appropriate action. The call centre will also have the facility to record calls, both incoming and outgoing. After registration of a complaint, consumer will get alert through SMS information them about nature of fault and duration of outage. The operation of the call centre will be outsourced. UT superintending engineer MP Singh said they were working out the modalities and would submit the proposal to ministry of power and joint Electricity Regularity Commission (JERC) for approval. Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC) chairman Baljinder Singh Bittu, said centralised call centre would be of great help to residents. UT Powermen Union general secretary Gopal Dutt Joshi said the department needs to first address the problem of staff shortage if they are serious about providing better services to the consumers. “We don’t have sufficient field staff for timely redressal of complaints of consumers,” said Joshi. Mike Gillislee Womens Jersey
Transmission & Distribution losses in Andhra Pradesh dip to 9.98 per cent
Energy utilities of Andhra Pradesh, making rapid strides on various fronts, achieved yet another distinction by bringing down the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses to a record 9.98 per cent, lowest in the country, in the first half of the current fiscal. The state currently boasts of a “zero deficit” in energy availability and has been successfully implementing “24×7 Power for All” since September 2014. The state annually consumes 50,000 million units of power with the cost of service pegged at Rs 5.33 a unit but the demand is expected to increase exponentially due to increased industrialisation. As metered sale of power rose by one per cent from 72 per cent last year, power utilities could save Rs 270 crore annually. Early this month, the World Bank ranked Andhra Pradesh as the best state in the country in implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures. With Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu putting the energy utilities on a “mission mode reform” approach, the Power Transmission Corporation of AP has brought down T&D losses from 12.6 per cent in 2014-15 to 10.60 per cent in 2015-16 and now to 9.98 per cent in the F1 of 2016-17 financial year, according to state Transco Managing Director K Vijayanand. Now, the chief minister has set a target of cutting down the T&D losses further to below six per cent in the coming years in tune with global standards. “We have been successfully implementing Power for All scheme for the last two years. We have achieved self-sufficiency in power generation and the energy deficit has been nullified from 10.6 per cent (22 million units) in June 2014 (when the state was bifurcated),” Vijayanand said in a statement here today. To reduce the losses further, the AP Transco would invest a sum of Rs 13,170 crore till 2019 on improving power transmission system, including construction of 88 substations with a total transformer capacity of 18,632 MVA, he added. “We have now joined the select club of a few states in India, the first from the south, enjoying power surplus status. We are able to meet the incident load\power demand without any hassles and efforts are being made to sustain this over a long period,” according to Energy Principal Secretary Ajay Jain. Percy Miller Authentic Jersey
Currency note ban sends electricity bill collection in UP through the roof
Ever since they announced they will be accepting banned currency notes, their coffers have spilled over with cash collection going up 10 fold in many districts of UP, including Agra, Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur. Bareilly zone, where average daily collection of bills used to be Rs 2-3 crore, saw over Rs 25 crore deposited just on Friday. The corporation, which has over Rs 1000 crore in unpaid electricity bills across the state, has set up 154 special camps in Bareilly zone to deal with people making long queues to pay their pending power bills. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) started accepting payment in old currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 after Piyush Goyal, union minister of state with independent charge for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines, tweeted about it. However, no advance payment is allowed for it and individuals and households can pay current and pending bills. Chief engineer Rajkumar Agarwal said that this is the first time that the department has set up such a large number of special camps for collection of power bills. The power department is collecting payment of power bills from 9 am to 12 midnight and it will continue till the midnight of November 14. Considering the huge rush at these special camps, UPPCL has deployed all office staff here. “For the convenience of people, we have set up a total of 154 camps inside power substations of 33 KV in Bareilly zone which has four districts. Besides, we have deployed 15 mobile vans in Bareilly to facilitate consumers. Though both online and offline payment modes are available, we set up camps to help people residing in rural areas,” Agarwal added. The daily collection of the department has gone up 10 times. “On Friday, we collected Rs 25 crore from Bareilly zone. Before the demonetisation, we used to collect around Rs 2-3 crore every day. Looking at the huge rush, we believe that we will collect similar amount on Saturday also,” he said. Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (DVVNL) superintendent engineer Rajeev Jain told TOI, “On Friday, we accepted bill payments till midnight which will continue up to November 14. Our collection on Friday in Agra and Fatehabad circle was around Rs 7.5 crore.” On an average day, DVVNL collects around Rs 8-10 lakh from the region. Of the total Rs 25 crore, the highest amount of Rs 10 crore was collected from Bareilly. Daniel Alfredsson Jersey
Discom claims daily loss of Rs 25 lakh due to power theft by e-rick owners
One of Delhi’s power distributors, BSES has claimed about Rs 25 lakh daily revenue loss due to power theft by e-rickshaw owners while proposing the need to have a institutional mechanism for charging batteries of these electric vehicles. In its letter addressed to both Delhi government and Union transport ministry, the discom has given details of 26 localities where the practice of illegal tapping of electricity to charge battery is rampant. These include Okhla Vihar, Batla House, Sangam Vihar, Dakshin Puri, Matiyala, Mahavir Enclave, Tihar Village, Tilak Nagar, Uttam Nagar and Bindapur. Sources said the discom has highlighted how in the absence of proper charging stations and metering mechanism, the crisis will get bigger and hence there is a need to find a way out. It has also sought the details of registered e-rickshaws from the government. Though for the past 2-3 years, both Centre and Delhi government have talked about the need to expedite proper charging facilities for electric vehicles across the country, nothing much has happened. L.C. Greenwood Womens Jersey
Govt to promote solar powered charkhas, rickshaws
The government is looking at promoting solar powered charkhas as well as rickshaws in the country and has invited views from stakeholders on design and costing of the products. “Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering to promote ‘Solar Powered Charkhas’ and ‘Solar Rickshaw’ under off grid and decentralised solar programme. Suggestions are invited from the stakeholders on…Technical specifications,” a MNRE official said. The official further said that manufacturers and developers of solar powered charkhas and solar rickshaw have been requested to send their comments on the technical specifications with design by November 22. “Manufacturers of solar charkhas, who have developed the product/interested in developing an improved product may please send their comments,” the official said. It is possible, he said, to eliminate the hardship/ drudgery involved in the manual operation of charkha and increase the wage earning capacity. Since charkhas are being mainly operated in rural areas which don’t have assured electric supply, the use of solar energy could be thought of. The use of solar energy can usher in a new era of spinning, the official added. Since the charkha is a small machine, it is feasible to operate the charkha using solar energy. A commercially viable solar system for the operation of 8-10 spindles charkha has been developed by many institutions. The technology is now well proven. To revive the large numbers of charkhas going out of operation in villages, solar energy could be easily harnessed. Solar charkha kit attachment has been developed to operate the existing 8-10 spindle charkhas which are normally used for manual operation in practice. A motorised mechanism ensures an even power supply, which in turn ensures a better quality of yarn. The government has ambitious plans for deployment of 175 GW renewable power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind. Dominique Easley Authentic Jersey
AP power utilities to cash in on surplus
Even as the State has reached a comfortable position in the power supply situation, the Andhra Pradesh power utilities are gearing up to participate in the tenders invited for supply of power by the other States. To begin with, the utilities have decided to participate in the bids called by Kerala Government for supply of 100 MW power. The decision was taken after assessing the availability of power in the State factoring in the increased demand from agriculture, industry, domestic and commercial segments. The State had become surplus in power with the addition of the Krishnapatnam and Hinduja power plants besides addition of close to 1,000 MW power through the renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. In addition, the APGenco is hopeful of installing the fourth unit of the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant by the middle of next year. “ Energy from the renewable sources is being treated as spillover reserve to secure grid stability in the event of deficit supply from the existing plants” APTransco joint managing director Dinesh Parchuri told The Hindu. He said absence of a corridor to supply power to Kerala would not be a problem for the power utilities as they would rely on the network of the Power Grid Corporation of India. Asked about the aggregate revenue requirement report that the utilities needed to submit to the regulator AP Electricity Regulatory Commission, he said the utilities were engaged in the preparation of the report based on the availability of power and demand from different sectors besides assessing the revenue requirements of the utilities. The utilities were actively working on incorporating the prospect of revenues through sale of surplus power to the States with deficit supply. Glenn Dorsey Authentic Jersey
Bengal not ready to join Centre’s UDAY scheme
The Bengal government denied joining power scheme UDAY on Thursday. While addressing media here the state power minister Sobhandeb Chatterjee said that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state government refused to sign any agreement to join the scheme and as ‘it doesn’t believe in any forceful agreement to promulgate center’s scheme.’ However, the minister also mentioned, “We have assured the Center of the state’s support over joint-mechanism. Initially they pressurised us to sign the UDAY agreement, but our CM denied and assured co-operation in its different schemes.” The Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal urged the state government to join the scheme meant for revival of debt-ridden power distribution companies in the nation and claimed that only 22 villages are un-electrified in the state. He also asserted the government’s effort to ensure affordable 24X7 power to all by 2019 is an integral part of the state by joining UDAY. On this context Chatterjee claimed, “West, Bengal is one of the states which now can provide 24X7 power to all in two years to 97% of the entire population successfully.” “There are 15 villages which are un-electrified. 14 are in a coastal area and one in Purulia district,” the minister added further. Chatterjee also emphasised on the “Alternate Power Source” and raised the matter in a power summit, organised by both the Centre and Indian Chamber of Commerce in the national Capital on Thursday. The state also asked the Center to divide the entire power system of India. “We are looking forward to enhance power manufacturing into Hydraulic and Solar sectors. We have targeted to generate 100 MW Solar Power in one year,” Chatterjee mentioned. Ryane Clowe Womens Jersey
NGT: Shut power plants, stop construction on bad air days
The National Green Tribunal said on Thursday that whenever air pollution reaches severe levels, Delhi and its four neighbouring states would have to take a set of emergency measures that include sprinkling water from choppers, stopping construction activities and shutting down polluting power plants and gensets. Passing a host of directions to tackle air pollution in Delhi and its neighbourhood, the NGT also asked for the setting up of a central and five state-level monitoring committees to check implementation of its orders and form action plans to check pollution. “When PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels cross 251 and 431 microgramscubic metre, it is an ‘environment emergency’ and states would have to take measures to tackle the situation. In other situations, normal measures will continue to be implemented,” said a bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar. The NGT said farmers must be given “happy seeders” — machines that sow wheat without burning paddy residues — to prevent crop fires. During the period of severe air pollution, all construction, transport of construction material and stone-crushing activities must be stopped. States would also have to shut down power plants, hot-mixers, brick kilns and diesel generator sets whose emissions are above the prescribed limit, the National Green Tribunal said in its interim order. The green court further directed the state governments to gradually shift to mechanised cleaning of roads by purchasing vacuum machines.”Cleaning of dust manually should be stopped in a gradual manner and mechanised cleaning through machines should be introduced to reduce dust levels,” the bench said. It asked the four neighbouring states of Delhi — Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — to consider banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years while directing Delhi to ensure strict implementation of its orders on diesel vehicles. Brandon Williams Authentic Jersey