CIL coal linkage likely for NTPC Pudimadaka power project

In a major boost to the 4000 MW NTPC thermal power project in Pudimadaka in Andhra Pradesh, the Union Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has assured fuel linkage from CIL for the project.

This project was earlier proposed to be developed by using imported coal. This announcement comes following a review meeting of various power projects by Piyush Goyal and Union Information Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, according to a statement.

While reviewing the progress of other projects, the Government today said the Mannavaram Power Projects Equipment Manufacturing Plant will not be shifted and efforts would be made to ensure more business, the Power Minister assured.

Venkaiah Naidu convened a meeting with Goyal and Minister of Heavy Industries Anant Geete, and officials of NTPC, BHEL and NTPC BHEL Power Projects Ltd (NBPPL), coming up at Mannavaram in AP to review their progress.

A four member committee chaired by CMD of BHEL will explore and recommend measures for ensuring sufficient work orders for Mannavaram Project, including diversification. Piyush Goyal stated this project was poorly conceived and initiated in 2010 without adequate homework.

The Coal Ministry has also agreed to positively consider allocation of alternative coal blocks to AP Genco in place of Sarpal-Nupara block earlier allocated which is an high cost mining deep underground.

Tenders will be opened on Thursday (tomorrow) for commissioning another 125 MW of solar power generation at the 1,000 MW Kadiri Park in Ananthapur district. Already 250 MW of solar power is being generated here and for the remaining 625 MW, tenders will soon be called.

Regarding dwindling coal stocks of AP Genco due to stoppage of supply of coal from Singareni, it was decided Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will resolve the issue of pending payments.

CIL to start special spot e-auction for 20 mt coal on Thursday

State-owned Coal India (CIL) will tomorrow begin special spot e-auction of coal and will put on offer 20 mt of the fossil fuel for various sectors, including power, amid government’s efforts for 24x7 power to all.

According to an official, the auction will be conducted for four days beginning tomorrow. “The auction will be conducted on October 20, 21, 24 and 25,” the official said. The total validity for lifting of coal under the special spot auction window will be up to March 2017, the official added.

The reserve price will be limited to the upper cap of 20 per cent add-on over the notified price of coal for the non-power sector, the official said.

“The minimum quantity for bidding would be 50 tonnes and bid multiple would be in the multiple of 50 tonnes... whereas in the case of rail, the minimum quantity of bidding would be one rake and bid multiple would be in the multiple of one rake,” he said.

The rake size shall be as per prevalent railway rules. The quantity of coal in a rake will be as indicated in the notice of e-auction of coal companies. State-owned CIL had last month announced a one-time offer of 20 mt of coal under special spot e-auction in the ongoing fiscal.

The Coal Ministry had earlier said power producers being supplied coal through the MoU route by CIL will have to take it via special e-auction being conducted for the power sector. CIL, a major supplier of coal to the power sector, is eyeing 1 billion tonne production by 2020.

PM Narendra Modi’s big boost for Make in India: Prayas plan for solar energy to get $3.1 billion boost

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is planning a 210 billion-rupee ($3.1 billion) package of state aid for India’s solar panel manufacturing industry, according to two officials.
The so-called Prayas initiative, short for for “ Pradhan Mantri Yojana for Augmenting Solar Manufacturing,” a central-government plan designed to lift India’s installed photovoltaic capacity as well as to create an export industry, according to two senior government officials with direct knowledge of the plan. They asked not to be identified because the policy isn’t yet public.
Modi wants to raise renewable capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 from 45 gigawatts at present. In addition to meeting its own energy targets, which Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates may cost $200 billion, India wants to emulate industrial developments in neighboring China, where solar manufacturers have created a world-leading export industry.
The Prayas program, part of Modi’s “ make in India” campaign, is intended to create 5 gigawatts of photovoltaic manufacturing capacity from 2019 and build 20 gigawatts of projects in the country by 2026, according to the officials. The policy, which is being developed by the ministry in charge of renewable energy and industrial policy, along with the Niti Aayog government research group, will be presented to the Finance Ministry within a month before going to the cabinet for final approval, they said.

Indian Energy Exchange records highest monthly power trade

The Indian Energy Exchange set a record in September by trading a total of 3,630 million units of electricity. This is the highest since its inception of the exchange in 2008.

On a daily average basis, 121 million units were traded in September. Around 60% of the power purchasers were open access consumers while the rest were distribution companies. Power was on an average available at Rs 2.43 per unit, much below all sources of power generation.

Southern and northern states were the net buyer of electricity while the other regions were the net sellers. The tariff on the exchange varied from Rs 2.35 to Rs 2.73 per unit across regions in September.

“Most of the industrial and commercial establishments from south and north bid for electricity on a daily basis last month. Though the bidding cost varied within Rs 3, the landed cost or the final cost which the establishment pays will be around Rs 5 as it will include wheeling and scheduling costs,” an exchange official told TOI.

Even at Rs 5 per unit, the cost of power will be cheaper for industries and commercial establishments as the power sourced from a government-owned distribution company will be higher as it will also include cross-subsidy.

“Last month, the daily offtake of power was in the region of 200MW to 700MW through the exchange. Our sellers are independent power producers, captive power producers and at times even distribution companies like the Delhi distribution company which offered power for sale,” the official said.

Apart from industries and commercial establishments, even state-owned discoms bid for power. “We purchase 100MW from the energy exchange at Rs 2.47 per unit. Depending on the demand, we are planning to purchase power from the exchange as the cost is less,” said a senior Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco) official.

More power would have been available for sale at the exchange but for congestion in the transmission lines. “Overall, around 3 million units were lost due to congestion on a daily average basis. Import of power, especially in the northern region, remained affected due to constraints on the inter-state transmission network. The northern import was congested about 40% of the time and southern import was congested 10% of the time during the month,” said the exchange official.

There were 1,223 participants traded in the spot market on an average daily basis. The highest participation was on September 13 when 1,291 participants traded on the exchange.

Prime Minister Dedicates 1732 MW to nation in Himachal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated three hydro-electric projects (HEPs) with a generating capacity of 1,732 MW in Himachal Pradesh.

The NTPC operated 800 MW Hydro Power Station in Koldam, 520 MW Parvati Project and SJVNL operated 412 MW Hydro Station in Rampur, are all equipped with equipment supplied and commissioned by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), state-owned BHEL said in a media statement.

"These hydro projects will bring prosperity to the State of Himachal and other parts of the country," said P.M. Modi while inaugurating the Koldam Hydro Power Project. The project shall annually generate 3054 GWh electricity at 90 per cent dependable year basis, according to a NTPC press release.

Twelve percent of the electricity generated from Koldam is being supplied within Himachal Pradesh free of cost, while 1 percent is provided on account of Local Area Development fund.

A total 13.62 percent of electricity generated from the plant is supplied free of cost to Himachal Pradesh, remaining power supplied to other beneficiaries namely Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttrakhand and Chandigarh, added the NTPC statement.

All the Project Affected Families are being provided 100 units of electricity every month free of cost which accounts for 0.62 percent of the total generation.  BHEL has a vast experience in hydro-electric projects having contracted more than 500 hydro generating sets with a cumulative capacity of more than 29,000 MW of various ratings in India and abroad.

BHEL's hydro installations are in operation in India and across the world in Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Rwanda and Vietnam.

India, Russia finalise agreement on units 5, 6 at Kudankulam

Scaling up cooperation in the atomic energy sector, India and Russia have finalised a general framework agreement and credit protocol for setting up units five and six at the Kudankulam nuclear plant.

The formal announcement of the pact and the credit protocol is likely to be made after bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow in Goa on the sidelines of BRICS Summit.

“Russia and India finalised ‘General Framework Agreement’ and a ‘Credit Protocol’ for Units 5 and 6 and are planning to announce it in Goa,” Russian sources said. They said the two countries are also planning a ceremony of “first pour” of concrete to the foundation of Unit 3 and 4 and a ceremony of inauguration of Unit 2 of the Kudankulam nuclear plant.

Both ceremonies will witness the participation of Putin and Modi as well as Kudankulam engineers in Tamil Nadu via video-conference, they added. On August 10, the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear was dedicated to the nation jointly by Modi and Putin who had participated at the ceremony from Moscow via video-conferencing.

The Kudankulam 1 has been jointly built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Russia’s Rosatom and it had started generating electricity in 2013. The agreement for the project was inked by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988 but actual work on the ground started only in 1997.

The unit 1 and 2 of Kudankulam plant were built at a cost of Rs 20,962 crore. A major share of power generated in the plant goes to Tamil Nadu, followed by Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. Each of the units has a capacity to generate 1,000 MW of power. 

Govt may introduce new gas auction policy for stranded power plants

The government is contemplating it it would continue with the current policy of auction of imported regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) or it will work on a new formula.

Talking to media at the sidelines of an industry event here, power secretary PK Pujari said in two three months the government would decide if it would continue with the gas auction policy for stranded power plants or it would formulate a new policy.

"Our psdf gas scheme was for 2 years. It is finishing in March 2017. So at the moment we are looking at various options to come out with a policy for all the gas power plants, which is about 25000 MW of capacity," Pujari said.

"Whether we will do it with psdf support or not is not very clear. But we are looking at options, where we can get the gas without psdf support, provide assured gas at reasonable price. Of course it depends what is ultimate tariff that works out at the power. So these options we are examining along with gas suppliers. So may be in the next 2-3 months we will finalise the option and then take a call whether we continue with psdf or we switch over to another," he added.

The current policy is set to lapse in March 2017.So far, there have been two successful rounds of auctions where companies including GMR, GVK, Lanco, Dabhol power plants have secured RLNG.The auction process involves reverse bid of the subsidy amount that the government provides through through the Power System Development Fund (PSDF).

However, the third round of auctions were canceled after the participating companies decided to forgo the subsidy.The companies quoted negative bids which led to technical glitch in the system as it was not designed to operate on negative bids.

Consequently, the third round got canceled. The government said it would reschedule bidding after fixing the glitch in the bidding system. In the first round of auctions in June 2015, 14 gas-based power plants with a cumulative capacity of 8,100 Mw had bid.

The gas auction policy was introduced in 2015 under which every stakeholder in the supply chain would have to forego a part of their returns on operations. While the central government would give up the service tax it levies on gas sourcing, the power plant operators would forego return on equity.

Govt to provide solar panels at subsidized rate

In order to motivate people to install solar panels in their homes, the state government has come up with a scheme of subsidies. People, who will apply for solar panel producing two kilowatt solar energy, will be provided a subsidy of Rs 45,000.

The actual cost of the panel is Rs. 1.5 lakh. Solar panels can save Rs 15,000 to Rs. 17,000 invested on electricity in a year. Experts said that installation of solar panel would not be a costly affair since a household would be able to save the amount invested in around five years. To ease the process of subsidy, the government has authorized some companies to provide the subsided solar panels.

"We will sell the solar panels at subsidized rates. Customers will not have to run to government offices for subsidies. The government will transfer the subsidized amount to us," said Anurag Mundra, joint director, Ujaas Energy Limited. However, experts also said that while the generation of power will be mostly in day time, the use will be mostly at night.

Most of the people will be out for work during day time, then maintaining a storage system will be expensive. Maintenance of battery will increase the initial cost.

2,000 MW Mandvi power plant gets green nod

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) group has received environmental clearance for its proposed 2000 MW gas-based power project in Mandvitaluka of Kutch district.

The expert appraisal committee under the union ministry of environment, forest and climate change recently gave its approval to Nana Layja Power Company Ltd, a special purpose vehicle created to develop the power plant.

The gas-fired power project will be developed within a multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) by IL&FS group at Mandvi. Details provided by the company say that in its environmental impact assessment report (EIA), the cost of the project for setting up the gas-based power plant is Rs 7,187 crore.

“The environment clearance accorded shall be valid for a period of 7 years from the date of issue of this letter for the start of production operations,“ the ministry said in its notification approving the project. Apart from the gas-fired power plant, a coal-based power plant with a capacity of 4000 MW has also been planned by the group at the same location. The investment for the same is around Rs 28,000 crore.

The proposed power plant is conveniently located and well-connected to the sea which gives it the advantage of bringing imported coal along with the indigenous coal and gas required for the power plants.Considering these aspects, both the plants are proposed to be developed in the multiproduct SEZ and free trade and warehousing zone (FTWZ) at Mandvi in Kutch. Estimated project cost for development of SEZ, including proposed power plants, is around Rs. 38,741crore.

Overall, IL&FS is developing an integrated maritime complex comprising a state-of-the art shipyard, a marine and energy SEZ and FTWZ. The marine and energy SEZ as well as FTWZ are being developed over 3,473 acres of land which will comprise of shipping and ancillary industries, power plants, fabrication & assembly units, heavy engineering units and other port-based industries.

Thermal power generation rose by 0.3 pc in Q2

Despite higher availability of coal, thermal power generation rose by a meagre 0.3 per cent during July-September quarter as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal, owing to lower system demand, brokerage firm Reliance Securities said in a report.

According to the report, the total power generation during the quarter rose by 1.3 per cent on year-on-year basis to 287 billion units (BUs). Thermal generation rose by meagre 0.3 per cent owing to lower system demand despite higher coal inventory, while hydel generation improved by 3.5 per cent y-o-y following improved reservoir levels.

Owing to the lower demand, coal production was curtailed in the last few months with high coal inventories to the tune of 50 million tonnes. "Slow industrial demand along with weak financials of the state-run power utilities (SEBs) led to muted growth. All-India Plant Load Factor (PLF) for thermal sector stood at 54.6 per cent in 2QFY17 compared to 60.5 in 2QFY16," it said.

The report, however, observed that the UDAY scheme would eventually lead to their improved financial health and ability to procure more power. "Despite lower per capita power consumption as a demand driver, subdued economic activity has led to lower power demand from the industrial consumers, which has led to the SEBs shedding load to the residential and agricultural consumers.

"However, improvement in the policy environment and infrastructure spend coupled with manufacturing activities will aid in reviving demand environment for the power sector," the report said.

According to the brokerage firm, implementation of UDAY scheme is expected to improve power demand in fiscal 2017-18, while increase in coal output would provide a much needed fillip to the sector.

Emission norms to raise NTPC power cost by 10 per cent

New emission norms for thermal power plants are likely to increase NTPC's cost of producing power by 10 per cent. This extra cost would be passed on to consumers, executives with the country's largest power producer said.
After commitments made by the government during theParis Climate Summit in December, the environment ministry notified new standards for thermal power stations relating to consumption of water, particulate matter, SO2, NOx and mercury.
"For capital expenditure, we have a rough estimate around Rs 20,000 crore. These costs fall under the ambit of 'change of law' and hence will be allowed by regulators as a passthrough to consumers," said an NTPC director.
NTPC executives said the cost of power production would increase by Rs 50 lakh per Mw. The current cost of power production is Rs 5 crore per Mw. This translates into a 50-60 paise increase in the final customer tariff.
An executive said NTPC was assessing each of its projects and units for retrofitting. "Some of the plants are partially compliant with the revised standards. Other units require retrofitting," he added.
It will take around six months to complete the initial report before the retrofitting can start. "The cost can go up after we have firmed up the technological part. In some cases, there might be changes in the layout," said the executive.
The industry, however, reckons NTPC's estimate is just half of the real final cost. "The ballpark estimate of increase in cost comes out to be Rs 1-1.40 crore per Mw. This is based on calculations made by the Central Electricity Authority. The variable cost will go up and so will the tariff paid by states to purchase power," said A K Khurana, director-general of the Association of Power Producers.
He said the final tariff was likely to go up by 80 paise per unit. "Apart from the impact on tariffs, the shutdown of 50 per cent of the capacity during retrofitting will hurt grid stability," he added.
The new standards were aimed at improving the air quality in and around thermal power plants, said the government's statement in December. The technology employed should also lead to restrictions on water use and mercury emission. The standards have been made more stringent for new plants and are tighter for those that will be set up in the future.

India probing ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Indonesia coal imports

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing what it calls a criminal conspiracy to sell inferior imported coal at inflated prices to NTPC Ltd., the nation’s largest power producer, defrauding the company of millions of dollars.

 

“The investigation involves coal shipments from Indonesia to two power plants that were labeled as a higher quality of fuel in import documents. The scope of the probe will include companies in India, Jakarta and Singapore,” the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

 

“Incriminating documents recovered during searches are being scrutinized,” the CBI said in the statement. The inferior coal may have cost the two plants Rs.116 crore ($18.6 million), according to the statement. An NTPC spokeswoman declined to comment on the probe.

The Singapore unit of a coal-trading company based in the central Indian city of Indore bought the coal from Indonesia and shipped it to India, according to the statement, which didn’t name the trader. “The coal providers and some NTPC officials entered into criminal conspiracy with an intention to cheat the company from 2011 to 2013,” the CBI said.

 

One of the power plants is NTPC’s 1,050-megawatt Unchahar plant, near the north Indian town of Raebareli. The second is run by NTPC-SAIL Power Co., an equal joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd., in the eastern town of Bhilai, according to the statement.

 

Arti Luniya, a New Delhi-based spokeswoman for Steel Authority, didn’t answer two calls to her mobile phone. Bloomberg

Coal imports rise 20% to fuel new power plants

India’s coal imports rose 20 per cent to 105.8 million tonnes in April-October from a year earlier as power producers turned to Indonesia to help feed new plants, according to data from mjunction services, an online market operator.

 

Regulatory and bureaucratic delays in adding new mines and expanding existing ones have made India the No. 3 importer of coal, even though it sits on what BP ranks as the world’s fifth-largest reserves. Imports leaped 34 per cent to 137.56 million tonnes in 2012-13.

 

April-October shipments of thermal coal, used in power generation, jumped 28 percent to 81.6 million tonnes, according to mjunction services, which is jointly owned by Tata Steel Ltd and SAIL.

 

India’s generation capacity increased in the seven months with the addition of new plants, while benchmark thermal coal prices fell, reaching their lowest levels in almost four years in September.

 

Imports of coking coal for making steel, the second-biggest contributor to total shipments, were nearly flat at 19.35 million tonnes.

 

The Indian government does not regularly release data on coal imports.

 

Its domestic production, 81 percent of which is from state-owned Coal India Ltd, could fall short of demand by 155 million tonnes this fiscal year, according to the Coal Ministry. That could lead to a 13 percent rise in imports.

 

Coal India has fallen short of its production target for at least the past six years due to difficulties in obtaining environmental approvals, lack of railway access and other issues. Its April-December output of 319.2 million was 4 per cent less than its target for the period.

 

The world’s largest coal mining company launched its first tender in November, seeking to import 5 million tonnes of coal to supply power producers until March 2015.

 

The need for reform of the coal mining sector means India is expected to remain a big importer, with Coal India estimating a shortage of 350 million tonnes for 2016-17.

 

Indonesia could be the biggest beneficiary. It already accounts for more than 50 per cent of India’s coal imports, ahead of Australia and South Africa.

 

Several coal blocks allocated to companies from 1998 to 2009 for development are yet to start production. Recent court-mandated investigations into the allocations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have further delayed mining.

 

The CBI said last week it had registered two cases regarding the alleged supply of low quality Indonesian coal by a private company to fuel power plants operated by National Thermal Power Corp.

NTPC in Andhra Pradesh lags behind in power generation

The shortage of coal supply from the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) following the incessant rains during the monsoon season and the frequent tripping of power stations had forced the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Ramagundam, lag behind in power generation during this financial year of 2013-14.

 

Against the target of generating 15,286 million units of power till January 1, 2014 (during the nine months period of the financial year), the NTPC could generate only 14,410 million units.

 

During the year 2012-13, the NTPC generated 20,785 million units of power against the target of generating 20,448 MU. Following its performance, the NTPC was fixed a target of generating 20,708 million units during the year 2013-14. However, it was short of 876 MU during the nine month period.

 

In the coming three months, NTPC Ramagundam had to achieve the remaining target by generating more than 2000 MU of power every month.

 

However, frequent tripping of power stations had become a big cause of concern for the management to achieve the targeted power generation and it would be forced to generate only 1800 MU to 1900 MUs in a month.

 

Freshly, the power generation was stalled at the 500 MWs fifth unit power station following the technical snag on Sunday.

 

The officials are taking all measures to restore power generation by rectifying faults on a war-footing.

 

Sources said that the delay in renovation and modernisation of all power stations is causing frequent tripping and affecting power generation.

 

However, they add that the NTPC management would definitely achieve the target before the completion of the financial year.

Power export to Pakistan on agenda

India is expected to sign an initial deal to export around 500 mega watts (MW) per day of power to Pakistan this month when the trade ministers of the two south Asian neighbours meet here.

 

Sources said the initial wheeling of power would be around 500MW but could be increased.

 

There are indications that Pakistan will increase the import to 2,000-2,500MW to meet the power shortage impacting its economy.

 

The wheeling of power between the two nations is expected to energise trade ties, resulting in Islamabad lowering the number of items on the negative list — a step towards granting most favoured nation status (MFN) to India.

 

The grant of MFN status means the two countries can trade on equal terms, giving each other low tariffs and high import quotas. India granted Pakistan the MFN status in 1996.

 

India’s Central Electricity Authority and Power Grid Corporation of India will be the nodal technical agencies. Pakistan will have the National Transmission and Despatch Company and Chief Engineering Advisor as its nodal agencies.

 

Officials said there was a broad agreement that cross border trading would be done through HVDC (high voltage direct current) coupling, as is being done with Bangladesh, ensuring that both the grids operate independently.

 

As Lahore is near Punjab, it will be economical to transfer power through Amritsar, officials said.

 

The project will require 45 kilometres of 220 kV transmission lines on both sides of the border — 25 kilometres in India and 20 kilometres in the neighbouring country.

 

The tariff is likely to be around Rs 8 per unit, which is almost similar to the rates in Pakistan, sources said.

 

Pakistan faces a 37 per cent, or 5,000MW, energy shortage and is desperately looking for ways to bridge the huge shortfall. Power shortages, along with endemic violence, have resulted in its textile mills moving to Bangladesh.

 

At present, Islamabad imports 35MW from Iran, which it plans to increase to 100MW. It is also considering importing another 1,000MW from Tajikistan.

 

Power production in Pakistan is only about 10,000-16,000MW against an installed capacity of 20,800MW. The sector is plagued by old plants, poor maintenance and high debt.

Pitfalls of surplus power in Punjab

Punjab is going to be first state in the country to become power surplus after the commissioning of all the units of Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura thermal plant.

 

The first unit of Talwandi Sabo thermal was synchronized with grid on December 31 and first unit of Rajpura thermal is likely to be synchronized with grid in next few days. The remaining units of two thermal plants will be commissioned by August.

Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in its tariff petition has mentioned that the thermal plants at Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Goindwal Sahib will be generating 13444 million units (MU) and it intends to surrender 7987 MU from these private sector thermal plants.

 

The tariff petition also indicates that PSPCL intends to surrender a total of 12994 MU of power. The proposed surrender of surplus power will from central sector projects and private generating thermal plants established in state in order of merit their fixed charges. However, the generation from private sector thermal plants in private sector will be on higher side and the surplus power to be surrendered will be surrendered will be around15000 MU.

 

The state sector thermal plant units are likely to become unintended victim of surplus power in Punjab as these units will be backed down to pave the way for private sector generation as and when the power demand in the state takes a dip.

 

PSPCL in its ARR has not proposed any surrender of power from state run thermal plants at Ropar, Lehra Mohabatt and Bhatinda. If one looks into the track record of PSPCL for the current financial year it is the state sector thermal plant units which were ordered to be shut down on no demand to pave the way for power purchases made by PSPCL. The priority order of PSPCL for closing thermal units is Bhatinda units followed by Ropar and Lehra Mohabatt thermal units.

 

As per tariff petition Ropar thermal plant will net generation will be 8693 MU while for Lehra Mohabatt thermal plant and Bhatinda thermal plant net generation is likely to be 6272 MU and 2823MU respectively.

 

PSPCL which has been making efforts to sell surplus power to southern states may not be able to do so sell surplus power to southern states as the average rate of power of Punjab would be around Rs. 3.50 and with wheeling charges the cost of selling power may be above Rs. 4.20 Per unit. It may be mentioned that power in southern states will be available at cheaper rates from power exchanges in next financial year as southern grid will function in tandem with other grids in next few months.

Tariff increase

 

Further in case of increase of surrendered surplus power from 12994 MU to 15000 MU the fixed charges to be paid by PSPCL would increase from 1706 crore to 1961 crore. The burden on consumers on account of fixed charges will increase from 44 paise per unit to 50 paise per unit.

Power export to Pakistan

 

The only alternative available is to export power to Pakistan where power tariff is more than Rs. 7 per unit. CEA and Power Grid officials claim that power can be traded through HVDC coupling. The project would require 45 Kms. of 220 KV transmission line on both sides. Initially 500 MW is likely to be exported which can be increased to 2000 MW subsequently.

NMDC to shift its proposed power plant location from UP

NMDC, which is in the process of setting up a 500-MW power plant in Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh, has decided to shift the location of the project in view of the objections raised by a committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests earlier.

 

According to official sources, Mecon, consultant for the power project has come up with three alternative sites and the Expert Appraisal Committee has asked the miner to prepare a detailed plan with regard to the environmental issues on the site at Turkadih-Siswa.

 

The EAC earlier refused to give clearance for the project on the grounds that place where the project is proposed, is fertile agriculture land and suggested the company to come out with alternative lands.

 

"Mecon has identified three alternate sites within and outside Gonda, with the help of Topo Sheets and Satellite imageries and extensive field survey. The EAC asked them to prepare Environmental Management Plan keeping Turkadih-Siswa site in mind," a source in the know of the development told PTI.

 

The source said an advertisement seeking land up to 500 acres in Gonda district was also released recently.

 

"We have not taken any investment decision yet. It depends on the DPR by Mecon. It will take some time for them to prepare the report," the source added.

 

In November last year, NMDC once again approached the EAC with the alternative site and the committee has asked the PSU to prepare a detailed Environment Impact Assessment study and Environmental management plan for the site.

 

In August last year, an MoU was signed between the NMDC Power Limited (NPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Navratna Public Sector Undertaking, NMDC Limited and IEDCL, a subsidiary of IL&FS for setting up a 2x250 Mw Thermal Power Plant under Joint Venture at Gonda, Uttar Pradesh UP with the investment outlay of over Rs 3,000 crore.

 

NMDC Power will initially hold 48 per cent stake in the venture for setting up the power plant, while the remainder will be with IEDCL. Subsequently, NMDC would dilute its stake in the venture to 26 per cent, while IEDCL would have the rest 74 per cent stake, NMDC acting Chairman C S Verma had said at the MoU signing ceremony in August.

Maharashtra has no plan yet for CAG audit on Tata Power, RInfra

Electricity consumers in Mumbai will have to wait for an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure as the Congress-led government in the state has not taken any formal decision in this regard. The state government has so far not indicated its plan to adopt the model adopted by Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi to conduct CAG audit for Mumbai power companies.

 

Reliance Infrastructure has a consumer base of  2.8 million, while Tata Power has 425,000 consumers. When contacted, Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure declined to comment. A state government official, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard: “Currently, Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure carry out their annual audits by deploying leading audit firms. There is no proposal as of now before the government to order CAG audit of these two companies for their Mumbai operations.”

 

However, the official admitted that CAG audit of these companies can be possible under Section 20 of the CAG Act, 1971, which regulates the audit of accounts of authorities or bodies that are otherwise not subject to audit by the CAG.

 

Section 20 reads: “The Comptroller and Auditor-General may propose to the President or the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union territory having a Legislative Assembly, as the case may be, that he may authorised to undertake the audit of accounts of any body or authority, the audit of the account of which has not been entrusted to him by law, if he is of opinion that such audit is necessary because a substantial amount has been invested in.”

 

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's former chairman Pramod Deo said CAG audit of Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure can be done. He, however, added that the state government will have to take a call in this regard.

 

Ashok Pendse, consumer representative at the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, shared Deo's views saying that CAG’s audit of Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure will be a reality. ''However, at the end of the day, what will come out of the CAG audit should not be like what actually appears out of magician’s hat,” he noted.

 

D Radhakrishna, a power-sector analyst, says a CAG audit should be carried out on the generating companies, too, because in power supply, the contribution of discoms is only 20 per cent and 80 per cent of the cost is attributed to generation and transmission.

 

“Thus, CAG audit for Mumbai power companies can be done as per Sec 20 of CAG Act 1971. The state government can order such an audit,” he added.