NTPC to invest Rs 40k cr in 3 coal-based projects in MP

The state-owned power major NTPC on Wednesday said it will invest about Rs 40,000 crore for setting up three coal-based projects in Madhya Pradesh. The company has selected sites at Bamitha, Gadarwara and Khargone in the state for setting up three coal-fired power stations with a combined capacity of 7,960 mw. The average generation cost of one megawatt power is Rs 5 crore.

Studies such as environmental impact, water and fuel availability are underway and would be complete in the next six months. “Studies are on and the detailed project report and feasibility report will be complete in the next six months, and within a year we can start working on these projects,” NTPC chairman and managing director RS Sharma said on the sidelines of Power Ministers’ Conference here.

The thermal power projects at Bamitha, Gadarwara and Khargone are expected to be of 4,000 mw, 2,640 mw and 1,320 mw capacity, respectively. The annual coal requirement of these power projects is estimated at 40 million tonne, considering 5 million tonne coal is needed for generating 1,000 mw power. NTPC is yet to tie up the fuel linkage for these projects.

Centre to bringdown power deficit to 3% by 2017

Centre intends to bring down the power deficit from the present 12 per cent to three per cent by end of the 12th five year Plan, a top official today said. "We are looking at bringing down power deficit to three per cent by end of 2017 from the present 12 per cent", Joint Secretary Department of Disinvestment, Ministry of Finance, Sidhartha Pradhan told reporters.

He said the country had to generate 3.70 lakh mw of power by 2017-18 from the present 1.60 lakh mw of power and for this Rs 11,40,000 crore was needed.

"While 25,000 mw of power will be added in the next two years, another 1.85 lakh mw of power will be added by 2017-18", Pradhan said adding by 2030, India needs to generate eight lakh mw of power, he said.

The per capita power consumption in the country at 700 units was much lower compared to US (11,000 units) and China (2,800 units), Pradhan said.

He said national transmission corridor to connect inter-state power supply will be facilitated by 2017.

The Architecture of future grid- Smart Grid/Smart-Mini Grid/Micro-Grid

Smart Grid

Smart grid is an intelligent future grid that applies digital information technology to optimize electrical power generation, and delivery to the end users. The basic principles of smart grid is that it allows for dynamic communication and balancing of the electricity network, thus lowering the overall cost of energy, minimizing losses and increasing the stability of the grid. It has the ability to quickly and flexibly reconfigure an interconnected network of feeders through distribution automation.

Smart Mini-Grid/Micro-Grid

Smart mini-grid or micro-grid is a subset of smart grid. Smart mini-grid/micro-grid could be defined as the application of digital technology to optimize electrical power generation; its delivery and ultimately its end-uses within the domain of mini-grid.Smart mini-grid/micro-grid is an integrated energy system that consists of (i) variable loads which are connected to the distribution grid, (ii) diverse range of small, local generators based on distributed energy resources, for example, SPV, wind, storage system, and (iii) control and power conditioning systems.

Energy is the key to economic development and sustenance of future India. Energy demand in India is ever increasing and expected to grow at an annual rate of 6% over the next 10 years. Currently, the supply of energy to satisfy this ever increasing demand is a challenge. Spiraling power and energy demand, huge Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses, etc are affecting the reliability and efficiency of the existing grid network and thus managing the existing grid has become one of the major concerns for the relevant authorities.

With the depleting resources, the need of the day is to meet the ever increasing demand of the energy through innovative means of strengthening the grid infrastructure i.e. through Smart Grid. The major driving force for altering the existing power grid and moving towards smart grid is (i) increasing reliability, efficiency and safety of the power grid (ii) enabling decentralized power generation (solar, wind, biomass etc) so that the consumer can be an energy supplier as well as a user (iii) flexibility to power consumption at the consumer site as well as at the energy supply site. A smart grid includes diverse and distributed energy sources and it brings all elements of the electricity system- generation, delivery and consumption- together to improve overall system operations for the benefits of all.

9,585 mw of electricity generation capacity add during 2009-10

India added 9,585 mw of electricity generation capacity in the last fiscal year that ended 31 March, minister for power Sushilkumar Shinde said today. In a statement, the minister said also that private-sector companies are building power projects amounting to a total capacity of 50,000 mw, but did not elaborate.

India is adding power generation capacity at a fast pace, but demand still exceeded supply by more than 13 per cent during peak hours in the last financial year.

State-run National Thermal Power Corp and private sector players are investing hundreds of crores of rupees in building new power plants as they bet on continued high demand for electricity over the next decade.

CEA wants cap on UI for generating units

While lauding the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission`s (CERC) propositions for waiver of penal provisions for under-injection and allowing free access for generating stations to the grid under the Unscheduled Interchange (UI) regime, the apex agency on the power sector-- the Central Electricity Authority (CEA)-- has, however, maintained that there should a cap on the use of grid for unscheduled wheeling of power. Commenting on a draft prepared by the central regulator for amendment of the Unscheduled Interchange (UI) Regulations, 2009, CEA has asserted that no generating station should be allowed to go on injecting power beyond a reasonable point, in the name of testing and commissioning, under this regime.

According to CEA, if more and more power stations owned by the independent power producers (IPP) start pumping their entire power into the grid, a situation that is already being reported from the Western region, the IPPs will virtually start controlling the grid frequency, influencing short term market prices and may also create various other problems that arise due to unpredictable flow of power in the grid.

Referring to the energy crisis that occurred during 2000-01 in the western US-state of California, CEA has asserted that it would be important to ensure that the capacity availability is not manipulated or withheld deliberately in a free market for power. The authority has, thus, desired that the IPPs should honestly declare their respective availability, to the Regional Load Dispatch Centers (RLDCs) with appropriate jurisdiction, on a daily basis, as per the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC).

Pertinently, CERC, in this amendment to the UI regulation, has proposed to allow the generating stations to inject as much power as they want into the grid, at any point of time, without seeking any permission or approval from the LDC`s, paying only an UI charge of Rs 4.15 kwh, with no penalty for under-injection.

Who is responsible for power equipment shortfall?

The government has decided to defer its plan to impose customs duty on power equipment imports despite a strong recommendation from the high-level committee set up under the chairmanship of Arun Maira, member, Planning Commission. Apparently, there is a threat to public sector power equipment manufacturer Bhel from the surge in Chinese imports. But who is really responsible for the slow growth in the country’s power equipment manufacturing capacity that makes it necessary to import from China?

The Indian power sector was a neglected area until 2001-02. At that time, Bhel had an installed capacity to manufacture equipment worth 5,000 mw a year. The orders that the company bagged annually were in the range of 3,000 mw. So the company did not expand its manufacturing capacity. But the sector saw a rush for capacity addition in 2003-04 as the demand-supply gap began widening because of the explosive growth in economic activity. Since there was a huge gap in domestic power equipment capacity and the capacity addition envisaged by the power ministry, Chinese suppliers found an opportunity to enter the Indian market. If Bhel failed to expand its manufacturing capacity on time, it paid the price later. It is possible that Chinese suppliers are benefiting from hidden subsidies like low cost of capital. But they also have the benefit of an integrated power equipment industry. Chinese power equipment manufacturers have all the raw materials available in their country. However, the power ministry’s argument against imposition of import duty on power equipment is equally strong. India needs to accelerate the pace of capacity addition to maintain its growth momentum.

Chinese contractors are implementing about 23% of the 78,000 mw capacity envisaged by the power ministry under the 11th Plan. These projects are already facing delays after the ministry of home affairs imposed visa restrictions on Chinese workers. If the government were to impose duty on power equipment imports, the cost economics of power projects planning to use Chinese power equipment would go haywire.

NTPC-NPCIL sign JV agreement

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and NTPC on Tuesday entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) to set up nuclear power projects.

The agreement was signed by S. K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, NPCIL, and R. S. Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC, here.

The agreement envisages incorporation of a company for setting up nuclear power projects in the country. While NPCIL will have 51 per cent equity in the new company, the remaining 49 per cent will be held by NTPC. The joint venture company was expected to be operational in a couple of months. The venture was the brainchild of the then Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh who had held extensive talks with NPCIL to work out a viable venture for NTPC's foray into nuclear power.NPCIL has comprehensive capability in all facets of nuclear power generation technology, namely, site selection, design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance and life extension and has plans for significant capacity addition.

NTPC, the largest power generation company, with an installed capacity of 31,704 MW has established itself in the field of development of thermal power projects and has proven track record in engineering, contracts, project management and power generation and intends to enlarge the area of its operation by making a foray into nuclear power development.

Govt plans to hike ONGC gas (APM) price to USD 4.20/mmBtu

The government plans to more than double the price of natural gas produced by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to USD 4.20 per mmBtu, in a move that will help the state-run firm break even in gas business.

The oil ministry is likely to move a Cabinet note next month for raising price of the gas, produced by ONGC and Oil India Ltd from fields given to them on nomination basis (called APM gas), to rates equivalent to that produced from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields, official sources said.

This follows, the finance ministry's insistence that any hike in APM gas price should be in one stage and not in phases as was previously proposed by the oil ministry.

The oil ministry had earlier proposed raising APM gas price from USD 1.79 per million British thermal unit to USD 4.20 per mmBtu in phases over the next three years.ONGC, in 2008-09, lost Rs 4,745 crore in revenues on selling 17.71 billion cubic meters of gas at the government fixed rate and the move to jack up prices to USD 4.20 per mmBtu would help the firm break-even, sources said. The oil ministry had previously proposed an immediate 30 per cent hike in the price of gas produced by ONGC and OIL to USD 2.3 per mmBtu and in three more stages to USD 4.2 per mmBtu.

Price of gas produced by ONGC and OIL from fields given to them on nomination basis were last revised in 2005. Current rates of Rs 3,200 per thousand cubic meters (USD 1.79 per million British thermal unit) are less than half of USD 4.2 per mmBtu price of gas from KG-D6 field of RIL.

Oil Ministry had, a while ago, circulated a Cabinet note for hiking the price of gas under administered pricing mechanism (APM) to Rs 4,142 per thousand cubic meters (USD 2.32 per mmBtu).

However, on the insistence of the finance ministry, it has withdrawn the Cabinet note and is likely to move a fresh one seeking to raise the price of the gas under APM to Rs 7,500 per thousand cubic meters or USD 4.2 per mmBtu, sources said.The increase in rates would be in one stage, they said. About 39 per cent of the nation's 140 million standard cubic meters a day of gas output is sold at administered rate. A hike in rates of these is an attempt to reduce distortions in a market with more than a dozen prices.

The government has set USD 4.2 per mmBtu as the sale price of gas from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, while the gas from BG Group-operated Panna/Mukta Tapti fields is sold at USD 5.73 per mmBtu.Sources said 54.32 mmscmd gas produced by ONGC and OIL is sold at APM rates of USD 1.79 per mmBtu. RIL produces about 64 mmscmd of gas from KG-D6

NTPC to start work on Rs 1,000-cr Assam project on Thursday

State-owned NTPC will start the Rs 1,000-crore expansion project of its Bongaigaon power plant in Assam on Thursday for meeting the growing power requirement of the region.

"NTPC is expanding the capacity of its 750-MW power plant in Bongaigaon, Assam by 250 MW at an estimated investment of Rs 1,000 crore," a senior government official told PTI.Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde will lay the foundation stone for the expansion project at Kumguri village in the Kokrajhar district. Minister of Mines and Department of Development of North Eastern Region B K Handique has been invited to take part in the ceremony."It will be the first 1,000-MW project of NTPC in Assam and will contribute significantly to meet the growing power requirement of the region," the minister said in an invite to Handique.

NTPC plans to raise its power generation capacity to 50,000 MW by 2012, from the current 31,704 MW. It further plans to augment this capacity to 75,000 MW by the end of fiscal 2017.Current installed power capacity of the country stands at over 1,59,000 MW and the government plans to add another 78,000 MW by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).

R-Infra may put its Mumbai Network on sale

Tata power is offering a proposal to take over R-Infra's Mumbai network. R-Infra is the major distribution business of Reliance Infrastructure. Customers will be benefited as there will be no wheeling charges while taking over a network according to S Ramakrishnan, Executive Director of Tata Power. The proposal is already passed by the company before Government of Maharashtra.

Tata Power has asked R-Infra to stop power supply for the network while R-Infra is refusing to sign an agreement on power purchase. In its support Tata Power has informed that the company was ready to take over 2.8 lakh customers of R-Infra with its network. Earlier Tata Power had got a ruling from the Supreme Court not to supply power to R-Infra without a PPA, through which Tata Power got the power to stop power supply from 1st of April. Later, it has supplied power as state Government interfered in the matter. Tata is looking forward to sell its power to other states to gain huge profit. The company has also informed that it has extra 200 MW for usage.

NTPC plans for 4150 MW capacity addition in 2010-11

Despite the fact that the NTPC achieved only 47.27% of its capacity addition goal of 3,300 MW for the fiscal-ended March 31, 2010, the state-run power utility has high ambitions of adding 4,150 MW of new capacity during the ongoing fiscal. The power major commisioned four thermal power units, one each, at Kahalgaon (500 MW), and Dadri (490 MW), along with two units of 640 MW and 110 MW, respectively, at Dabhol, in Maharashtra, and at the Kanti Stage-I project, in Bihar, cumulatively totaling to a capacity of 1,740 MW. However, its Dabhol power project, operated by Ratnagiri Gas Power Private Limited, a subsidiary, has been derated by 180 MW, implying a net capacity addition of only 1560 MW.

Given this lackluster scenario, NTPC's target for this fiscal, a figure that is 25% higher than the previous year's target, seems a tad bit too ambitious. NTPC expects to commission a shelf of eight thermal units-- 660 MW Sipat Stage-I; two 500 MW units at Jhajjar; 500 MW Korba-III, unit-7; 500 MW Farakka-III, Unit-6; a 490 MW unit at Dadri stage-II; and two 500 MW units at Simhadri stage-II-- in order to meet its goal. The power major intends to add a total of 22,430 MW during the 11th Plan period, of which projects worth only 3,240 MW have been commissioned, as of March 31, 2009, while 17,830 MW is under various stages of implementation.

To meet the fuel requirements for these coal-fired power projects, NTPC plans to import 14 million tonnes of coal during 2010-11, in addition to procuring more domestic coal. The company is in the process of acquiring stakes in overseas collieries to ensure fuel security for its upcoming coal-based power stations in the country. To this end, the state-run utility has also signed a coal supply agreement with Coal India Limited (CIL), for the supply of coal to its coal-fired power stations, for a period of 20 years.

NTPC annual result of FY 2009-10:- 5.5% Jump in net profit

State-run power enterprise, NTPC, has registered a marginal growth of 5.55% in net profit for the fiscal ended March 31, 2010. The provisional and un-audited profit-after-tax (PAT) stood at Rs 8,657 crore, against the Rs 7,827 recorded during the financial year (FY) 2008-09. At the same time, net sales rose to Rs 46,504.47 crore, against the Rs 41,791.30 crore posted in the prior year, an increase of 11.28%. Gross revenues earned by the utility, at Rs 49,478.86 crore for the financial year 2009-10, also recorded a substantial increase over the previous fiscal's earnings of Rs 45,272.76 crore. The NTPC group incurred a capex of Rs 14,002.11 crore in 2009-10, with Rs 10,137.18 crore being spent by NTPC Ltd. The approved outlay for capital schemes of the NTPC Group, for 2010-11, has been pegged at Rs 29,104.06 crore.

''We have paid the highest ever interim dividend, of 2,473.64 crore, during the year``, said the Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC, R S Sharma, at a news conference held in New Delhi on April 23, 2010, to announce the company`s provisional results for 2009-10. During the fiscal, NTPC contributed a total of Rs 3,260.21 crore, including paid-up taxes, to the government exchequer. The company, over the course of the year, tied up with domestic banks and other financial institutions for new loans aggregating to Rs 16,819 crore. NTPC issued four series of bonds, on private placement basis, to eligible institutions, aggregating to Rs 1,500 crore, to finance capital expenditure on power generation projects, coal mining business, renovation and modernization activities, LNG business and refinancing of debt. NTPC's scrip continues to add to shareholders’ wealth and closed at Rs 207.25 at the end of the year at National Stock Exchange (NSE), 15.23% higher than last year, said an NTPC statement.

Power generation from NTPC-owned power stations, during the fiscal, increased by 5.75%, to reach 218.84 BU, from 206.93 BU in 2008-09. This compares favorably to the 3% generation growth achieved in the year ago period. On March 31, 2010, NTPC stations achieved their all-time highest single day generation of 684.55 million units (MU).

With an installed capacity of 31,704 MW, the utility contributed 28.6% of the total electricity generated in the country during the financial year 2009-10. Further, plant-load-factor (PLF) for the power stations run by the utility stood at 90.81%, against the national average of 77.48%, for the fiscal. The Korba power station achieved the highest PLF amongst all, of 97.6%. Out of 15 coal stations, six stations achieved PLF of more than 95%, while twelve stations exhibited PLF-levels of more than 90% during the fiscal.

KG D-6 gas supply to power sector: MoPNG threatens to divert unutilized quota

In bad news for gas based projects, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has threatened to allocate the unutilized share of gas earmarked from the KG-D6 for the power sector to other fuel-starved gas-fired industries. The ministry has taken umbrage at the fact that the combined cycle power plants of the country have failed to fully consume their respective shares, which was made available to them on a priority basis, even in view of the inadequate supply situation facing the nation. The gas-fired power stations have drawn, on an average, 25 million metric standard cubic meters (MMSCM) of gas daily, during the month of March 2010, against the allocation of 31 MMSCM from the gas fields operated by Reliance Industries.

However, the power utilities are not entirely to blame in this case. Lower scheduling by the state governments, prevailing high frequency conditions in the Southern Grid during nights, planned shut down, augmented Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) gas supplies over the last 2-3 months and lack of flexibility in contractual terms and conditions offered by Reliance for gas sales are also at fault. Notably, as per a recent report from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the country’s gas-based generation capacity stands at 17,055.85 MW, which is around 10.7% of the total installed capacity of 1, 59,398.49 MW, as of March 31, 2010.

MoP sets GSPA deadline of KG D-6 gas supply for NTPC

Visibly affected by the petroleum ministry's censure with respect to underutilization of KG-D6 gas allocated to NTPC's power stations, the Ministry of Power (MoP) has asked the power major to complete execution of the requisite Gas Supply Purchase Agreements (GSPA) for its CCCPs by April 2010. Notably, the power major has been allotted 4.8 million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) of gas from the basin; however, currently NTPC is drawing only 2.15 MMSCMD of gas. The power ministry has also asked NTPC to resolve the issues hampering its plants' abilities to accept all the gas supplied by Reliance.

The EGoM, in its meeting held on October 27, 2009 decided that gas from KG D-6 would be supplied on firm basis to all the existing gas-based power plants with connectivity to the basin, except the plant operated by RGPPL and NTPC`s plants in Kawas and Gandhar. Instead, 2.71 MMSCMD of gas will be diverted from NTPC`s plants in the northern part of the country to the Kawas and Gandhar power plants, while, in lieu of the same, an equal amount of KG D-6 gas will be supplied to these northern region plants. All existing gas-based power plants, including those that are to be commissioned this year were also allowed to draw gas on fallback basis, up to a maximum of 12 MMSCM per day, to enhance their efficiency levels.

Govt expects $300-bn (13.5 lacs crores) investment in power sector in XII Plan

The government is expecting an investment of $300 billion to come in the XII Five-Year Plan in the power sector, a senior Planning Commission official said on Thursday.

"We are expecting an investment of $300 billion in the power sector, including in power generation, transmission and distribution during the XII Five-Year Plan period," Planning Commission Member (Energy) B K Chaturvedi told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference here.

The government is likely to award three interstate power transmission projects to private entities by September, Chaturvedi said. "The aggregate value of these projects would be around Rs 60 billion," he said

Chaturvedi also mentioned that investments in distribution utilities are also picking up. The Planning Commission is also expecting an investment of Rs 50,000 crore to come in distribution through the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme, he said.

The government is also keen to put emphasis on non- conventional energy, such as solar energy and wind energy. The government took initiatives for further availability of wind energy in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, he said.

On nuclear power, the government is looking for JV partners from countries like France, Russia and US, the Planning Commission member said.

Sasan UMPP may get delayed over environmental issues

The Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Sasan in Singrauli district in Madhya Pradesh is getting delayed due to environmental issues.The Union Coal Minister and Union Power Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal and Sushil Kumar Shinde were informed about the allocation of environment clearances for coal blocks for the Sasan project were still not in place.

Reliance Power Ltd's subsidiary, Sasan Power Ltd (SPL), is implementing the 3,960 MW Sasan UMPP. Once complete this plant will be the largest integrated pit-head coal-based power project in India.

Power sector coal demand and availability for 2010-11: Revised Estimates

The Ministry of Coal (MoC) has made yet another revision to the thermal coal supply targets for the coal companies in the country to the power sector for 2010-11. According to Ministry sources, a total of 388 million tonnes (MT) is now expected to be delivered from indigenous sources. Of this target, a share of around 335 MT is expected to be supplied by the coal major, Coal India Limited (CIL), from the mines of its non-coking coal-producing subsidiaries-- Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), to the power sector. Supply from the mines of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has been estimated as 31 MT, while the captive mines are likely to add around 22 MT to coal availability.

In light of the above estimates, the power sector is still likely to experience an immense shortfall in coal supplies, of the order of 52 MT, in view of the 440 MT of projected coal demand for the 2010-11 fiscal. In order to bridge this projected demand-supply gap, the coal ministry expects power utilities to import at least 35 MT of coal, in addition to the 12 MT of coal that is expected to be required for meeting the fuel requirements of upcoming power stations designed to run on imported coal.

No new import duty on Power equipments:- GOI

The Government has informed in the Parliament on 22 April 10 that, no new import duty will be imposed on imports of Chinese Power Equipments.

Minister of State for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprise Arun Yadav said that during the pre-budget 2010 exercise, the proposal to impose import duty on power equipment was examined and it was decided not to make any changes in the present duty structure.Discussions were held with different stakeholders on the issue before it was decided to maintain the current level of duty on power equipment imports.

Cheap Chinese power equipment imports are posing a threat to domestic manufacturers like BHEL. State-run BHEL (The Largest Domestic Power Equipments manufacturer) was demanding a 10 per cent customs duty on import of equipment for projects awarded through the international competitive bidding route and mega power plants.

At present, 5 per cent customs duty is imposed on equipment imported for projects awarded through the ICB process, while there is no duty on power equipment sourced for mega projects with a capacity of 1,000 MW and above.

Divestment of GoI's stake in CIL-I: Country's largest IPO to hit market by July end

The much-awaited initial-public-offer (IPO) of the country`s largest coal producer, Coal India Limited (CIL) is now slated to hit the capital market by the end of July 2010, more or less as per its original schedule. The launch of the offer had, apparently, faced an impasse owing to opposition from the trade unions, with whom CIL is now reported to have reached an agreement, to initiate the divestment process in the form of what is believed to be the biggest IPO, so far, launched by any state-owned company in India.

The Government of India (GoI) plans to raise around Rs 13,000 crore via the sale of a 10% stake held in the coal company. To this end, CIL aims to file share-sale documents with the stock market regulator by June 2010. The government has, already, formed an inter ministerial panel to carry forward the proposed disinvestment program. The panel would be responsible for the selection of the book runners and lead managers and would also decide on the pricing and timing of the issue, among others. A proposal seeking approval for the proposed divestment is likely to be placed before the cabinet during the first week of May.

In the recently concluded 2009-10 fiscal, the coal major posted a 399.88% surge in its profit after tax (PAT), which reached Rs 8,312.40 crore for the financial year 2009-10, against the profit of Rs 2,078.70 crore recorded a year ago. The net worth of the company has also gone up, from Rs 19,165.04 crore at the end of 2008-09, to Rs 24,541.01 crore. The company achieved 6.8% growth in coal production during the fiscal, by producing 431.267 million tonnes (MT) of coal. Pertinently, CIL contributed a total of Rs 7,020.51 crore, in the form of corporate tax, dividend and dividend tax, to the central exchequer during the just-ended fiscal, as against Rs 5,920.15 crore paid during 2008-09.

Bajaj Hindustan enters into Power sector,sign MoU with power project in UPPCL

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bajaj Hindustan Limited to set up a 1,980-MW thermal power project in Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region.The MoU was signed between UPPCL Chairman and Managing Director Navneet Sehgal and Bajaj Joint Managing Director Kushagra Bajaj in the presence of Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya and Chief Secretary Atul Gupta.

The proposed power project would be set up on 1,500 acres of land at Mirchawar village, some 60 km from the Rajghat dam in Lalitpur. Uttar Pradesh will get 90 per cent of the electricity generated by the plant.

"UP will start getting power generated by this plant from the year 2014," Sehgal told reporters. He said that the project was a part of the government's endeavour to increase power generation in the state.

"No new project was set up in the state since long, resulting in a power crisis. However, in the last three years, several schemes were launched and projects to augment power generation by 10,000 MW have been sanctioned," he said.

He said that the state Cabinet had earlier decided to increase power generation in the state up to 25,000 MW."While some projects are already underway, we have identified a number of places in the state where new power projects would be set up in the next few years," the UPPCL Chairman said.

Chhattisgarh UMPP bids may run into environment ministry hurdles

BIDDERS for the ultra mega power project at Chhattisgarh, that are set to put in their pre-qualification bids by May 3, could be in for a major jolt as coal blocks linked to the 4000 mw project is unlikely to get the nod from the environment ministry. In a clear case of where one arm of the government works at cross purposes against the other, the power ministry has called for bids even as the environment and coal ministries have jointly declared the Hasdeo Arand coal belt region as a “no go” area for mining.

The environment ministry, which has been carrying out special audits on the encroachments and violations in the forest areas, has come down heavily over some ambitious mining projects like that of the Vedanta group in Orissa and also rejected a highway project in Madhya Pradesh that transgresses through Pench Tiger reserve.

The ministry has carried out a joint exercise with the coal ministry studying nine major coal mining areas and has concluded that almost 35% of the area under study (primarily in central and eastern India) is not viable for mining activities.

The decision of the environment ministry is likely to raise a crucial question over the fate of this proposed UMPP. For one, coal, the fuel for the power plant will now have to be carted from some other mine which would impact the costing and power tariffs. Also, bidders for this proposed power project may not be so keen on investing unless there is clarity on the fuel linkage. Power companies, like NTPC, Jindal Power, L&T, Sterlite, were keen on taking part in the Chhattisgarh power project that would involve an investment of almost Rs 20,000 crore.

“The environment ministry has studied the nine major coal belts in India. And we have divided the areas into three broad categories. The first being those which do not pose serious environmental risks, the second being a “no-go” but which would allow remedial measures like compensation foresting and the third category identifies areas that are completely no-go,” environment minister Jairam Ramesh told. “The Hasdeo area is one such no-go area where no mining activities will be allowed,” he said. The matter and decision was flagged by the environment ministry to the power ministry and a joint meeting was taken by officials of the prime ministers office (PMO) and representatives of coal, environment and power ministry in January, a copy of the agenda note that ET has in possession shows.

Apart from the UMPP, the decision will immediately impact about 30 mining licence given to steel, power and cement companies such as Prakash Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Ultratech and Chhattisgarh Captive Coal Mining. The captive blocks in this field have been allocated between 2003 and 2007 and substantive work on some of the blocks has already been done.

Officials in coal ministry,said that any new policy would also have to look at country’s needs of pushing up GDP growth that would mean that energy production will have to be enhanced rapidly.Coal India chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya expressed concern that new policy will seriously impact its operations. “The country needs a more integrated approach towards environment and forest clearance,” he said.

Power Ministry opposes power equipment import duty

A Planning Commission proposal to impose a duty on imported equipment has not found favour with the power ministry. It has cautioned that imposition of any such duty at this stage will jeopardise the country's power capacity addition programme.Power Secretary H.S. Brahma, in a recent letter to Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, said, “The ministry of power has serious reservations on the timing of implementation of the measures par- ticularly on imposing a duty on the imported equipment.“

The proposal to levy a duty on imported equipment, essentially from China, was taken up after domestic equipment sup- pliers, including Larsen and Toubro and BHEL, had written to the government to protect the interest of domestic manufacturers.

“The ministry of power is of the clear view that measures should be effective from April 2012 --the beginning of the 12th Plan and not with immediate effect -- so that the capacity addition programme does not suffer disruption,“ the letter said.

Chinese power equipment are cheaper than the Indian ones by 10-15 per cent.

“As most of the ongoing power projects have already placed equipment supply orders on Chinese companies and other overseas manufacturers, any fresh levy at this stage will alter the project economics, thereby disrupting timely commissioning of projects,“ a senior power ministry official said.

Thermal capacity of 21,055 MW for the 11th Plan (out of which 2,865 MW has been commissioned) and 13,870 MW for the 12th Plan has been ordered on Chinese manufacturers.The country plans to set up an additional capacity of 100,000 MW during the 12th Plan

Merchant power price witness Hike of 72%

Merchant power tariff has gone up 72 per cent since late March after declining to Rs 3.39 per unit in February 2010 and is expected to go up further through the April-June period.

When a power plant sells electricity at market determined prices through an exchange or a bilateral arrangement without any long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) it is called merchant power. Merchant power tariff thus depends on the demand and supply of energy. Mainly private sector power producers adopt this route.

“Merchant power tariff has surged since March as summer set in across the country. Historically, the summer months (March-June) witness heavy demand from both domestic and industrial segments. Distribution utilities attempt to procure power outside their PPA contracts at higher prices to meet the increased demand and this pushes up the price of merchant power,” said a research report of Angel Broking

“But apart from the increased demand, generation at hydroelectric plants has also been low this year because of poor monsoons. This has also resulted in the swing in rates. The merchant rates are at their highest levels since August 2009, and have touched day-high rates of Rs 13.5 per unit,” said an analyst with Credit Suisse.

“Though the tariff is picking up, I suspect whether it will go beyond last year’s levels, because last year we had elections and other things and, therefore, the demand was much more than what it would be this year,” said T.N Thakur, chairman and managing director of PTC India Ltd (erstwhile Power Trading Corporation).

“Also, at such high tariff, the state electricity boards will be reluctant to buy merchant power unless they have no other option. So, I don’t think that the price will go up to last year’s levels,” he added. In June 2009, merchant power tariff went up to the level of Rs 12.50 per unit.

Meanwhile, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has revised the margin for power trading companies to 7 paise for a sale price of Rs 3 per unit. The margin was 4 paise earlier.According to another broking firm Enam Securities, new power projects of 62 giga watts will come up between 2011 and 2014. Of this, 13.3gw will come from merchant power projects.

“We expect merchant power tariffs to rise over the next couple of months as the deficit worsens on rising power demand, led by the summer season and the agricultural load in the northern region,” said an analyst with Credit Suisse. However, the brokerage firm expects merchant tariff to remain low on a year-on-year basis.Since August 2009, CERC has been enacting policies for the development of merchant exchanges and bilateral short-term power trades. The intent of the regulator is to shift volumes from the unscheduled interchange (UI) route, which accounts for 40 per cent of short-term trading volumes to power exchanges, bilateral contracts and long-term agreements. The regulator is considering an increase in the UI rates and imposition of additional surcharge.

The regulator is also expected to notify a new transmission pricing policy soon.

The regulation is aimed at changing the mechanism for allocating transmission charges and losses among users of the national transmission grid. Currently, all the grid users within a region pay a uniform transmission charge and share transmission losses. This system is not sensitive to the distance and the frequency at which the electricity is transmitted. The regulator has proposed a new mechanism under which the transmission charges and losses among the grid users are allocated based on the actual utilisation of the network by each user, taking into account the physical distance of power transmission and peak and off-peak hours of a day or season. CERC expects the new system to be implemented after five months from its notification under the new regulations. The new regulations are expected to be notified by the end of April 2010. These will all help merchant power trading through exchanges as well as bilateral agreements increase over time.

NTPC may get to sell 50% of output to home states

NTPC may soon get to allocate up to 50% of the output from its new plants to the home state, allowing it to compete with private developers. Private sector power project developers have snatched away a number projects from the largest power producer by offering a higher share of output to the state where the project is located.

The power ministry is finalising a note for the Cabinet to implement the proposal. “Once approved, it would give a boost to the power PSU’s plan to implement a host of greenfield projects on its own or under joint venture with state utilities,” said a government official privy to the development.

NTPC is allowed to offer up to 30% to power from a project to the home state. This includes the 10% that a power company has to give to home state under the existing formula on allocation of power from central sector utilities. This contrasts with private sector power projects such as Reliance Power’s Sasan, Krishnapatnam ultra mega power projects (UMPP) and Tata Power’s Mundra project where share of allocation to home state has been 37.5%, 40% and 47.5%, respectively. “The move will also help NTPC to secure cooperation from states in land acquisition, water linkage and other statutory clearances facilitating faster development of projects,” the official said.

The coal-rich states have been demanding higher allocation and other benefits from prospective project developers. Some states have even blocked PSU’s projects demanding higher share in power allocation, power at variable charge and a share in profits.

“The proposal (higher allocation of power) will not make it mandatory for NTPC to give 50% of share in power to home state. The allocation could vary depending on peak shortage in state and its other immediate needs,” a power ministry official said. Power generated at NTPC plants is allocated to different beneficiary states in accordance with the Gadgil formula. As per the formula, the home state gets 10% as preferential allocation, 15% is kept unallocated at the disposal of the Centre and the balance 75% is allocated to beneficiary states, including the home state, on the basis of their energy consumption and central plan allocation during the previous five years. Under the changed formula, NTPC could give up to 50% to home state, reserve 15% as unallocated quota of the Centre and commit the remaining 35% of power to the region or states close to the project site.

NTPC’s current generation capacity is just over 31,000 mw and it is implementing projects of another 18,000 mw for commissioning during the Eleventh Plan ending March 31, 2012. Earlier, NTPC chairman and managing director R S Sharma had written to the power secretary to change the allocation formula for the PSU to provide it a level playing field with other developers. The PSU has sought the government’s permission to allocate 40-45% power to home states during peak demand shortages. It has said additional allocation could be given from 15% power that could be set aside by the PSU in all future projects.

Smart Grid "A need of hour for Indian Power Sector"

Need of smart Grid in India

India is one of the fastest growing economy in the world cloaking an average annual growth rate of 7%+ for last 6 years. Simultaneously, the current Indian population at 1.1 Billion is growing at the rate of 1.4 % annually, and it is estimated that India will be the largest populated country by 2050 AD. Energy is the most critical resource for human development and growth.At present, India is unable to meet the existing need of energy to her inhabitants. Though electricity is available to 80% of the population, It is irregular and insufficient.The power interruption is a chronic problem with on average 17 power-cuts per month to manufacturing sector alone. The total installed capacity is 1,59,398 MW as of March 2010 data published by CEA. However, it is way shorter than the present need and requires enormous investment to meet the existing and future need of the growing population and economy.

This indicates that India is in dire need of Energy. New power plants are being built and more will require however, it want suffice the growing need. Because Indian transmission and distribution losses are amongst the highest in the world amounting 26% of the production. If non-technical losses like theft are included into total, it is around 50%, hence the total effective distribution is only 79700 MW out of 159398 MW generated capacity.

Thus, India needs smart grid technology more than any other country, which if conservatively can reduce the losses to 20% then it will provide enormous boost to growth. Numerous energy efficiency initiatives have been adopted by the government and Energy distribution companies, however none will be complete without Smart grid technology.

What is Smart Grid?

Smart Grid - An energy grid that uses advance digital technologies, which will increase the energy reliability, save energy and cost, and will allow greater consumer participation. The grid will changed from its present centralized model to decentralized model in which consumer can be energy receiver, supplier, and producer. Smart Grid is an umbrella term, which is used for combination of technologies, approaches, and processes. According to Department of Energy (DOE), USA, the grid will have following characteristics.

DOE Identified characteristics

"Informed, involved, and active consumers - demand response and distributed energy resources."

"Many distributed energy resources with plug-and-play convenience focus on renewable"

"Mature, well-integrated wholesale markets, growth of new electricity markets for consumers"

"Power quality is a priority with a variety of quality/price options - rapid resolution of issues"

"Greatly expanded data acquisition of grid parameters - focus on prevention, minimizing impact to consumers"

"Automatically detects and responds to problems - focus on prevention, minimizing impact to consumer"

"Resilient to attack and natural disasters with rapid restoration capabilities"

Govt to add 9,000 Mw wind power capacity by 2012

India will add about 9000 MW of wind power generation capacity during XIth Five Year Plan ending March 31, 2012, lower than previously targeted 11,000 MW.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah said the target was lowered because of global economic slowdown in 2008-09. "We will be able to make up this deficit in the next Plan period (2012-17)," he said.The country today has an installed capacity of 4,907 MW and a survey has identified 650 locations with potential of setting up wind farms in the country. Of this 216 have been found suitable, he said.

This fiscal, 2,760 MW of wind power installations are expected to be set up, he said. The highest 715 MW would come up in Karnataka, followed by 645 MW in Tamil Nadu. Gujarat will see 500 MW more wind power generation capacity and units of 300 MW each would come up in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

"The Gujarat government has planned to reach a target of 4,000 MW of wind power capacity in the state in the coming years," he said. "The state has a potential of around 10,600 MW of wind power. As on March 31, 2010, wind power capacity of 1,860 MW has been set up," he said.

Asked about the generation cost, he said power generated from wind costs about Rs 3.56 per unit while the same from solar energy was several times more expensive at Rs 17-18 per unit.Abdullah said the government was giving two sets of incentives to companies wanting to set up wind farms.Under depreciation-linked incentives, 80 per cent accelerated depreciation on equipments, 10-year tax holiday, concessional customs duty on select equipment imported and excise duty exemption are given. The second set of incentive is generation linked.Once generation linked incentive was introduced recently, companies were given an option to continue with their present depreciation-linked scheme or migrate to the new incentive scheme, he added.

Merchant Power Plants the next big thing in the Indian power sector

According to the Ministry of Power, Govt. of India, at the end of FY10, the total electricity peak demand met was only 96,600 MW resulting in a peak deficit of 13.3%.This is against the stated aim of the Government to achieve "power for all" by 2012.

The bulk of the private sector interest in power is currently in generation due to the possibility of selling power at high prices in the present supply constrained scenario. Lured by the prospect of selling power at the prevailing high short term rates resulting in higher than normal profitability, a number of developers have announced MPPs.

MPPs may be defined as power plants, which are not tied up with long-term power purchase agreements. Consistent with the risk return framework, these projects have inherently higher risks as compared to traditional power plants, leading to several challenges in development and financing of such projects. In the international context, a pure PP is one where the entire capacity is sold on the basis of short-term contracts without any capacity tied up through a long term PPA. However, in the Indian context, a large capacity pure MPP is a rarity. Presently, MPPs being financed in India have around 60-70% of the capacity tied up through long term sale arrangements to distribution companies or rading companies.

Key Enablers

The following key enablers contribute to the growth of merchant power projects in India:

Demand-supply gap in India - It is worth while noting that as per CEA, Ministry of Power, India's peak demand as on March 2009 was 109.8GW whereas the supply was 96.6GW. This resulted in peak demand shortage of around 12% in FY09. The peak deficit has almost increased by 40% from 9.5GW in FY04 to 14.1GW in FY10.

Merchant power pricing - Prices at which merchant power are currently being sold are far higher than the price at which long term PPA based power are sold. Short term or merchant prices are almost 2.4-2.5 times the long term prices.

No Performance Milestones - Long term PPAs with distribution companies are usually subject to meeting of certain performance related milestones. Non-achievement of these milestones may lead to encashment of the bid guarantee and erformance guarantee amounts. This is not applicable in case of MPPs

Open access policy in transmission - Open access is provided under Section 42 of the Electricity Act 2003, which mitigates the risk of power evacuation from MPPs. The Eleventh plan envisages an investment of INR1,400 billion in the transmission sector in India.

Some strategies that MPPs can adopt for evacuation of power are

• Set up own dedicated transmission network;
• Connect to the central transmission utilities such as PGCIL.
• Connect to the state transmission utilizes

Attractive returns in MPPs - The equity returns in MPPs are around 20-40%. However, to earn this high return, the developers are required to sell power on short term basis to discoms or traders at merchant power prices. 

Risk factors 

•  A MPP is required to absorb the full market risk and compete for customers on an on- going basis.
• Regulatory interventions by way of capping power prices or by restricting power projects from freely supplying power to the entity of their choice are another risk to which MPPs are exposed to.
• Fuel risk acts as a detrimental in path of MPPs. Any un-estimated rise in fuel prices could render a MPP uncompetitive, reducing the probability of takeoff.
• MPPs also increase the risk perception of lenders due to bottle necks in power evacuation.
• MPPs are also exposed to an adverse impact on account of changes in regulatory and tax policies. 

 Financing of MPPs

 MPPs being financed in India have around 60-70% of the power tied up through long term sale arrangements to distributing companies or trading companies or industrial consumers so as to guranatee cash flows sufficient enough o cover the debt servicing requirements. This is specified by lenders through Debt Service Coverage Ratio covenant hich requires developers to tie-up through a PPA such proportion of capacity, which is sufficient to service 1.1 to 1.3 times the annual repayment and interest obligations.

 Lenders take comfort in the ability of power traders to find buyers quicker and on more favourable terms than a generation company with no market experience. However, some lenders often stipulate that the trader should tie up ack-to-back sale arrangements within 15- 20 months of the first disbursement of fund. Failing this the lenders often reserve the right to stipulate additional conditions.

  Conclusion

 The development of MPPs is essential for the overall capacity additions required by India to bridge the emand-supply gap. The possibilities of high returns have attracted several private developers. However, the eluctance of lenders to finance a pure MPP and the high risk attached to it presents several challenges.

20359 MW of power generation capacity addition targeted for 2010-11

The Ministry of Power has expressed its intention to achieve 20,395 MW of capacity addition in 2010-11. This target, however, seems to be a tad too ambitious, in light of the poor capacity addition performance of the power sector in the last 5 five years.

Notwithstanding our reservations on the pronouncement, a fuel-wise analysis indicates that 17,793 MW of capacity addition has been targeted for the thermal sector, i.e. an increase of 4791 MW from the preceding year`s target; whereas the target for the nuclear sector has been almost doubled to 1220 MW. The remaining 1346 MW capacity addition is envisaged for the hydro sector. The sector-wise distribution of the capacity addition task seems more or less even throughout the central, state and private sectors, with only a slightly greater share allotted to the central sector.

India and Bangladesh to jointly build 1,310 MW power plant in Chalna,Bangladesh

The joint technical team of Bangladesh and India selected Chalna, near Khulna port, an ideal site to install the proposed 1310 MW coal fired power plant in joint venture between the two countries.As per agreement of first steering committee for cooperation in power sector, the joint technical committee comprising with the officials of BPDB and NTPC visited Khulna last week and selected the site for the proposed coal fired power plant.

"We will install the 1310 MW coal fired power plant at Chalna. However, it will be a two-unit power plant on equal equity basis", ASM Alamgir Kabir, Chairman of BPDB told on sunday.According to the official sources the NTPC team has suggested the BPDB officials to engage local consultant to do the feasibility study on socio- environmental and ecological impact on coal fired power plant. It also suggested engaging consultant to workout on the plan of coal transportation.

"We do not have enough idea about coal handling, it would be a huge power plant and we need to import huge coal, depot it and to transport it. So they suggested us to work on the issue", he added.According to the BPDB chairman the committee has started feasibility study and hopefully sign the joint venture agreement between BPDB and NTPC soon.Earlier the committee selected two sites, Khulna and Chittagong. Finally both the parties agreed to install a 1320 MW each (approximately) plant in joint venture.The committee also worked out on the grid inter-connection between India and Bangladesh as well as co-operation between NTPC (National Thermal Power Company) and BPDB (Bangladesh Power Development Board).Bangladesh and India has signed a memorandum of understanding on exchange of power during the off-peak hours (17 hours a day) during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January last.According to the power ministry sources NTPC offered to carry out technical assessment for BPDB's old thermal power stations for efficiency improvement, renovation and modernization

Power shortages haunt economy

Peak and basic power shortages continue to pose a challenge to economic managers. And, more worrying is the fact that there is no let up in rising power deficit.

Fuel shortages and slippages in capacity addition seems to have aggravated the problem for industry users, retail domestic consumers and farmers. Peaking shortages rose to 13.3 per cent in 2009-10 hinting at a time when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has proposed an action plan to move to double-digit economic growth in next 2-3 years.As per technical body, peaking shortages moved up to 13.3 per cent in last financial year as against 11.9 per cent in 2008-09 owing to fuel scarcity that also hit capacity additions and green field power projects targets.

Provisional data for April 2009 – March2010 compiled by CEA, peaking shortages in absolute terms has been reported at 15,748-mw in 2009-10. This is against actual peak power deficit during earlier financial year 13,024-mw. In a separate report CEA said that power generation growth rate during the year 2009-10 was constrained at 6.6 per cent. The report said hydroelectric energy generation was 8.8 billion units less than targeted due to scanty rainfall received in the country during monsoon.

Interestingly enough, there has been a modest improvement in power at base load as the basic power deficit slumped to 10.1 per cent in 2009 – 10 as against 11.1 per cent in previous financial year. Short supply of domestic coal and delay in imports by MMTC for NTPC resulted in under-utilisation of capacity at some of the power plants with estimated generation loss of 14.47 billion units in April’09-Mar’10. Power generation loss owing to shortages in gas during first six months of 2009-10 has been pegged at 2.8 billion units. But, gas availability improved as KG basin gas being made available to power units.

Total shortfall in targeted capacity generation in 2009-10 was reported at 48.2 billion units due to shut down in thermal power stations due to unscheduled maintenance, delay in commissioning of units, and under-performance in generation by nuclear plants. Nuclear power plants under-performed due to fuel shortage.

Bihar as well as J&K was the worst hit states during the year with a power deficit of over 32 per cent. While union territories Chandigarh and Lakshadweep had no power deficit, Himachal Pradesh was a power surplus state. West Bengal, Sikkim, Tripura and Delhi experienced least outages.

Over 12,500 MW projects of 10th Plan still stuck

Even in the penultimate year of the Eleventh Plan, power projects cumulatively adding up to 12,549 MW that were scheduled for commissioning in the Tenth Plan are still to come on stream.According to Government data updated till March 10, of the Tenth Plan projects that are still to be commissioned, nearly half are thermal projects in the Central sector, being implemented by utilities such as NTPC Ltd, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and NEEPCO.

Contractual problems with suppliers, delays in placement of orders, and hold-ups in the balance of plant packages are among the key reasons for the delays in case of the thermal projects, which total at 9,200 MW. Of these a majority, or 5,190 MW, are Central sector projects, while 1,036 MW are in the State sector and 2,974 MW in the private sector.Hydro projects which have slipped from the Tenth Plan and are yet to be commissioned include 2,321 MW in the Central sector and 558 MW in the State and 470 MW in the private sectors.

Key projects

Key Tenth Plan projects that are still to see the light of the day include a 660-MW first unit of NTPC's Barh Super Thermal project and another 660 MW unit of the power major's North Karanpura project, mainly on account of contractual disputes and delays in finalisation of location of the plant.Two units of NTPC's Sipat project, which add to 1,320 MW, are also hanging fire on account of delays in supply of main plant equipment by Russian firm Powermachines while NLC's 500 MW units in Tamil Nadu were stuck on account of contractual issues and incorrect work assessment.

Other delayed projects include two units of Tata Power-DVC joint venture's Maithon project (1,050 MW), a 500-MW unit of Uttar Pradesh's Anpara C project and a 520-MW unit of BPL power's Ramagundam project.With all-round slippages, the achievement during the Tenth Plan period was a paltry 21,000 MW, around half the targeted 41,000 MW. The Government is pursuing an ambitious target of 78,700 MW for the current Plan period, but the progress on the ground so far has been discouraging.

Cumulatively, as against the overall target of 14,507 MW set for 2009-10, the actual achievement at 9,585 MW was about 66 per cent. The achievement during 2008-09 was 31 per cent (3,454 MW against a target of 11,061 MW) and 57 per cent in 2007-08 (9,263 MW against a target of 16,335 MW).