Power tariff in Rajasthan lower than other states, CM Vasundhara Raje says
The chief minister said tariff for domestic power in Rajasthan was lower than that in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, the chief minister said. The state government hiked power tariff by an average 9.6% last month.Raje said power tariff for agriculture in Rajasthan was lower than that in Chhattisgarh Assam , Meghalaya, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh , Kerala, Odisha, Uttarakhand , Goa and Karnataka. JAIPUR: Chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday defended her government’s decision to hike electricity rates in the state, saying these were still among the lowest in the country. “Barring for technical snags, the state is maintaining electricity supply for 22 hours to 24 hours every day,” the chief minister said. She said flat rate consumers in Rajasthan were getting electricity for Rs 120 per Horse Power instead of Rs 635 per Horse Power, as the state government was subsidising it. JAIPUR: Chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Wednesday defended her government’s decision to hike electricity rates in the state, saying these were still among the lowest in the country. The state government hiked power tariff by an average 9.6% last month.Raje said power tariff for agriculture in Rajasthan was lower than that in Chhattisgarh Assam , Meghalaya, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh , Kerala, Odisha, Uttarakhand , Goa and Karnataka.”The current rate for agriculture (metered) was Rs 4.75 per unit, of which Rs 3.60 per unit was being subsidized by the state government. We are paying Rs 7200 crore annually to the power companies in lieu of lower rates for agriculture consumers,” Raje while addressing the BJP executive meeting in Udaipur on Wednesday. The chief minister said tariff for domestic power in Rajasthan was lower than that in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, the chief minister said. The tariff for non-domestic power was lower than that in Delhi, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh Power tariff for small-scale industries too was lower than that in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, for medium-scale industries was lower than that in Delhi, Maharashtra, Wes Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, while tariff for large-scale industries here was lower than that in West Bengal and Maharashtra. “It was the previous Congress government that took a cabinet decision to hike power tariff every year after financially ruining the state Discoms,” the chief minister said.The Congress recently held state-wide demonstrations accusing Raje-government of increasing electricity rates to “cover up” financial mismanagement in Discoms and of failure to add “even a single unit” to state’s power generation in past more than two years. Vonn Bell Jersey
Strong pipeline of solar projects aided by policy support; but regulatory challenges persist: ICRA
The solar project pipeline in the country remains strong supported by policies but regulatory challenges persist arising out of factors such as non-enforcement of renewable purchase obligations (RPOs) and likelihood of more stringent scheduling and forecasting norms, research agency ICRA said in report. About 6,100 Megawatt capacity of solar projects were awarded during the 8-month period of CY2016 (January – August), supported by policies at both the Central and the state level. “About 2,520 MW capacity of solar PV projects, awarded in CY2016 so far (January till August 2016), have a tariff of less than Rs. 5/kWh, which could face challenges in achieving financial closure. Viability of such tariffs hinges on structuring of debt with longer tenures, competitive funding costs and the ability of the project developers concerned to keep the cost of modules within the budgeted levels,” said Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President, ICRA. Simultaneously, however, a fall in solar module prices coupled with aggressive bidding by developers leading to declining solar PV bid level has resulted in an improved tariff competitiveness of solar PV projects. This in turn remains beneficial for the state distribution utilities which are key off-takers. Weighted average competitively bid solar PV tariff has declined to Rs. 5.0/kWh for CY2016 (till August 2016) from Rs. 6.5/kWh for CY2014. ICRA further takes note of the recently reported concerns of solar project developers on the forced back-down by the state utility in Tamil Nadu. While the solar generation project is supposed to operate on the “must run” principle basis under the grid code, any forced back down by the state, on the grounds of inadequate transmission capacity and/or grid stability, remains a concern for solar projects, in ICRA’s view, given the absence of any deemed generation clause in the tariff structure. Notwithstanding a positive demand outlook, the solar sector continues to face several challenges like regulatory challenges arising out of inconsistency in RPO norms; and poor compliance with RPO norms by the obligated entities and weak enforcement of such norms by the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC). “Despite the revision in solar RPO to 8% from 3% till FY2022 in the National Tariff Policy in January 2016, the SERCs in majority of the states are yet to re-align their solar RPO norms and trajectory in line with the revised target,” Majumdar said. Further, solar PV projects remain exposed to regulatory challenges arising from requirement of scheduling and forecasting framework, which is likely to be approved by SERCs, subsequent to CERC’s framework, which has been effective since August 2015. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) in May 2016 had approved similar regulations and similarly, SERCs in a few other states have put in place draft regulations. For the solar projects in Karnataka, the forecasting framework would thus have a negative impact on cash flows and project IRR, particularly if the actual overall deviation (mix of over-generation and under-injection) exceeds 30% of the scheduled generation, though the extent of the impact for solar energy generation projects is likely to be relatively lower due to lesser variability in solar generation, as compared with that for wind energy projects. Ryan Braun Jersey
Prices of solar energy down by 40%: Piyush Goyal
Power minister Piyush Goyal said that by consistent efforts made by the government the prices of solar energy have come down by 40% in just 18 months. He was speaking at the distinguished gathering of Industry stalwarts from Energy sector at a media event, ‘Energy Conclave, 2016 – Securing India’s Green Future’, organized here. The Minister noted that India has its own developmental imperatives in the near future, hence it cannot shun the use of fossil fuels completely from its energy basket. It is important to strike a balance between the conventional & renewable sources of energy and rapid societal development & environmental concerns, he added. Goyal expressed happiness to see renewable energy taking centre stage in discussions on power sector recently. He noted that it is of prime importance to achieve the goal of ‘One Nation, One Grid, One Price’ at the earliest and create a robust transmission grid network where affordable power is seamlessly available to the common man throughout the Nation, at one price. The minister pointed out that the Government, after taking charge, has made the solar power target five times to 100 GW by 2022. Moreover, concentrating on other sources of renewable energy, this year has been dedicated to hydro and wind energy and talks with international gas suppliers are on, he added. Greg Lloyd Jersey
Social security incomplete without energy security: Goyal
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal has noted that India has its own developmental imperatives in the near future; hence it cannot shun the use of fossil fuels completely from its energy basket. Addressing a distinguished gathering of Industry stalwarts from energy sector at a media event, ‘Energy Conclave, 2016 – Securing India’s Green Future’, organized here yesterday, Goyal said it was important to strike a balance between the conventional and renewable sources of energy and rapid societal development and environmental concerns. He also expressed happiness to see renewable energy taking centre stage in discussions on power sector recently.The Minister noted that it is of prime importance to achieve the goal of ‘One Nation, On Grid, One Price’ at the earliest and create a robust transmission grid network where affordable power is seamlessly available to the common man throughout the nation, at one price. Goyal pointed out that the government, after taking charge, has made the solar power target five times to 100 GW by 2022. Mike McGlinchey Womens Jersey
IEX average spot power rate hits 5-mth high in Sept
The average spot power price at Indian Energy Exchange touched a five-month high of Rs 2.43 in September due to higher demand, particularly from industrial units, indicating buoyancy in the manufacturing sector. “The spot price of electricity has been on a slightly higher side in September due to high demand, particularly from industrial units,” an IEX official told . An expert said this is an indication that there is buoyancy in the manufacturing sector, which will eventually push the economic growth this fiscal. Yesterday, the the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India’s growth rate in 2016 and 2017 at 7.6 per cent, up from its earlier projection of 7.4 per cent. The average power price was recorded at Rs 2.91 per unit in April this year. It was on the lower side at Rs 2.32, Rs 2.31, Rs 2.16 and Rs 2.17 in May, June, July and August, respectively. The figure went up again to Rs 2.43 per unit in September this year, the highest in the last five months. IEX, in a statement, said the IEX Day-Ahead Market traded 3,630 million units (MUs) in September, the highest ever monthly trade since its inception in 2008. On a daily average basis, 121 MUs were traded, 9 per cent increase over 111 MUs traded last month (August). The open access consumers accounted for about 60 per cent of volume traded while the rest was on account of distribution companies. With average daily sell bids at 8,719 MW and purchase bids at 6,109 MW, the market remained buyer-friendly. The Market Clearing Price (MCP) for the month was very competitive at Rs 2.43 per unit even though overall demand for power was high, IEX said. On September 8, 2016, the highest ever peak demand of 156 GW was recorded in the country. The average Area Clearing Prices (ACP) on the exchange varied to Rs 2.73 per unit from Rs 2.35 across regions. Overall, nearly three MUs were lost due to congestion on a daily average basis. Import of power, especially in the northern region, remained affected due to constraints on the inter-state transmission network. The uniform rate prevailed on four days – September 1, 3, 4 and 12, in line with the One Nation, One Grid and One Price motto of the government. KKS ARD Tomas Nosek Womens Jersey
Stop charging power users for transport losses, SC tells BEST
In a respite to more than 10 lakh south Mumbai electricity consumers of BEST, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked BEST to stop collecting transport division loss revenue (TDLR) from power consumers through its monthly power bills. After giving the interim order, the court transferred the case to three-judge bench to decide whether the TDLR collected by BEST over the last four years should be returned to consumers. According to Ahar, an association of Indian hotels and restaurants, BEST has collected around Rs 900 crore per year as TDLR – about Rs 3,600 crore over the last four years – from its electricity consumers to make up for the losses in bus transport business. “According to the Supreme Court, BEST shall not recover transport loss from electricity consumers after one month,” said Ahar president Adarsh Shetty. Ahar’s Guruprasad Shetty and Kamalakar Shenoy have been fighting this battle against BEST in the Supreme Court for four years. Shetty and BEST Officials said they would receive a detailed copy of the order only on Wednesday. BEST general manager Jagdish Patil said he would be able to comment only after he receives the judgment copy. State industries minister Subhash Desai along with other members of the BEST committee had also met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking his intervention to get TDLR surcharge scrapped. A BEST committee member, who was part of the delegation, said the TDLR accounted for nearly 15-16% of the power bills. According to Shetty, the Appellate authorities opposed the move to impose TDLR. “BEST apparently took advantage of the SC endorsement that it was a local body and can run transport and electricity businesses. It misinterpreted the SC’s remarks to earn TDLR from consumers. Recently BEST was supposed to revise tariff and decide on ending TDLR but it is still recovering it,” he said. Patrick Onwuasor Jersey
UDAY effect likely to improve thermal PLFs, though better efficiency levels for discoms critical for turnaround: ICRA
Power distribution companies are likely to benefit substantially from Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) related measures but improvement in efficiency levels by discoms remains critical for their sustained financial turnaround and for the viability of the thermal generation sector, research firm ICRA said in a statement. Average capacity utilisation for thermal power stations on an all-India basis has remained subdued at 59.3 per cent during the five months between April and August 2016 as against 62.3 per cent in FY2016, due to factors like paying capacity constraints of state-owned distribution utilities, higher generation from the hydro and renewable segment and a sizeable increase in thermal power generation capacity over the last 16 months. Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President, ICRA Ratings, said: “We expect average all-India thermal PLF levels to show some improvement from 59% in 5M FY2017 to a range of 61-63% in the near term; although still at subdued levels. This will be driven by off-take from the discoms, which are likely to benefit with de-leveraging and refinancing of debt on their books under UDAY, policy measures such as flexible utilisation of coal linkages and the e-auction framework for short-term power procurement and improved domestic coal availability.” Slow progress in signing of long-term power purchase agreements by utilities has led to sizeable thermal capacity (estimated at ~25 GW) remaining exposed to price and volume risks in the short-term power market. In turn, utilities are increasingly showing a preference for tie-up of short to medium term power purchase agreements. This is an area of concern for independent power producers’ capacity which is waiting for long term PPA tie-up, especially given the subdued level of short-term traded price level that vary between Rs. 2.5 per and Rs 3.5 per unit, both on the reverse auction platform and the power exchanges. On the regulatory front, State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) in 20 out of 29 states have issued tariff orders for state-owned discoms so far for FY2017, which implies some progress in terms of issuance of tariff orders for the year. However, it is a matter of concern that tariff orders are pending in large states such as Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal for FY2017. “Greater focus by utilities on improving their efficiency levels in line with targets coupled with timeliness and adequacy of tariff hike in relation to cost of power supply, including periodic pass-through of fuel and power purchase cost remains critical in the long run for sustained improvement in the financial position of the discoms,” Majumdar said. Bob Griese Jersey
Ultimate aim is to strengthen Indian manufacturing: Piyush Goyal
Declaring that Indian entrepreneurship needs to be promoted in global electrical industry, Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said though foreign technology is welcome in India, the overall aim is to strengthen Indian manufacturing. “We welcome technology from all around the world but at the end of the day, we would like to strengthen our Indian hands,” Goyal said at the launch of the Light India Exhibition 2016 here. “I am happy to have imports come in, if we are at level playing field. But if we find that other countries are dumping goods into India, certainly that is not welcome in the country,” the Minister said. He lauded the innovative concepts like solar street lights on display at the exhibition. “I can actually imagine putting up not less than 10 or 15 million solar street lights, particularly in rural areas,” Goyal said. “The industry is reinventing itself and I saw some very new products here and would like to initiative talks for bulk orders,” he added. Over 275 companies are showcasing intelligent technologies at this electrical building technology exposition. Organised by Germany’s Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs and the Electric Lamp & Component Manufacturers’ Association (ELCOMA), the event brings together companies from India, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Taiwan to display the latest in lighting and building technologies, the organisers said. Tyreek Hill Jersey
Hardly any demand for power in country: Coal secretary Anil Swarup
Expressing concerns over lack of demand for power in the country, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup today wondered as to what would the government do with its ambitious 1 billion tonnes of production target for fossil fuel by 2020. “For me the serious concerns are: Number one, there is hardly any demand for power. What we will do? We are planning to produce one billion tonnes of coal by 2020. What will I do with that coal,” he said. “Someone has to look into these issues. How to increase this demand of power. It is very important because today per capita consumption of energy in India is equal to per capita consumption of the US in the late 90’s. If that is the pace than the demand has to go up,” the Secretary said. He further stated that the government is on a sticky- wicket where it doesn’t know what to do with the surplus coal. In fact, in the current financial year, there was cut down in coal production so the fossil fuel does not catch fire at the pit heads. “On 31st of March this year we had a balance of 56 million tonnes (MT) as inventory at pitheads and around 32 MT at the power plants. People ask me how do you manage this situation of surplus,” Swarup said. He, however, added: “I say I would rather be in this situation then what I was a couple of years ago when everyone was running around …to reach out coal to these power plants. I am glad we are where we are.” Government’s focus has now shifted to the quality of coal, he said. He also stated that the Coal Ministry was focusing on the use of technology to ensure that the pilferages declines phenomenally. “Today after initial experimentation every truck of coal India is GPS tracked. There is virtual mapping on the web and you know where the truck is. Each mine is videographed,” he said. State-owned Coal India (CIL) which amounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal production is eyeing one billion tonnes of coal production by 2020. Tomas Tatar Authentic Jersey
Sri Lanka to get UNDP support for project to generate energy from solid waste
The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka has entered into its first government co-financed project with the Kaduwela Municipal Council to generate bio gas energy by effectively managing the solid waste in the area. UNDP under the ‘Every Drop Matters’ project, provided technical support to Kaduwela Municipal Council (KMC) in 2015 to pilot the Solid Waste Management Project, reports the Colombo Page. According to the UNDP statement, during this phase, the innovative treatment technology, Janathakshan was tested together with a local partner and used to acclimatize to the locally designed bio gas technology for waste management. Currently the waste management unit in Kaduwela holds 1 MT of degradable solid waste per day and the gas produced by the system is supplied in to a 5 kW generator. The electricity generated by this unit is then used to supplement the electricity requirement of the Waste Collection Center by the Municipal Council. UNDP and the Kaduwela Municipal Council had signed a Rs. 20 million agreement that will increase this project to accommodate 10 MT of Solid Waste per day and the electricity generated by the Bio Gas Unit will finally contribute to the national grid. The agreement was signed by Country Director of UNDP in Sri Lanka, Jorn Sorensen and the Municipal Commissioner of the Kaduwela Municipal Council, Lekha Geethanjali Perera had signed this agreement. The standard of living will also improve of the communities living around the landfills at the same time serving as a model for Waste Management in other Municipal Council areas. “With a contribution of Rs. 9 million, UNDP, as the development arm of the UN working in Sri Lanka for five decades, is pleased to be working with the Kaduwela Municipal Council to provide technical assistance to address Waste Management challenges in Sri Lanka,” the UNDP said. Sergei Boikov Jersey