French spot power prices fell in Q2 despite strong demand
French spot electricity prices fell in the second quarter by an average 6.7 percent year-on-year due to a prolonged slide in oil and carbon prices, and despite a rise in demand, energy regulator CRE said on Tuesday. The regulator said spot prices averaged around 26 euros ($29) per megawatt hour (MWh) during the quarter. The year-ahead contract for 2017 delivery, however, rose during the same period by 23 percent to average 33.13 euros/MWh following the rebound in commodity prices and a French government decision to put in place a floor price on carbon emissions from January next year. Traded volumes for the year-ahead contract also rose by 43 percent year-on-year during the quarter. European electricity prices have tumbled in recent years due to the combined effects of efficient energy policies and rising supplies of power from renewable wind and solar sources. CRE said prolonged cold weather during the quarter boosted demand for heating, pushing consumption up by 2.3 percent. It added a corresponding 2.5 percent fall in power from nuclear sources led to an increase in supply from hydro and coal-fired power stations. France depends on nuclear power for about 75 percent of its electricity needs. Power from hydro stations rose by nearly 5 percent during the quarter, and by 6.8 percent from coal-fired plants despite a 39 percent fall coal power generation capacity, the regulator said. Electricity from gas plants jumped 16.7 percent during the same quarter, boosting French gas consumption by 13 percent during the period. Charles Woodson Jersey
Jharkhand changed power policy to help Adani: Opposition
Jharkhand’s opposition parties have alleged that the Raghubar Das government here has changed the power policy of 2012 to benefit Adani Power in the state. The Jharkhand cabinet had on Monday made some changes in its 2012 power policy. As per the earlier policy, any power company setting up plant in Jharkhand was bound to provide 25 per cent of the generated power to the state. Of the 25 per cent 13 per cent was to be provided at fixed rate by the Jharkhand Electricity Regulatory Commission while the remaining 12 at the production cost rate. Under the new policy, the power company will now provide 12 per cent power at production cost only if the Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation provided coal at cheaper rate. The opposition parties have alleged that the BJP government in the state made the changes to help the Adani group’s power company. Adani Power has refused to provide power to the state at production rate. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told IANS: “At the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP government here …is formulating policy to grab tribal land and help the corporates. The power policy was changed to help Adani Power …” “Now the state will purchase power at rate fixed by the commission which will be much higher than the production cost,” said Bhattacharya, adding, “the proposed changes in the land acts were also to help the corporate houses”. Congress spokesperson Kishore Sahdeo told IANS that Raghubar Das was giving in to demands of the corporate houses. He said that land acts and power policy were being changed for the same. Sahdeo said, “There should be a high level probe to investigate the circumstances under which the power policy and land acts were being changed.” He accused, “The Raghubar Das government first reduced land rates in Santhal Pargana to help Adani and now they are making policy changes to benefit the same company.” The opposition parties had raised objection over the state’s move to make changes in the power and land policies during the assembly session this year. Adani Power has planned to set up 1600 MW thermal power plant in Sanathal Pargana which will be supplied to Bangladesh. In June the then Energy secretary S.K. Rahate had gone on a long leave as he refused to bow down to make the changes. Rahate had noted that Jharkhand will suffer a loss of Rs 2000 crore if the environment cess was not taken from Adani Power. Alex Lewis Authentic Jersey
Delays cost energy projects Rs 71,000 crore
hat could be the total cost of the bureaucratic delays in implementation of energy sector projects? The cost runs into a whopping Rs 71,000 crore, according to the government’s own assessment of the progress on major infrastructure projects currently being set up in the petroleum, coal and power sectors. According to the latest report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, this includes Rs 48,889 crore from power generation and transmission projects, Rs 5,120 crore from petroleum projects, Rs 11,476 crore from atomic power projects, Rs 4504 from petrochemical projects and Rs 1016 from coal projects. Power As many as 14 power generation projects and six power transmission projects have cost overruns due to delays. The list includes six projects of Power Grid Corporation, four projects on NHPC, four projects of NEEPCO, three projects of NTPC, two projects of DVC and one project of THDCIL. Of these 20 projects that ran into cost overrun, eight are hydro power projects with a total capacity of 3,640 MW. These projects, which have a total cost overrun of nearly Rs 16,000 crore have mostly been stuck due to environmental issues, protests from activist groups and agitation from locals. While some projects were approved as early as 2002 and 2003, NEEPCO’s 60 Megwatt Tuirial Hydro Power project was approved 18 years back in 1998. The project was scheduled to be commissioned in 2006. “However, the project work came to total stop w.e.f 9th June, 2004 on account of agitation launched by Tuirial Crop Compensation Claimant Association claiming payment of crop compensation for the Standing Crops in the Riverine Reserve Forest. Till June, 2004 prior to stoppage of work, 30% of the Project work and 95% of Design & Engineering work were completed,” according to information available on NEEPCO’s website. In terms of cost overrun, NHPC’s 8×250 MW Subansiri Lower Hydro electric project has the highest cost overrun at Rs 11,149.82 crore. The project was approved in 2003 with an estimated cost of Rs 6,285.33 crore and was expected to be commissioned in 2010. However, due to protests from activists and other groups claiming this project could be a harmful to the environment, construction work in this project has been stuck. NTPC, India’s largest power, has two of its thermal power projects and one hydel plant running into cost overrun. The company’s 3×660 MW Barh thermal power plant in Bihar, approved in 2005, has a cost overrun of Rs 6,402.7 crore followed by Bongaigaon thermal power plant in Assam, which has a cost overrun of Rs 2,373.83 crore. NTPC’s 4×130 MW Tapovan hydel project has also been delayed leading to a cost overrun of Rs 867.82 crore. Atomic Power Apart from these, the Kudankulam hydro power project also has a cost overrun of Rs 9,291 crores. The project, being set up by NPCIL, was initially approved in 2001 and was scheduled to commission in 2008. The project was delayed due to protests over the safety of a nuclear power plant. The first reactor of the plant attained criticality in 2013 and the first unit started production. The second reactor became critical in July this year and commercial operation of the unit is scheduled for 2017. Petroleum Four projects of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, two projects of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd and one project each of Oil India Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Of these, BPCL’s Integrated Refinery Expansion Project has the highest cost overrun at Rs 2,279 crore. The project, which was approved in 2012, was likely to be done by this year. The total cost overrun of ONGC’s four projects stand at Rs 1,317.73 crore which include on conversion of rig Sagar Samrat to mobile offshore production unit, Gamji field redevelopment, integrated development of B-127 fields and MH North Redevelopment Phase III. Coal The only coal project which features in the list is Singareni Collieries Company’s Adriyala Shaft Project in Telangana. Initially approved in 2009, the project now has a cost overrun of Rs 1,016.05 rupees. The mine is estimated to have 54.36 million tonne of deep-seated extractable coal reserves in five horizons and the coal would be used for NTPC’s Ramagundam project. Rodney McLeod Authentic Jersey
French power major EDF plans $2 billion green bet on India
French state-run power major EDF will invest heavily in renewable energy in India, with projects worth $2 billion in the pipeline, and is bullish about the sector, where it sees electricity tariffs falling 30% in five years, EDF Energies CEO Antoine Cahuzac told ET. India is among the few countries EDF has chosen for a significant expansion of its global portfolio of renewable energy because the country has a huge demand potential, power scarcity and “fantastic” quality of wind and solar radiation, Cahuzac said. EDF is also interested in nuclear energy, for which it has initial agreements with Nuclear Power Corp, but regulatory issues are still under discussion, he said. EDF also has interest in hydropower generation in India and is looking at a few prospects, he said. Lou Brock Jersey
NTPC bullish on power demand, to add 24 GW at Rs 1.6 lakh crore
Amid global economic uncertainty, state-owned NTPCBSE -1.32 % remains sanguine about domestic electricity demand and has planned a total capacity addition of 24 GW entailing an investment of Rs 1.6 lakh crore. “Various projects of the company having an aggregate capacity of around 24 GW are under implementation at 23 locations across the country,” NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh said while addressing the company AGM today. Singh said, “This (24 GW) includes 4,050 MW being undertaken by joint venture and subsidiary companies. This translates into a capex of about Rs 1,60,000 crore.” The installed capacity of the NTPC group today stands at 47,228 MW, which includes 800 MW of hydro and 360 MW of solar generation capacity. The company has planned an all-time high stand-alone capex of Rs 25,960 crore exceeding the MoU target of 23,000 crore (with the power ministry) and the NTPC group capex stood at Rs 32,091 crore last fiscal. Singh is of the view that the national trends suggest a promising future for NTPC despite the overall atmosphere of uncertainty in the global business scenario. “India is the fastest growing major economy in the world with a huge potential appetite for power consumption… on September 9, 2016, actual energy demand met in India was all-time highest at 3,539 MU and NTPC (with group entities) contributed 866 MU (million units),” he said. “Thus, green shoots are visible as far as upswing in power demand goes and this is in line with our long held expectations of growth.” NTPC has commissioned 10,125 MW in the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) so far and aims to commission around 4,500 MW more during 2016-17. He also said that under UDAY scheme for revival of debt-laden discoms, bonds worth about Rs 1.66 lakh crore have been issued, relieving the balancesheets of state utilities and thereby enabling higher capacity utilisation by generators. He further informed shareholders that with about 7 billion metric tonnes of geological reserves estimated at its 10 coal blocks, NTPC expects to produce about 107 million tonnes of coal per annum. He also told that the mining operations have commenced in Pakri Barwadih and the company has progressed well in other coal blocks too. The company has moved forward on coal freight rationalisation, thereby reducing coal transportation cost. With improved domestic coal supplies, NTPC has been able to minimise import of coal. With these steps, it has been able to reduce the tariff by 14 paise (4.3%) in the first quarter of 2016-17 from a year ago. Josh Bellamy Womens Jersey
As imports get costly, CIL woos power sector afresh
It has been a bad year for Coal India as fuel sales remained flat in the April-August period, sending profits on a tailspin. To survive the slowdown, the miner is looking to substitute imports in the power sector. Behind the project is the rising price of imported coal since February, widening the price gap with domestic coal. According to the “India Coal Market Watch” of mjunction, popular import varieties from South Africa (5,500 kcal) and Indonesia (4,200 kcal) have become costlier by 5.5 per cent and 19 per cent respectively over the past 45 days. Import of thermal coal is down 12 per cent this fiscal. Imported coal is used in power generation for two purposes. While the plants in the hinterland use limited quantities of these for blending, to meet emission standards; coastal power plants (away from the mining zone) run on low quality imported fuel for its freight advantage. Hinterland imports CIL is now planning to replace both the demands, partly or fully. While it is now flush with low-calorific value coal, the limited quantities of high value coal available in Ranigunj in West Bengal and Korea Rewa in Chattisgarh — which did not find too many takers in the past — can be used for blending. To make it workable CIL will make Railways and port authorities party to the negotiation so that coal can be reached to these consumers at a lower price than the imported coal. Considering India’s inefficient transportation infrastructure that (along with taxes) makes landed cost of fuel nearly two times costlier than the price of coal, the practical aspects of this proposal are yet to be tested. But to some extent, it has already started happening — NTPC and Neyveli Lignite have stopped issuing fresh import orders. This will replace nearly 17-18 million tonne of import demand beginning the second half of FY17. NDA-ruled hinterland States such as Chattishgarh, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have stopped issuing fresh import orders, too. Last year hinterland States consumed 37 million tonnes of imported fuel. Many lose ends The greater puzzle of servicing the coastal power plants, which are mostly idle due to low demand, is yet to be solved. A CIL source said these plants used 45 million tonnes of fuel last year, which is enough to generate over 9,000 MW of electricity. How does coal produced in say Odisha or Madhya Pradesh travel 2,000 km to say Tata Power’s ultra-mega power plant at Mundra, by India’s inefficient trains, and still remain cheaper than Indonesian coal delivered at the doorstep by cape-size vessels? Even if the logistics puzzle is worked out, the plan might face serious hurdles from the pricing point. According to Deepak Kannan, Managing Editor, Asia Thermal Coal of Platts, the traction behind the current price rise is weak and is almost solely driven by the Chinese demand for imported coal over domestic fuel. In an effort to cut the domestic production, arguably to offer traction to plummeting prices, China had cut the working days of mines from 330 to 270 for this year. This has pushed domestic prices above imported coal prices. Also, in Indonesia, production suffered early in the year due to unseasonal rains. But, according to Kannan, as we look at the production outlook of the top 10 Indonesian miners contributing up to 80 per cent of the country’s production, no supply constraint is in the horizon. More importantly, Chinese regulator NDRC held a meeting last week. And, the rumour is that Beijing may relax the production cap. If that happens, coal prices should melt down in the fourth quarter. Kannan is not sure if the prices will remain firm next year. And, that’s not music to the ears of CIL. Any meltdown in coal prices may spoil its plan to tap import demands as coastal plants especially will have little logic in replacing imported coal with domestic varieties. Dexter Manley Jersey
Power tariff to be cut by half if Cong forms govt in UP
Congress’ chief ministerial candidate in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election Sheila Dixit has said farmers’ loans will be waived and power tariff will be cut by “half” if her party forms the government in the state. Addressing the gathering at the reception ceremony of the party’s ’27 saal, UP behaal’ campaign at Ashoka Palace in Rampur Maniharan here in the district, she blamed the SP, BSP and BJP for the “backwardness” of the state. The former Delhi chief minister claimed that the state lagged behind during the 27 years of non-Congress rule. “The roads as well as the law and order situation of the state are in a pathetic condition. The education system is shattered. There is no safety for anyone here. “The sugar mills are being closed down. The farmers do not get paid. That is why Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said if the party comes to power, farmers’ loans will be waived, the power tariff will be decreased by half and the farmers will be paid more,” she said. Dixit said due to lack of employment opportunities, the youth of the state was migrating to big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata as well as to other states. Referring to the recent “feud” in Mulayam Singh Yadav’s family, she claimed that the SP stood “exposed”. “It (the feud) shows that they (the Yadavs) are worried about their family and not the state,” she alleged. Speaking on the occasion, Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that ever since the SP, BSP and BJP started ruling the state, they created divisions in the society.
Availability and affordability of power is a key enabler to meet SDGs: Minister Piyush Goyal
Electricity is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India is a power surplus country and can generate 50 percent more power in relation to current production. Government of India is working on addressing last mile connectivity, stated Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Government of India. Mr Goyal stressed India’s commitment to its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and to sustainable development and SDGs. He announced that the Government would shortly come up with a mandate for thermal power plants to utilize processed wastewater from a radius of 50 km and replace the fresh water utilization by treated wastewater. He added that India is the only country which taxes carbon. Clean coal cess has been substantially increasing over past few years. Now it is time for the world to start looking at the consumption in terms of carbon footprint rather just exporting the pollution to other parts of the world. India is only contributing to 4 percent of the global GHG emissions while supporting 17 percent of world population, he noted, adding that the world must recognize the principle of ‘polluter pays’. Mr. Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative in India, said that given the size and complexity of social problems in India, the solutions to global challenges would be developed here over the next 10-15 years. India has come out with innovative solutions for developmental challenges like creation of 175 GW of renewable energy capacities, fulfilling Swachh Bharat targets etc. He stressed that the financial gap for meeting developmental goals can only be fulfilled by the private sector through sustainable and moderately profitable business models. In the last few years, there have been great efforts, both at the global level as well as in India, to encourage industries to move towards sustainable business models, said Mr. Ajay S Shriram, Past President, CII and Chairman & Senior Managing Director, DCM Shriram Limited. Mr Shriram lauded the government’s efforts in increasing the share of renewable energy and mentioned that Indian industry has given green energy commitments of over 200,000 MW. He added that hydropower which has been an important source of energy in total energy portfolio should have faster environmental clearances particularly for small and micro hydropower projects. Mr. Sanjiv Puri, Chief Operating Officer, ITC Limited, said that India’s INDCs have targeted lowering the carbon emission intensity to 33 to 35 percent by 2030 and proactive steps are required for energy security. Mr Puri mentioned the efforts of ITC to become water positive, carbon positive and positive on waste recycling. Mr. S. Raghupathy, Deputy Director General, CII, said that CII through Indian Green Building Council has been able to achieve 3.9 billion sq feet of green building. Payback period of adoption of energy efficient technologies has come down to 4-5 years. John Stallworth Authentic Jersey
India saved 55.7 million units of energy through UJALA
The ministry of power’s initiative Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA), has already resulted in 55.7 million units of energy savings and has reduced carbon emissions over 45,000 tonnes. UJALA has benefitted more than 5 crore citizens across 18 states and 4 union territories. This has been possible only through robust distribution and awareness mechanisms. The government has also ensured that awareness of its UJALA programme reaches every beneficiary, irrespective of their social and economic background. Nevertheless, there are four states where the scheme has not taken off owing to necessary state government approvals. The government is engaging with the respective state governments and ensuring that the scheme is rolled out soon. The ministry of power, along with the state information departments, distribution companies and several other partners have ensured that the common man is made aware of the scheme through various platforms and in respective local language of the state. In every state where the scheme is functional – traditional media such as television, radio and newspapers; out of home media such as hoardings, communication vans, posters and digital platforms such as website, social media, mobile app and microsite have been used to spread awareness about distribution of these bulbs In order to make sure the scheme takes off the power ministry has developed and has actively promoted a dashboard, which provides real-time update of number of bulbs distributed in cities, towns, villages the scheme is presently operational. Also, each distribution centre is geo-tagged for consumers to ascertain its exact location. The dashboard can be viewed at www.ujala.gov.in or downloaded from Google or Apple store. It details all the publicity material released by the government. In fact, the government actively directs consumers to UJALA website for queries received on Twitter and Facebook about the location of distribution kiosks. The Ministry has also urged consumers to visit the dashboard and identify the location of the nearest distribution centre along with lodging complaints to the ministry on any challenges faced, including faulty bulbs. Haason Reddick Jersey
Maharashtra power company’ s 24-hour connection promise a ‘bluff’
Power consumers and activists have described the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL)’s pledge of energy connections within 24 hours as an eyewash. “What energy minister Chandrakant Bawankule has promised is a lie. The listeners might be amazed with the announcement. But there is a hidden ‘if’ to the announcement and that is the pre-condition that the infrastructure is already in place. This is happening even today in city areas” said Vilas Deole, secretary of the Nashik Zilla Grahak Panchayat and a former MSEDCL employee. MSEDCL officers, however, are not ready for consumer activists’ theory. They do not have anything different to add to the announcement. “We release the connections for power on the same day an individual or a professional house pays for meter connection.” an officer said. Karl Joseph Authentic Jersey