Hinduja signs agreement for Solar Projects with French firms...

The Hinduja Group on Tuesday signed agreements with leading French firms for road infrastructure projects as well as development of solar energy in India.

Hinduja Group is one of the largest diversified groups in the world spanning all the continents. The Group employs over 40,000 people and has offices in many key cities of the world and all the major cities in India. Merchant Banking and Trade were the first two businesses of the group. Since the company has diversified and is now active in Banking & Finance, Transport, Energy (Oil & Power) as well as the new economy of Technology, Media and Telecom.

The joint venture for development of road infrastructure projects was signed with France-based Vinci Group.

Spark Network believes that Hinduja Group has signed the agreement with the French energy major Areva.

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Ganga Power signs an MoU with BSEB for 1320 super critical power project...

Ganga Power & Natural Resources of Adhunik Group has signed an MoU with Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) for setting up a 1320 MW super critical thermal power project at Pirpainty in Bhagalpur district. The power project has qualified for long term coal linkage. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has sent a recommendation to the coal ministry for 6.9 million metric tonnes of coal per annum (MTPA) to the project. Bihar government has allotted 60 million cubic meter of water for this plant. A no-objection certificate has already been received from the Central Water Commission. For environment clearance, a project report has been sent to the Bihar State Pollution Control Board. The public hearing is expected by the month-end, said an official.

An application has been submitted to the department of industries for acquisition of 900 acres of land spread over Jairambandhu, Rajganj, Govindpur, Laxmipur, Hiranand and Roshanpur villages in Pirpainty.

The power project is expected to be commissioned in December 2014.

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KERC increases power tariff...

Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) today issued an official notification for increase in power tariff.

The tariff hike is in the range of 28.54 paise/unit to 30.75 paise/unit in various Distribution Companies (Discoms)

Bhagya Jyothi and Kutir Jyothi schemes have been exempted from hike so far.

To make matters worse, in all the ESComs, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCom), Mangalore Electricity Supply Company ( MESCom), Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCom) and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Compamny (CHESCom) power will be curtailed and only single phase power will be supplied for during 6 am to 6 pm .

Click on the below links to download tariff order’s of various Discoms.

1. BESCOM

2. MESCOM

3. HESCOM

4. GESCOM

5. CESC

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Bharti's Cell towers to go green...

Telecom major, Bharti Airtel has undertaken a pilot project to run its telecom towers using environment friendly hydrogen as fuel. The project will be developed with French industrial gas company Air Liquide.

In the first phase, the French firm will test the technology with 10-15 sets, which will be expanded to most towers.

The investment will be around 200 to 500 Mn EURO depending on the rate of penetration of the hydro-fuelled towers.

According to Spark Network, around 30% of telecom towers in India run by diesel. Hence, there is a huge opportunity for renewable energy based technology.

With diesel generators that power over 4 lakh towers in the country consuming fuel worth over Rs 6,400 crore every year, the government has recently set up a panel to promote renewable energy to slash costs as well as hazardous carbon emissions.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) plans to provide subsidies and incentives to operators using renewable energy.

Some of the incentives include 30 per cent subsidy on the total cost of making 200 towers eco-friendly in a certain area and supporting the rollout of eco-friendly towers in rural areas.

Other benefits include the reduction in pollution, cutting down on diesel dependence and a decline in operating costs, he said.

A number of operators are already experimenting with alternative source of energy such as wind power and biofuels.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is looking at reducing the sector’s impact on the environment by introducing a carbon credit policy, the details of which are being worked out.

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Tariff hike in Bihar by BERC....

Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) on  Monday announced a marginal increase in power tariff with effect from January 2011 bills.

A common domestic consumer consuming 100 units of power per month will now have to pay around Rs 10 more than what s/he is paying. Application fee for new connections, meter rent, service connection charges, meter testing fee and other existing miscellaneous charges have been left untouched.

According to Spark Network distribution transformers are one of the important areas for reducing distribution losses.

BERC has asked BSEB to fix a target of maintaining 32% line loss this year. The commission has also directed BSEB to go in for procurement of distribution transformers of up to 200kVA with 'two star' rating to minimize the losses.

BERC has also recommended meters in every 33kV and 11kV feeder and distribution transformer so that proper energy audit and accounting can be done. For energy saving, BERC has favored power supply to BPL (Below Poverty Line) consumers with CFL lamps. This will save a lot of energy with there being 7.76 lakhs BPL consumers.

A rebate of 15% has been allowed to commercial consumers for availing power supply during off-peak hours from 11pm to 5am. A surcharge of 20% would be levied on power consumption during peak hours from 5pm to 11pm.

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Nuclear agreement between Indian and France signed...

India and France were planning to enter into a framework agreement on nuclear sector. On Monday, both the countries inked the agreement for sourcing two reactors from French nuclear major Areva SA along with an assurance on uranium supplies.

The framework agreement envisages the sale of nuclear reactors, fuel and services worth about EURO 7 billion (or around Rs 42,000 crore at current exchange rates).

The units are of 1650 MWe each. Units will be supplied to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). Areva said it will take around 5-6 years to commission these units. The units are planned in Jaitapur (Maharashtra)

It also envisages partnerships between the Areva and the (NPCIL) to prepare for the construction of the two reactors from early 2011, she said. Details of the pricing of the reactor units, and the terms of the fuel sales are to be worked out in the final contract.

The French firm has assured India on the supply of uranium fuel for the 60-year life of the reactor, with the initial fuel pact spanning 25 years for the two units that are slated to come on stream in 2018.

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APL and NTPC's Supercritical units to go on stream soon...

Adani Power Limited (APL), a Gujarat based power sector major is setting up supercritical units at its Mundra (Gujarat) site. Also, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) a Navratna Power sector company is setting supercritical units at its Sipat site. Supercritical units are the units of 660 MW. Supercritical units are being set up first time in India.

Both of the above sites, the units are in the final stage of commissioning and likely to be connected to grid in end December.

APL is using Chinese technology while  NTPC is using Russian and Korean super critical technologies.

Generally, a unit with more than 500 MW capacity is referred as supercritical. The technology has derived its name from use of supercritical pressure for generation of steam — which rotates the generator — by firing coal.

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JV of BHEL, NPCIL and Alstom to be approved by Union Cabinet...

The joint venture of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Alstom (France based company) is likely to be approved by the Union cabinet soon.

According to Spark Network each of these three companies well hold 33% equity stake. BHEL, the power equipment maker, already has a tie-up with Alstom for its boiler business.

Spark Network believes that the JV would not require much capital investment and it would function as a front-end company, responsible for marketing and engineering. BHEL would do manufacturing, with the French partner supplying some parts. The company would place orders on BHEL, which would use its Bhopal and Hardwar facilities to enhance its equipment capacity for the nuclear sector.

BHEL’s boiler capacity at Tiruchirapalli would also be used for catering to the nuclear sector. The power sector constitutes 76-77 per cent of BHEL’s total business, of which coal comprises 83 per cent, gas another three to four per cent and hydro, two per cent.

Initially, the JV would supply turbines to eight units of 700 Mw each being developed by NPCIL. The value of supplies is likely to be Rs 6,000 crore.

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A2Z IPO price band set at 400 - 410 Rs.

Mumbai based Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) firm A2Z Group has filed a DHRP with SEBI on July 29 for Rs. 750 Crs IPO to fund its power foray programs.

Subsequently, A2Z Group has got market regulator's nod to launch the IPO. The IPO is being opened on Dec 8 by the book running managers IDFC Capital, DSP Merrill Lynch, Enam Securities, ICICI Securities and SBI Capital Markets.

A2Z Group was founded in the year 2002 and achieved a turnover of INR 750 Crore during 2008-2009 and INR 1200 Crore for 2009-2010.

The Group covers three business verticals of which the Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) Company is the largest entity. Its business operations encompass Electrical Distribution Systems, EHV Switch yards, Transmission lines, Railways Electrification, Discom IT Applications & BOP for Power Plants.

The company has a biomass power generating assets  capacity of about 60MW.  In Punjab, the company was setting up three co-generation power plants in collaboration with sugar mills on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model for a period of 15 years. A2Z will provide steam and power for operating the manufacturing process of the sugar mills during the crushing season. A2Z, which also bagged one of the largest municipal solid-waste management contract from Kanpur municipal corporation, planned to set up 10-15 Mw capacity power plants in various cities, depending on the availability of processed solid waste.

A2Z has has set a price band of 400 rupees to 410 rupees for its initial public offering to raise as much as Rs 8.62 billion ($191.7 million).

The offer comprises a fresh issue of equity shares at the issue price aggregating Rs 6.75 billion and an offer for sale of 4.56 million shares by the selling shareholders.

Click here to read more about A2Z's IPO.

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