Spot market power trade highest ever in July
Spot market power trade in India rose 14 per cent in July to 3,581 million units, the highest ever in a month. Around 3,140 million units (MUs) were traded in June. On a daily average basis, close to 116 MUs were traded in July, a 10 per cent increase over 105 MUs traded in June, a statement from the India Energy Exchange said. The market saw average daily purchase bids of 5,360 MW and average daily sell bids of 9,061 MW. The average price in July was Rs 2.16 per unit, 7 per cent less from Rs 2.31 per unit in June. Increased hydel generation due to good monsoon and easing of inter-state transmission congestion were the key factors that led to price reduction, the statement said. Due to higher transmission and generation availability in southern states, the market price remained same for eight days. In the first half of July, there was very little transmission congestion across corridors. However, in the second half of the month, transmission congestion was witnessed in southern and northern regions. Brandon Marshall Womens Jersey
Himachal Pradesh to start battery-operated electric buses
Himachal Pradesh is set to start plying battery-operated electric buses on the Manali-Rohtang route. “We have conducted successful trials and negotiations are on with some companies for acquiring 50 big and 25 small buses. The bigger buses would be funded to the tune of 90 per cent by the central government while small buses would entail 75 per cent central subsidy,” Transport minister G S Bali said. The state government has urged the Centre to provide subsidy for purchasing 90 buses, he added. Bali, who is also chairman of group of ministers (GOM) for road safety in Hill areas constituted by the Union government, said the GOM would submit its report in next nine-ten months. The transport ministers of Hill states, including the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand and Goa, who also hold the charge of transport, are members of the committee. Bali said the state government is going to be tough with operators plying Volvo buses in Himachal on regular basis and said stringent action, including impounding of the buses, would be taken against those plying illegally in the state. The Volvo buses are allowed in the state with special permission to bring tourist groups, marriage parties and other tours but they are not permitted to ply regular bus services and issue tickets online to passengers, he added. Bali informed about a Rs 16 crore hike in the revenue of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) with the amount increasing to Rs 216 crore from Rs 210 crore during the last six months. Thomas Morstead Jersey
MSEDCL taken to task over inflated bills, power cuts
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has recently been facing the residents’ anger over inflated bills and erratic supply. Consumers have been undertaking protest marches to MSEDCL offices, to demand uninterrupted supply and accurate billing. Over a hundred angry Airoli residents, led by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) functionaries, barged into the local office on Tuesday to demand withdrawal of inflated bills and even locked the office’s entry gate. Consumers were heard complaining about inappropriate bills, no photo of meter on bills and illegal collection of meter testing charges. “We have been assured that the faulty meters will be tested and excess amount, refunded. We demanded that the contractor be blacklisted,” said Nilesh Bankhale, vice president, MNS Navi Mumbai. Additional executive engineer of MSEDCL, Sarang Mahajan told TOI that the contractor’s man skipped some consumers while recording meter readings which reflected in the average billing. ” The contractor will be replaced too. The excess billing happened due to high consumption,” he added. A few days back, Kharghar residents submitted 250 bills having exorbitant charges and forced officials to test their meters in a lab, citing faults. Uran residents have planned a day-long dharna on Friday. Gothivli residents met MSEDCL MD with their demands. Ghansoli and Koparkhairane residents staged a protest under the leadership of Airoli MLA Sandeep Naik. David Backes Womens Jersey
BHEL commissions 500MW Marwa Thermal Power station in Chhattisgarh
State-run BHEL has commissioned the second 500 MW thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh. “Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the second 500 MW (megawatt) thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh,” the power equipment manufacturer said in a regulatory filing. Located in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh, Marwa TPS has been set up by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company (CSPGCL). The first unit of Marwa TPS was also commissioned earlier by BHEL, it said. BHEL has been associated with power projects of CSPGCL, (the erstwhile Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board), from the time when the 120 MW Korba TPS extention-1 was commissioned in March 1976. “Significantly, BHEL has a share of 94 per cent in the installed capacity of CSPGCL and has so far commissioned 11 thermal sets and three hydro sets for the state utility. “In Chhattisgarh, BHEL has contributed a total of 12,500 MW to the state’s installed power generation, including central and private sector utilities,” it said. BHEL further said its scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbines, generators and boilers, along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides, state of the art controls & instrumentation and electrostatic precipitators. Aaron Holiday Authentic Jersey
Regulatory hurdles trip open access market for energy consumers: ICRA
Regulatory hurdles like high cross subsidy charges and resistance from utilities are affecting the growth of open access market for energy consumers, domestic ratings agency Icra said. “…regulatory challenges, especially levy of high cross-subsidy surcharge (CSS) and other charges, and resistance from utilities is adversely impacting power generating companies (gencos) and high tension (HT) customers and thus affecting the growth of the open access market,” Icra said in a release. “ICRA notes that the high level of open access charges to avail energy supply by HT consumers, primarily owing to the increase in CSS coupled with the levy of additional surcharge by regulators in a few states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, has constrained procurement from the open market for such consumers. “This apart, the open access market has also faced discouragement from utilities and state governments in some states, which has restricted growth,” Icra Ratings Senior Vice President Sabyasachi Majumdar said. Under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, open access is permitted and involves the non-discriminatory use of transmission and distribution infrastructure of the licencees by any consumer with demand greater than or equal to 1 MW to procure electricity from the source of their choice. This is subject to the regulations and charges as approved by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), which are to be paid by the consumers for using the transmission and distribution infrastructure. Among the states studied by Icra, namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, the CSS level remains high in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, while there has been a significant y-o-y increase in other states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. In the absence of the phase out/reduction of cross-subsidisation of domestic and agriculture tariffs by industrial and commercial tariffs, the upward pressure on open access charges is likely to continue, Icra said. In addition to CSS, SERCs in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have approved an additional surcharge in the last two-year period. The additional surcharge is levied to meet the fixed cost obligation of the distribution utilities arising out of their obligation to supply. The open access charges, therefore, remain high across the states under study, varying between Rs 2.8 – 4.5 per unit, except in Karnataka, where the open access charges are relatively lower i.e. at Rs 1.9 per unit, it said. With this, procurement under open access remains viable for industrial consumers if the power is available at a tariff ranging between Rs 4-5 per unit across a majority of the states, except in Andhra Pradesh, it said. Brandon Dubinsky Jersey
Three TTPS units kept in standby mode
A technical snag in the fourth unit of Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) was set right and the unit had been kept ready for production, sources said here on Tuesday. This unit, with a production capacity of 210 MW, suffered a breakdown at 11.30 a.m. on Monday after it developed a problem of chloride ingress. However, the load dispatch centre at Chennai had instructed TTPS authorities to keep this unit in standby mode. Besides, the first and third unit have also been kept in standby mode since Saturday. Wind energy With three of the five units at the TTPS not being allowed to generate power, only the second and the fifth units were functional as usual. Since the wind energy had contributed to the production of electricity, the coal-fired thermal power units were suspended from production, sources said. The suspended second unit of NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL) would resume production either by August 3 of 4. The coal-based thermal power unit with a capacity of 500 MW was suspended on July 19 to carry out annual maintenance work, sources said. By way of wind energy, 1,756 MW of power was generated on Monday and 1,700 MW on Tuesday, sources from Non-Conventional Energy Source, Tirunelveli Circle of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, told The Hindu . On July 24, power generation touched 2,500 MW through wind energy and it might go beyond in the coming days, sources said. Caleb Joseph Authentic Jersey
No power shortage in the country, says Goyal
There is no shortage of power in the country to cater to the demands of states and government is trying to fully tap the potential of new and renewable energy to produce 175 Gigawatt of power by 2022, Rajya Sabha was informed today. Power Minister Piyush Goyal also said the government was exploring producing energy from waste and garbage and clearance of certain projects were awaited from National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, monitoring the use of technology which does not impact on environment. “There is no shortage of power in the country. We have sufficient power and if any state wants to buy power, one can do so from a portal now. “Total potential in India from new and renewable energy is huge and immense and the total potential is certainly not being exploited. This government has embarked on a plan for producing 100 GW planned capacity in solar and an overall five-fold increase in renewable energy to 175 GW by 2022,” Goyal told members during the Question Hour. Replying to supplementaries, the Minister said as regards the total amount of energy generated last year from solar power and renewable sources of energy put together was 65 billion units. “In 32 years, the country barely had 34 MW of renewable energy capacity and the total solar power capacity is 2,632 MW but we have added 4,130 MW capacity in last two years. This is almost 1.5 times in two years against what was added in last 32 years,” Goyal said. As per the new tariff policy, government has made compulsory grid inclusion for all new projects converting waste into energy, he said. “Government is awaiting clearance of technology for use by certain projects to convert waste into energy. The NGT and Supreme Court are monitoring the technology used for proposed plants for converting waste and garbage into energy. We are in discussion with foreign makers for use of technology,”he said. The Minister also said there was a proposal to tap the potential of wind power along the 7,500 km coastline in the country, but the cost turns out to be higher than in Europe. Jourdan Lewis Womens Jersey
Relief to domestic power consumers in UP
In a relief to domestic consumers, Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPSERC) today spared them from any hike in power tariff and did not propose any increase in tariff for small users for private tubewell or pumpsets for irrigation purposes. The new tariff for 2016-17 was announced by UPSERC today, said an official. The tariff has been planned in such a way so as to compensate the rising costs of the licencees without putting excessive load on the consumers, he said. Efforts have been made to ensure that the effective tariff for consumers with lower consumption is lesser as compared to those with higher consumption. In an initiative to revive the financially-distressed distribution companies (discoms), the Centre has approved a new scheme proposed by the Ministry of Power, Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY), said the official. Recognising the hardship of the Bundelkhand farmers, the commission has relaxed the minimum bill payable by a consumer to Rs 100 per BHP per month. This would be applicable till installation of meter to private tubewell consumers. The commission has approved telescopic tariff for LMV-4 category of consumers which, in turn, would result in a lesser amount in the electricity bill for those who consume less electricity and would also help in smooth implementation of pre-paid metering. To encourage consumers to make payments on or before the due date, the rebate has been increased from 0.25 to 0.5 per cent. SERC has also approved that in case of rectification, adjustment, settlement of bills etc., consumers would also be entitled to interest at the same rate as that on the security deposit on all the dues payable by the licensee to them. To encourage the use of solar energy, it has decided to continue with the rebate to consumers for installing and using solar water heaters, which costs only Rs 100 per month. Green Bay Packers Womens Jersey
Restriction on electricity injection blowing wind out of wind projects
Restriction on electricity injection into the national power network is blowing the wind out of wind power generation units. According to India Ratings, a rating firm, electricity networks all over the country have reduced receipt of wind turbine generated power which is starting to threaten credit worthiness of renewable energy projects. “It has the potential to impede capacity addition,”says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). Non-availability of network to push the power generated by wind projects has majorly impaired operational strength of some wind projects, given the sizable installed capacities. The national power network carries electricity from generators and supplies it to utilities who then on supplies it to consumers. This network, referred to as grid is severely short of requisite capacity to hand power generated from wind projects. “The failure to address grid issues can gradually destabilise the solar projects in the ensuing years. Restriction of power injection by the grid is unpredictable, thus the ill-equipped developers have been grappling to manage their finances, barring the large ones,” the India Ratings report said. Wind power generation depends on the speed of wind at the project locations and it is uncertain, while curtailment of power receipt by the grid is controlled by the authorities that manage the grid is, this practise of not accepting wind power by the grid is slowly shaking the fledgling renewable energy sector. “Tamil Nadu, with the largest number of wind power project has been widely curtailing grid availability for power projects in the last three years; the phenomenon appears to have spread to Rajasthan in FY17 and FY16,” it said. Ind-Ra believes that inadequate forecasting systems have compelled the utilities to curtail the grid. In Ind-Ra’s view, due to the relative source certainty in solar projects, generation in solar is more predictable than in wind projects. Anecdotal evidence suggests that solar capacities in Tamil Nadu have also encountered grid issues in FY17. The average annual grid availability for wind assets in Tamil nadu from FY14 – FY16 stood at less than 80%, while the average annual grid availability from FY11 – FY13 was around 95 per cent. Drastic reduction in availability from FY14 onwards didn’t coincide with any major capacity addition, since total capacity of merely 604MW was added in the period FY14 to FY16 compared to total installed capacity of around 7600MW. Grid availability and increased wind supply in 1QFY17 has significantly improved the wind energy generation (94 per cent increase over 1QFY16, source: Southern Region Load Despatch Centre). Providing certainty in grid availability can make Tamil nadu attractive for repowering of old wind turbines (1900 MW installed till 2003). There is large solar capacity additions envisaged to come on track in Rajasthan in 2016; however the lack of assurance on the evacuation infrastructure and the grid availability can affect the credit profile of the upcoming projects. Forecasting and scheduling regulations have been notified, wherein the generator will be penalised in case of inaccurate forecasts. On the other hand, there is no mandate on the transmission and distribution utilities to manage the grid to ensure the ‘must run’ status which is conferred on renewable energy projects is adhered to. Ind-Ra notes that there is no provision for compensation in case a renewable energy project is unable to supply power in the event of grid curtailment. The lack of this provision, leaves the renewable energy project stranded whenever there is curtailment and they appeal to the regulators over the non-compliance of the must run status. Technical and commercial challenges are emerging for the distribution utilities because of changes in the energy mix. Efforts to address these challenges are trailing behind the envisaged pace of capacity addition. The monopoly in distribution infrastructure and lack of technology aids – to predict the source risk, tests the endurance of renewable projects and consequently renewable energy remains hostage to state utilities. There is also a need to address the costs of integration of renewable energy in the grid in an equitable manner. Alex English Womens Jersey
India’s total power generation capacity crosses 300 GW mark
India’s total installed power generation capacity has crossed the 300-GW mark, which includes 42 GW of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind. India’s total power generation capacity was 3,03,118.21 MW as on June 30, 2016, which includes 42,848.43 MW, stated Power Minister Piyush Goyal in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today. According to the statement, private sector’s cumulative installed power generation capacity was 1,24,995.51 MW as on June 30, 2016 while central plants account for 76,296.76 MW and state capacities 101,825,94 MW. The minister also stated that the country has generated 12.01 billion units of electricity from renewable energy sources till June-end this fiscal while the output was 65.78 billion units in 2015-16 and 61.78 billion units in 2014-15. The target from clean sources in 2015-16 was 70 billion units. The minister also told the House that 1,107.82 billion units of electricity were generated last fiscal. Thermal power constituted 85.19 per cent of the total generation in 2015-16 while hydro contributed 10.96 per cent and nuclear power’s share was 3.38 per cent. India imported 5.24 billion units of electricity from Bhutan last fiscal, which was 0.47 per cent of the total output. Goyal also said that to meet the rising demand of power, as per 18th Electric Power Survey (EPS), the capacity addition target of 88,537 MW from conventional sources has been planned during 12th Five-Year Plan. Against this target, 86,565.72 MW has been achieved till June 30, 2016, he added. Star Lotulelei Jersey