No final decision on scrapping SPVs for four UMPPs: Govt
No final decision has been taken to scrap special purpose vehicles set up for four ultra mega power projects in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. “No final decision has been taken to wind up the four special purpose vehicles (SPVs),” Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a reply to the Lok Sabha today. Activities in the ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) — Maharashtra, Odisha (second additional UMPP), Karnataka and Surguja in Chhattisgarh — are stuck due to various reasons, including agitation by local people and non-identification of a suitable site. Goyal added that around Rs 96.82 crore has been spent by SPVs set up for these UMPPs. According to the minister, the Chhattisgarh government has said it in not keen on setting up of 4,000-mw UMPP in the state. Four UMPPs, namely Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Mundra in Gujarat, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand, have already been transferred to the developers, he said. “Out of the four awarded UMPPs, two namely Mundra and Sasan are in operation,” the minister said. The minister said 6×660 mw Sasan UMPP in Madhya Pradesh, which was awarded and transferred to Reliance Power in 2007, is fully commissioned. The 5×800 mw Mundra UMPP in Gujarat, which was awarded and transferred to Tata Power in 2007, also stands fully commissioned, he added.
Power Ministry sets green energy target for state discoms
State discoms will have to mandatorily draw at least 2.75% of their total power consumption from solar plants in the current fiscal, according to the renewable purchase obligation (RPO) norms laid down by the power ministry. States will have to increase the share of solar power to 4.75% in 2017-18 and 6.75% in 2018-19, the guidelines said. While the Ministry of Power has issued guidelines, the final targets will be set by each individual state’s electricity regulatory commission (SERC). The RPO has been divided into energy from solar sources and non-solar. The ministry has set the quota of power to be drawn from non-solar renewable energy sources at 8.75% in 2016-17, 9.50% in 2017-18 and 10.25% in 2018-19. This adds up to a total renewable energy share of 11.50% this year, 14.25% in 2017-18 and 17% in 2018-19. India had earlier announced a goal of achieving 8% intake of solar power by March 2022. The new guidelines amount to a significant increase in the targets set, in keeping with the government’s ambition of having 175,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, including 100,000 MW of solar energy capacity. Track record of state discoms is not very encouraging though. In the last three years, solar RPOs set by different SERCs varied between 0.25% and 1%, and yet they were rarely fulfilled, with penal action rarely being taken against defaulting discoms. Also, discoms, many of them badly cash-strapped, are hardly in a position to encourage renewable energy growth. Though renewable energy tariffs have been falling of late, thermal power remains more attractive for them. More so because solar and wind power, by their very nature, erratic or infirm with output varying considerably depending upon the sun’s intensity or the wind’s speed. Houston Texans Jersey
Uranium Imports: A critical dose to step up generation
By the end of this calendar year, nearly 3,000 metric tonnes (MT) of nuclear fuel is likely to be shipped into India from three countries — the Russian Federation, Canada and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The uranium shipments expected in 2016 is a record for a single year and would, in quantitative terms, amount to nearly 53 per cent of total nuclear fuel imported into India since the country’s access to the global nuclear fuel market opened up in 2008. Till now, about 5,559 MT has come into the country from these three nations, alongside France, while 2,937 MT is the anticipated supplies of nuclear fuel in the form of natural uranium ore concentrate and natural uranium oxide pellets during calendar year 2016. In India, there are currently 21 reactors with an installed capacity of 5,780 MWe (mega watt electrical), of which, eight reactors with aggregate capacity of 2,400 MWe are fuelled by indigenous uranium while the remaining 13 with a capacity of 3,380 MWe are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards and use imported uranium. The second unit of the Kudankulam nuclear project (1,000 MWe Unit-2) has also attained first criticality (start of controlled self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction in the reactor for the first time) on July 10, 2016, which also uses imported fuel. A steady supply of uranium is good news for the country’s nuclear power sector, something that is expected to push up the performance of Indian nuclear power plants, as well as of the several fuel cycle facilities. The capacity factor — or operational efficiency — of the 21 nuclear power reactors currently running in the country was recorded at 73 per cent in the first three months of the current fiscal (April-June 2016). This includes the operational data for the first unit of the Kudankulam power project. An improvement in gross nuclear generation in the coming months could be powered by a combination of two factors: international cooperation leading to augmentation of fuel supplies to 13 reactors that qualify for imported fuel, and a commensurate improvement in domestic fuel supplies for the other eight. Under the “separation plan” announced by the government in March 2006, negotiated after the July 2005 nuclear deal with the US, India was required to bring 14 reactors under IAEA Safeguards in a phased manner. Thirteen of these reactors — including RAPS 2 to 6 at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, KAPS 1 and 2 at Kakrapar, Gujarat, NAPS 1 and 2 at Narora, Uttar Pradesh, TAPS 1 and 2 at Tarapur, Maharashtra, Kudankulam 1 in Tamil Nadu — are already under IAEA safeguards, and eligible to run on imported fuel. They are now operating at close to full capacity, officials of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), which runs the country’s nuclear power plants, said. The other reactors — KGS 1 to 4 at Kaiga, Karnataka, MAPS 1 and 2 at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, and TAPS 3 and 4 at Tarapur, Maharashtra — continue to use uranium sourced within the country. Official sources said that the Department of Atomic Energy reckons the annual fuel need for operating the indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) at 85 per cent capacity is about 45 tonnes of uranium dioxide for the older 220 MWe units, 100 tonnes for the 540 MWe units and 125 tonnes for the new 700 MWe units. By contrast, the need of low enriched uranium for operating imported light water reactors (LWRs) at 85 per cent capacity factor are six tonnes for the older 160 MWe Tarapur units and 27 tonnes for 1,000 MWe units such as the twin Russian-built VVER-1000 reactor units at Kudankulam. The total installed capacity is scheduled to go up to 9,980 MWe at the end of the current five-year plan period (March 2017), as seven new reactors are commissioned. These include the imported LWRs of Russian design, four indigenous PHWRs, and one indigenous prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR). NPCIL had planned to start work on 16 new reactors with a total capacity of 16,100 MWe during the Twelfth Plan (2012-17). These included eight indigenous PHWRs of 700 MWe each with a total capacity of 5,600 MWe and eight LWRs based on international cooperation — with Russia, France and the US — totaling to a capacity of 10,500 MWe. JSC TVEL Corporation, Russia Date of Contract: 11.02.2009 Total Quantity to be procured: 2000 MT of Natural Uranium Oxide Pellets. Total Quantity received: 1813 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016: 187 MT Status: The fuel is being procured through the Annual Supplements to the Contract, which concludes with the import of 187 MT of Pellets. Date of Contract: 11.02.2009 Quantity to be procured: 58 MT of Enriched Uranium Oxide Pellets.. Total Quantity received: 58.30 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016: Nil Status: The Contract concluded with one-time supply of the fuel during 2009. Date of Contract: 03.03.2015 Quantity to be procured: 42 MT of Enriched Uranium Oxide Pellets. Total Quantity received: 42.15 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016: Nil Status: The Contract concluded with one-time supply of the fuel during 2015 JSC NAC KazatomProm, Kazakhstan Date of Contract: 12.11.2009 Quantity to be procured: 2100 MT of Natural Uranium Ore Concentrate. Total Quantity received: 2095.9 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016:Nil Status: The Contract concluded during 2014. Date of Contract: 08.07.2015 Quantity to be procured: The Contract permits procurement of a minimum of 3750 MT and maximum 7000 MT of Natural Uranium Ore Concentrate. Total Quantity received: 999.807 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016:1500 MT Status: The material is to be procured during 2015–2019. AREVA, France Date of Contract:17.12.2008 Total Quantity to be procured:300 MT of Natural Uranium Ore Concentrate. Total Quantity received: 299.88 MT Anticipated delivery in 2016: Nil Status: The contract with Areva concluded with a one-time supply of the fuel during 2009. Cameco, Canada Date of Contract: 15.04.2015 Total Quantity to be procured: The Contract permits procurement of a minimum of 2750 MT and maximum 5500 MT of Natural Uranium Ore Concentrate Total Quantity received: 250.74 MT Anticipated
Power tariff: Regulatory panel’s public hearing in Thiruvananthapuram today
ELECTRICITY consumers can air their views on the Kerala State Regulatory Commission’s suo motu decision to determine power tariff in the state on Wednesday. The Commission, which took the step after the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) failed to submit tariff proposals for 2016-17, will hold a public hearing at its offices at Vellayambalam at 11 am. The Commission has uploaded details regarding its decision on its website www.erckerala.org. As per the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Expected Revenue from Charges (ERC) statements prepared by the Commission, the KSEB will have a revenue surplus of Rs 575.74 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 600.39 crore in 2017-18. Steps would be taken to fix the consumer category-wise tariffs after the hearing. Every year, the KSEB prepares and submits the ARR&ERC and tariff proposals before the Commission. The latter then takes a decision on it after public hearings. But new provisions require the KSEB to submit tariff proposals in a Multi Year Tariff (MYT) format (Under it, tariff proposals for three fiscals have to be submitted at one go). This has led to a row between the panel and the KSEB. Tariff was last hiked in 2014. Curtis McKenzie Womens Jersey
Delhi: Discoms to pay 10 times fine ‘falsely’ imposed on consumer for power theft
The discoms will have to compensate a consumer nearly 10 times the fine they “falsely” impose on him for power theft, the city’s power department has said. Noting a “delay”, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the power department on Tuesday to expedite the implementation of the notification which was earlier issued to Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). According to the notification, DERC will depute senior officials to give requisite permissions required to carry out inspections of discoms wherever cases of power theft and misuse are reported. “During examination, if PG (Public Grievance) cell arrives at the conclusion that the theft case was false, the discom will be liable to pay compensation to the affected consumer at 10 times the provisional assessment bill raised by the discom to compensate for the harassment caused to the consumer,” it says. Xavier Woods Womens Jersey
Manipur joins UDAY scheme, to get benefits worth Rs 263 crore
Manipur has joined the Ujwal DISCOM (distribution company) Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme meant for revival of debt-stressed power distribution utilities and will get benefits of around Rs 263 crore. Manipur is the 14th state to join the UDAY. It is also the first North Eastern state to opt for the UDAY for improving the efficiency of the DISCOM. The combined DISCOM debt to be restructured in respect of these states is around Rs 2.16 lakh crore as on September 30, 2015. “Government of India, Manipur and the DISCOM of Manipur signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the UDAY scheme on Tuesday for operational turnaround of the DISCOM,” Power Ministry said in a statement. The reduction in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and transmission losses by Manipur to 15 per cent and 3.20 per cent respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs 208 crore during the period of turnaround. The state would also gain around Rs 32 crore due to coal reforms. Besides demand side interventions in the UDAY such as usage of energy-efficient light emitting diode bulbs, agricultural pumps would result in gain of around Rs 17 crore. It said that improvement in operation efficiency would enable the DISCOM to borrow at cheaper rates in future, for their infrastructure development and improvement of existing infrastructure. The expected benefit to the State on this account is around Rs 6 crore during the turnaround period. An overall net benefit of approximately Rs 263 crore would accrue to the state by opting to participate in the UDAY, by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. during the period of turnaround. The healthy DISCOMs in Manipur would be in a position to supply more power. Thus, the scheme would allow speedy availability of power to around 188 villages and 2.43 lakh households in the state that are still without electricity. Derek Rivers Jersey
Give us cheap power, Piyushji
Not only have we been told India is a surplus power nation, those on Twitter will see a tweet from power minister, Piyush Goyal, everyday on how much electricity is available on various power exchanges, and at what price. On Thursday, for instance, he tweeted “Afternoon power check: 2,377 MW available at Rs 2.17/unit for states to buy”—a sample of his tweets over the past few weeks have been reproduced here for ready reference. If that much electricity is available at so low a price, even after you add on wheeling and other charges, the question is why this power is not available to consumers who are, for instance, paying Rs 7-8 per unit to a BSES or an NDPL in Delhi? That too will happen, Piyush Goyal will tell you, once he is is able to talk to the state governments and also pass necessary amendments in the Electricity Act which will allow for the creation of just a carriage company, which owns the power lines going into the premises of customers and charges a fee for transporting electricity—in jargon, this is called separating carriage from content. In other words, in a city like Delhi, for instance, a BSES will have a power distribution company and also one that owns the electricity lines that go into the homes of consumers. Once this is done, any citizen can buy the power Goyal tweets about, get into an agreement with BSES, to transport the power—BSES will probably have some back-to-back agreement with other transporters like Power Grid—and get the cheaper electricity. Apart from the wheeling and other charges that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) will set, there will also be a cross-subsidy surcharge to take care of the fact that higher-paying customers will be leaving BSES—the money is to allow BSES to continue to subsidise other sets of consumers, and the idea is to keep reducing this cross-subsidy surcharge every year. Apart from the fact that it is not clear by when Goyal will be able to get the amendments to the Electricity Act through, it is also not clear if he is giving a firm deadline to states to implement this. Because, if he isn’t, it’s almost a certainty the states will not implement it. While no one can doubt Goyal’s intentions, what’s not clear is why he needs to reinvent the wheel since most of these provisions are there in the Electricity Act of 2003 itself. Goyal’s new plans, it is true, are a step or two ahead of what the Electricity Act of 2003 had envisaged, but if even this first step has not been taken, where is the question of taking the much bigger ones? Section 42(2) of the Electricity Act clearly says, “The State Commission shall introduce open access in such phases and subject to such conditions… as may be specified within one year of the appointed date”—that is, this was to be done by 2014. “Open access” is what allows users to buy power from NTPC, in UP, use Power Grid’s wires to transport the power to Delhi, and then BSES’ lines to get it to your residence. This, you could say, is left pretty much open ended, which is why, another proviso of the same Section 42 says, “Provided also that the State Commission, shall not later than five years from the date of commencement of the Electricity (Amendment) Act, 2003 provide such open access to all consumers who require a supply of electricity where the maximum power to be made available at any time exceeds one megawatt”. In other words, begin with large users such as apartment complexes, shopping malls and industrial units. Naturally, the state governments and the electricity boards were loathe to give up their power. After all, once consumers start buying power from the exchange, the state electricity board’s ability to buy costly power—and in large quantities—will also be constrained. So, the government never implemented this section of the Act. With the Planning Commission insisting that all those who consumed more than 1 MW of power had to, by law, be freed from the clutches of the state electricity boards—or their counterparts, the private sector discoms—the matter went to the power ministry and the law ministry in 2010. The Attorney General GE Vahanvati said that while consumers with the demand of more than 1 MW could be considered “open access” customers—and therefore their tariffs would not be set by the regulatory commission—he said this applied only to those who specifically opted for it. This sounds like a banal distinction, but isn’t because SEBs often arm-twist customers not to leave—we won’t be responsible if the alternative power supply fails, we can’t guarantee there will be a power lines to carry the power you buy from a third party, etc. The matter went back to the Planning Commission which pleaded its case and again, on March 31, 2011, Vahanvati wrote,“Whether a state regulatory commission can continue to regulate the tariff for supply of electricity to any consumer of 1 MW above—No, for the reasons set out here in above”. After processing, the matter was signed off by the then law minister M Veerappa Moily on April 13, 2011. In other words, even if, say, a Maruti Udyog chose not to move away from the Haryana utility that supplied it power, the tariff would not be decided by the regulator, but would be bilaterally negotiated—and, in that negotiation, the rates that Goyal tweets about regularly would be factored in. Naturally, if costs couldn’t be loaded on to a Maruti Udyog, the regulator would have to look at charging other sections more economic rates and force the SEBs/discoms to reduce ATC losses. In the event, while Goyal’s carriage-and-content plan can go on as scheduled, he simply has to implement the Electricity Act in all seriousness and that includes ensuring open access is allowed for all customers within a few years, but for the for the 1 MW people immediately—once that is done,
State’s energy sector gets Rs162cr central sanction
Union minister of state (independent charge) for power, coal, new and renewable energy and mines, Piyush Goyal has confirmed that an amount of 162 crore has been sanctioned for the state of Goa under various schemes for improving and augmenting the energy needs of the state. Under the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), which will strengthen the sub-transmission network, metering, IT application, customer care services, reduce aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and establish an auditing system, projects worth 32.23 crore have been sanctioned. An amount of 110.73 crore was sanctioned in February 2009 for the implementation of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) project in the state. 31.47 crore has been disbursed till date, Goyal said. The R-APDRP aims to introduce information technology into all utility related functions of the department to bring relief to consumers who have to stand in long queues to get their bills paid. The programme that is being implemented by the REC Power Distribution Limited (RECPDL) along with their technology partner Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL), New Delhi, for the state is expected to bring greater transparency to the electricity department. Under the Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) scheme, which aims at electrifying rural India, projects worth 20 crore have been sanctioned for rural electrification works in the state. The information was provided to Goyal in response to a question from MP Shantaram Naik. Alexei Emelin Womens Jersey
What is happening in Telangana power sector?
Telangana Electricity Employees’ JAC Coordinator and TJAC member K. Raghu, on Monday, questioned the wisdom behind Damarcherla in Nalgonda as location for the Yadadri Thermal Power Project and the construction of Bhadradri Thermal Power Station in Manuguru of Khammam district with outdated technology. He said that his reports to the Telangana Government on various decisions pertaining to power sector have been disregarded, which include, among others, the one on the power purchase agreement with Chhattisgarh. Speaking at the release of his book ‘Telangana Vidyut Rangamlo Em Jaruguthunnadi’ (What’s happening in Telangana Power Sector’) – the first ever in a series of analytical reports to be published by the TJAC on various policy decisions since state bifurcation – Mr. Raghu said that he could not find a reason for Damarcherla being zeroed in as the location for the power project. “During Telangana movement, we had argued constantly for pithead projects, close to locations of coal availability. Damarcherla is located away from coal mines and transportation itself will cost Rs. 3,000 crore each year,” he explained. Though Bhadradri project was close to the Singareni coal mines, it was decided to use 50 to 100 per cent imported coal. “Besides, the sub-critical technology being used would add up an additional Rs. 400 crore burden each year, with which the contract employees working in the power utilities could be regularised twice,” he remarked, adding that the biggest disappointment from the Telangana Government has been the failure to regularise contract workers. Power utilities are already under heavy losses, owing to which revenue collection is given the utmost priority. The book intends to bridge the information gap faced by the public which is clueless about the basis for various decisions by the Government. N. Sreekumar, a consultant from Prayas Energy Group, emphasised on the need to bring to a halt the capacity addition in energy sector, as the year 2016-17 is announced as surplus year by the Central Electricity Authority. Across the country, generating stations are being backed down and payment of fixed costs for the backed down capacity would result in huge tariff burden. Patric Hornqvist Jersey
A.P. first to become power surplus in South
The Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited (HNPCL), a part of the Hinduja Group, on Monday commissioned its 1,040 MW power project at Palavalasa near here helping Andhra Pradesh to emerge as the first Southern State to become power surplus. The company commissioned the 2×520 MW coal-fired power plant to meet the increasing demand for electricity due to growth of industrialisation in the State. The commissioning of the plant got affected due to the havoc caused by Cyclone Hudhud in October, 2014. A company communiqué quoted its Managing Director Ashok Puri as saying “we are pleased to announce that we have commissioned both the units of the project. Unit-1 started supplying power to the grid since January 2016. Currently both the units are in operation.” All power to discoms He said the entire power generated by the project was being given to State-owned Southern and Eastern Power Distribution Companies of Andhra Pradesh. It will primarily cater to the growing power needs of the rising industrial demand in and around the city of Visakhapatnam and the Southern Region, which includes some of the fastest growing economies in the country. “We would like to thank Government of India and the Government of AP for supporting the development of the power plant,’’ he said, adding A.P. was the first State to implement 24X7 power for all schemes and pioneer the country in initiating power sector reforms as early as 1998 before the division of the State. The State’s total installed capacity is 15,311.17 MW and it aims to achieve 29,000 MW of installed capacity by 2019, Mr. Puri said. The Hinduja Group has identified power generation as one of its focus areas of business. Vic Beasley Jersey