Power generation increased by 7.04 percent in 2 years: Piyush Goyal
The Minister said that there is presently power surplus in the country and states can be provided as much power as they require. In another written reply, the Minister said more than 13.15 crore LED bulbs have been distributed by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.( EESL) as on 18th July 2016 and approximately 8.0 crore by other suppliers. The Minister further stated that Ministry aims to replace 77 crore conventional incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs by March, 2019. EESL is playing an important role as a catalyst in replacing these bulbs, while several other suppliers are also engaged in the same. The Minister also mentioned that 1.2 crore domestic consumers have been targeted for distribution of LED bulbs by EESL in Gujarat and about 1.15 crore LED bulbs have been distributed by 19th July, 2016. In view of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s address to nation, on Independence Day, Government of India has decided to electrify remaining 18,452 unelectrified villages within 1000 days i.e. by 01st May, 2018. The project has been taken on mission mode and strategy for electrification consists of squeezing the implementation schedule to 12 months and alsodividing village electrification process in 12 Stage milestones with defined timelines for monitoring. 9,134 villages have been electrified till date. Out of remaining 9,318 villages, 497 villages are uninhabitated. 5,860 villages are to be electrified through grid, 2,645 villages to be electrified through off-grid where grid solutions are out of reach due to geographical barriers and 316 villages are to be electrified by State Govt . Total 1654 villages were electrified during April 2015 to 14th Aug 2015 and after taking initiative by Government of India for taking it on mission mode, 7,480 additional villages have been electrified from 15th August 2015 to 24th July, 2016. Shawn Williams Authentic Jersey
Nationwide powermen strike on Sept 2 against Electricity (Amendment) Bill
Public sector power employees have announced a nationwide strike on September 2 over the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. In a meeting held yesterday, National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) flayed the Centre for allegedly failing to address the burning issues of the energy sector even as they labeled the Bill as anti-people. The powermen had earlier sought discussion on the modified Electricity (Amendment) Bill with all the stakeholders for an “amicable settlement of the issues”. The meeting at New Delhi was attended by the representatives of Electricity Employees Federation of India, Indian National Electricity Workers Federation, All India Federation of Electricity Employees, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), TNEB Workers Union, All India Power Men’s Federation (AIPF) and All India Federation of Diploma Engineers. AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey said NCCOEEE resolution mentioned that the central government was playing hide and seek on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. The government claimed it had referred the modified Electricity (Amendment) Bill to the states, but the states were yet to receive the copy of the amended bill, he said. “The government should give a copy of the modified Bill to the major stakeholders, including employees and engineers, so that fruitful discussion can take place.” NCCOEEE maintained the cost of supply of power supply was increasing due to the “conspiracy” of private players, who have established domination in the power sector in the name of independent power producers (IPP), traders, franchisees and contractors for electricity generation, transmission and distribution. The outsourcing of jobs in power sector not only leads to the exploitation of workers, but compromises the quality of work, Dubey noted. He informed NCCOEEE had decided to launch massive campaign against the Bill as it would provide huge profit to private companies at the cost of the exchequer. Kurt Warner Jersey
Power deficit 0.9% in April-June quarter this fiscal: Piyush Goyal
Overall power deficit during the April-June quarter this fiscal was 0.9 per cent while the peak deficit was 2 per cent, Parliament was informed today. “As per information given by states/UTs to the Central Electricity Authority, the gap between demand and supply of electricity has been brought down to the lowest ever 2.1 per cent during 2015-16 which has further reduced to 0.9 per cent during 2016-17 (April-June, 2016),” Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today. According to a statement, against the overall demand of 295.34 billion units in April-June, 292.82 billion units were supplied, a deficit of 0.9 per cent. Similarly, 149.97 billion units were supplied against the peak demand of 152.97 billion units, recording a deficit of 2 per cent in the period under review. The minister said, “As against capacity addition target of 1,18,537 mw (including 88,537 mw conventional and 30,000 mw renewable) during the 12th Plan, i.e. by 2016-17, about 86,565 mw from conventional sources and about 19,500 mw from renewable sources have been achieved till June 30, 2016.” “Construction (target) of 1,07,440 ckm transmission lines and setting up of 2,82,740 mega volt amp (MVA) transformation capacity during the 12th Plan. As against this, 89,813 ckm of transmission lines and 2,66,033 MVA of transformation capacity have been achieved till June 30, 2016.” As per the statement, the highest overall power deficit was recorded at 18.2 per cent in Jammu & Kashmir, where 3.6 billion units of electricity was supplied in April-June as against the demand of 4.4 billion units. Jammu & Kashmir has also recorded the highest peak power deficit of 15.2 per cent in April-June quarter as 2.1 billion units were supplied against the demand of 2.4 billion units. It is the only state which has recorded overall and peak power deficit percentage in double digits. Rasmus Ristolainen Jersey
Focussing on getting stuck projects operationalised: Essar Power
Debt-laden private utility Essar Power today said its focus is on getting stuck projects operationalised and profitable. The company is burdened with Rs 20,369 crore debt and is evaluating possibilities of reducing it. “Our focus and priority is to get our plants operational and profitable. We have no plans now to monetize any assets for now,” a company spokesperson said. Earlier, a company’s senior executive had said that to reduce debt Essar Power was mulling monetization of some units plants, including some of its gas-based plants in the country. Esaar Power has said it is planning to fully operationalise its 1,200 mw Mahan project in Madhya Pradesh as well as its two captive gas-based plants in Gujarat. It has two captive gas-based plants in Hariza in Gujarat with a capacity of 500 mw and 515 mw each, which are currently shut for want of fuel. The 500-mw Bhander plant in Hazira was commissioned in 2006 and commenced full commercial operations in 2008, but due to high fuel price, the firm shut the plant three years ago. The 515-mw Essar Power Hazira plant had signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Essar Steel and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam and was commissioned in October 1997. “Both these plants are ready and can go operational once we have fuel supply. We are hopeful of commencing operations on the Bhander project this quarter,” the spokesperson added. The company is also in the process of tying up for coal linkages for its 1,200 mw coal-based Tori project in Jharkhand in the next fiscal. Meanwhile, the firm has sought easier terms of repayment for some of its power plants so it matches the life-cycle of the project. Banks have given a go-ahead to that under 5:25 refinancing scheme. It extends loan repayment for infrastructure companies by up to 25 years, which can be refinanced every five years. Essar Power has already restructured Rs 10,000-crore under the scheme and hopes to complete up to Rs 18,000 crore this calendar year. Blake Wheeler USA Authentic Jersey
PFC, REC will drop interest rates to double lending in three years
State-run power financiers Power Finance Corp (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corp (REC) will slash rates to single digits when lending to renewable energy projects following the government’s order setting tough targets for the two companies to double their exposure in the next three years. In order to achieve the targets, PFC will have to sanction Rs 1.5 lakh crore loans and REC Rs 1 lakh crore by 2019. Both the companies are likely to make formal announcements very soon. In a three-hour long review meeting with Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal, renewable energy and mines, the two companies on last Thursday were asked to grow their businesses by 100 per cent by 2019, with specific focus on renewable energy projects. The meeting with industry and the two PSUs had lot of surprise elements with REC and PFC unaware of the presence of industry while the private firms were not informed about Goyal’s presence. In early July, Goyal had asked PFC and REC for presentations on special focus on renewable energy. After industry complaints, the minister prodded the companies to take up smaller renewable projects and asked the two firms to reduce cycle time for loan evaluation to disbursal to 60-90 days for renewable energy projects that take about a year to get commissioned. The companies take about 170 days for the same which has been constantly reducing.The time has significantly dropped from 292 days in 2015-16. The ministry has also asked the two companies to form external committee consisting of sectoral experts for an independent evaluation of lending to renewable energy projects. REC sanctioned Rs 2,966 crore in 2015-16 to renewable energy projects, up four times from Rs 548 crore in 2014-15 The two companies have recently reduced their interest rates to renewable projects. REC lends to renewable energy projects at between 10.5 per cent and 11.5 per cent depending on factors like project viability and promoter’s strength. Whereas interest rates on loans to conventional and hydropower projects are higher at 11.75 per cent to 13.40 per cent. The move is aimed to boost renewable sector as well as utilise cash that the two financiers will receive in lieu of loans lent to state-run power distribution companies post implementation of Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY). Under the debt recast scheme, REC and PFC will recover their debt exposure to state discoms in cash. The two companies have an exposure of over $20 billion to state discoms. The non-banking Finance companies plan to utilise the cash to finance energy projects, mainly green energy plants such as solar, wind and biomass power plants. Lack of new conventional coal and gas projects by private companies has prompted the two companies to shift focus to renewable sector. Presently, renewable energy projects constitute nearly 10 per cent of the loan portfolio of REC and PFC. Brendan Gallagher Womens Jersey
Power sector acquisitions to get cheaper next year: CESC
RP Sanjiv Goenka Group flagship CESC Ltd is expecting acquisition opportunities in the power sector to get cheaper over the next 12 months. “Opportunities will come cheaper in a year or so. This is our articulated calculation for it,” the group’s Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said recently on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting (AGM). He was responding to questions on acquisition of stressed assets in the power sector. “A dedicated team is working towards identifying stressed assets and we have well articulated principles laid down for it. We look only at assets which are completely viable in terms of inputs and output. “Unless the basic operation of an asset is profitable, we are not interested even if it comes cheap,” he said, adding that the power ministry has sorted out several issues facing the sector. In 2009, CESC acquired Dhariwal Infrastructure Ltd’s 600 MW Chandrapura thermal project in Maharashtra. However, the project now has accumulated losses of ?600 crore, but is expected to turn revenue positive once a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 150 MW is signed over the next three months. “We have so far tied up for almost 300 MW and another 150 MW is expected over the next three months. With this, our total PPA for Chandrapura will be 450 MW, out of 540 MW effective capacity. Annual revenue will be about ?600 crore and with this, we will be profitable,” Goenka said. Haldia Energy, which operates a 600-MW thermal power plant at Haldia, has achieved 100 per cent ash utilisation and is exporting ash to Bangladesh for cement making. Ronnie Harrison Authentic Jersey
People restore power transmission in Siang
The residents of Pangin, under the guidance of Siang DC Rahul Singh, have created a record of sorts by repairing and restoring power transmission between Yembung and Pangin. The power supply had remained disrupted for a long time even after the restoration of Yembung Hydel Plant three months ago. The department concerned was not being able to transmit power to Pangin as the two poles were totally damaged because of construction of Trans Arunachal Highway and landslides. Official reports stated that the power department had failed to restore the system for the past three months owing to the alleged paucity of government funds. DC Singh had mobilized the locals, including officers and staff of various departments, local leaders and villagers to make a joint initiative in the area. With the help of power department, they successfully erected two new poles without any financial assistance from the government and revived the transmission after hours of toiling. The DC, while appreciating the locals for their endeavour, asked them to make such united efforts in future whenever the need arises. He promised all possible help to the power department officials to carry out their duties, a report said here on Saturday. A.J. Derby Jersey
Power utility mulls hotline washing of high-tension wires across Nashik
The Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) has decided to conduct ‘hotline washing’ of high tension lines to avoid long power outages acoross the district. For this purpose, it may need to procure additional instruments. The procedure requires a truck-mounted instrument that allows one to spray de-mineralised water below the insulators made of china-clay to remove dust. Since this exercise is carried out without shutting down the power supply, it’s called ‘hotline washing’. The June 20 debacle that left the entire district in darkness for over 14 hours has pushed the state power utility to take concrete steps towards rectifying the problem and ensuring that Nashik does not have to face power outages of such large proportions in future. The issue of pre-monsoon maintenance of high power transmission lines has come under the scanner especially after the June 20-incident of power failure in district that resulted in three talukas and industrial area going without power besides tripping of two power generation sets in Eklahara colony. The Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) has therefore decided to conduct live washing of the high tension lines for which it may require to purchase instruments. “Once acquired, it will be the first-of-its-kind kit with the MSETCL in the state, which is used mostly to clean insulators more than 100ft above where fine dust accumulates and creates a path for water, leading to power failures. Since the pre-monsoon maintenance is a major issue, the company is contemplating buying the truck-mounted instrument for cleaning purpose,” a senior officer from MSETCL said. “The MSETCL currently has units to conduct hotline washing of the system where maintenance is carried out without shutting down the line – while 1,32,000 to 2,22,000 volt of energy passes through the wires. It is a specialist job. It is more difficult to clean the system with water. Around two years ago, the company cleaned the system using the cold water washing process. the drawback of this process is the limited amount of time available to complete the process, as the power supply has to be restored soon,” the officer added. Abroad, maintenance of the system is carried out through specially designed choppers. For cold washing the system, power outage for longer durations is needed, which is not feasible, especially during summers. “We cannot closing lines for too long, which leaves no scope for cleaning the system,” the officer said. Discussing the hotline washing method, he said that since there were no experts available to carry out the job, MSETCL was planning on readying a team that would specialise in carrying out the work. “The teams will be trained, developed and retained for the job,” he added. There is, however, another side to the issue. “The MSETCL officials may find it feasible to buy the equipment for hotline washing but a major concern remains about how often the kit would be brought to use. In such a scenario, it is best to outsource the work so that the utility can focus on other issues at hand instead for worrying up training and retaining teams for the job. Why should the company invest in a machine that will require huge funds? Let the job be outsourced, which is limited to a particular time of the year,” a union leader of the employees of the company said. Water should be de-mineralised 100% by the agency hired for the job and any shortcomings should be punished severely, he added. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Authentic Jersey
Nuclear-power generation capacity to be hiked 3 times in 10 yrs: Jitendra Singh
Government plans to increase the nuclear power generation capacity of the country by three times in ten years, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said today. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State in the PMO said while earlier five-year plan targets were set with regard to electricity generation from nuclear power plants, “with the establishment of Niti Aayog, the concept of five-year plans has lost relevance and the government proposes to make long term plans ranging from 7-15 years.” He said the government aims to increase the capacity for power generation by three times in ten years. Singh also said that a three stage nuclear power programme has been devised to efficiently utilise the large reserve of thorium in the country. “India has gained experience over the entire thorium fuel cycle – fabrication, irradiation and reprocessing on a semi-industrial scale. Efforts are currently on to enlarge that experience to a bigger scale,” he said. Sam Martin Jersey
TSERC seeks public opinion on draft
Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) has sought public opinion for making changes to the draft of Net Metering Rooftop Solar PV Grid Interactive System Regulation 2016. Citizens have been asked to submit their suggestions and objections by August 8. The draft would be finalised to supply power to domestic, industries and commercial needs using net metering rooftop solar PV Grid interactive system. The Commission would prepare a final draft after receiving comments and suggestions. The Commission Secretary stated that stakeholders and general public can give their comments and make suggestions on the rooftop solar PV Grid Interactive System. With a view to encourage and promote Grid interactive rooftop solar PV systems, the Commission has made available the details on the website www.tserc.gov.in. Ted Lindsay Jersey