KERC approves average tariff hike of 13 paise per unit

 

The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved revision of electricity supply tariff for all the Electricity Supply Companies in the State for the Financial Year 2015-16, by allowing an average tariff increase of 13 paise per unit for different categories of consumers.

The revised tariff will come into effect for the electricity consumed from the first meter reading date falling on or after April 1, 2015.

As against an increase of 80 paise per unit sought by the ESCOMs uniformly for all categories of consumers, KERC has allowed an average tariff increase of 13 paise per unit (ranging from 10 paise to 20 paise) for different categories of consumers other than Irrigation Pump Sets and "BhagyaJyothi/KuteerJyothi" households.

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Post Budget, around 5-10% hike in Electricity Tariff is expected

 

On account of higher freight charges proposed in the Railway Budget 2015 and the doubling of clean energy cess in the Union Budget 2015 are expected to result in around 5% rise in electricity prices. Further 5% increase is expected to come from other input costs such as salary & wages, components & spares etc.

In addition, utilities that have power purchase agreements in place without the ability to pass on higher generation costs to consumers are expected to be affected.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley proposed to increase the cess on coal to Rs 200 per tonne to finance clean environment initiatives. Coal India passes on the cess to consumers, which means the effect will be felt by power companies that consume coal.

Generation costs may rise 5-6 paise per unit due to higher rail freight charges, according to officials at NTPC, the country's biggest power company. Along with the increased clean energy cess, the rise in cost works out to 12-14 paise per unit, which is 5% of the current cost of Rs 2.80 that NTPC incurs to produce a unit of power. The cost of generating electricity for NTPC, which is allowed to pass on higher input charges, is on the lower side and the impact on the utility's consumers will be less than for customers of other power companies.

Companies with older power plants have a higher cost of generation since they consume more coal to produce a unit of electricity. The effect of higher power costs will vary for customers.

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BSES Discoms ask for 25 perc hike in tariff for power being supplied in Delhi

 

BSES Discoms of Delhi, BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) & BSES Yamuna Power Ltd (BYPL), has submitted to the Supreme Court that they were in an unviable financial position and demanded for a 20-25% hike in power tariff to bridge their revenue gap.

 

 

According to BYPL & BRPL,

• major portion of the revenue was being spent in purchasing electricity from the government-owned power generating companies
• the firms were denied "cost reflective tariff" from the regulator (DERC).
• BSES Rajdhani Pvt Ltd started with opening overdues of Rs 2,847 crore in January 2014 and by January, 2015, the closing overdues went up to Rs 3,965 crore.
• Similarly, BSES Yamuna Power Pvt Ltd (BYPL) started with opening overdues of Rs 2,394 crore in January 2014 and by January 2015, the closing overdues was Rs 3,590 crore.

BSES Yamuna Power Pvt Ltd (BYPL) and BSES Rajdhani Pvt Ltd (BRPL), which owe money to various power generating PSUs including NTPC and NHPC, had moved the court seeking various reliefs including a direction that the power supply to them should not be cut by the PSUs for ensuring uninterrupted supply in Delhi.

However, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), opposed the plea of the private discoms saying they have "buffered up" the losses.

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Alstom T&D secures Rs. 138 Crore contract from PGCIL...

Alstom T&D India has secured a Rs 138 crore (approximately Euro 17 million) contract from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) to supply transformers and reactors for the expansion of 400/220 kV grid substations across southern India. The project is part of Power Grid’s System Strengthening Scheme to boost power handling capacity of substations, and stabilise the transmission infrastructure in southern India.

 

Under this new contract, Alstom will supply six units of 400/220 kV, 500 MVA transformers and two units of 420 kV, 125 MVAr shunt reactors. All equipment will be supplied from Alstom T&D India’s manufacturing facilities across the country.

 

This is Alstom’s second win to strengthen the country’s transmission infrastructure under the System Strengthening Scheme. The first power transmission reinforcement contract was awarded in July 2014 to expand 400/200 kV grid substations across eastern India.

 

Rathin Basu, Managing Director, Alstom T&D India, said, “Winning a second project under the System Strengthening Scheme is a major achievement for Alstom, confirming our industrial expertise and leadership. We are delighted to continue contributing to the development of India’s national grid infrastructure.”

 

Source: Business Standard

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Chhatrapur to be first smart grid town in Odisha…

 

Chhatrapur, the district headquarters of Ganjam, will become the first 'smart grid town' in the state after it starts using an advanced technology in power supply that can withstand cyclones with wind speed of around 350 km/hour.

The technology will be implemented under a disaster- resilient power strengthening project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on an experimental basis.

The other towns in the district, Berhampur and Gopalpur, would also be included in the scheme at a cost of Rs 817 crore, energy secretary P K Jena said here on Saturday.

Energy minister Arun Kumar Sahu said the initiative was necessary as the power sector frequently bore the brunt of nature's fury.

Jena said under the scheme the towns will have underground power supply lines, apart from overhead cables.

Besides, consumers will be alerted about power cuts through SMSes. He was here to felicitate outstanding performers, who helped restore power supply in Phailin-hit Ganjam in quick time.

The government has also decided to set up a one megawatt solar power plant at Chhatrapur, chairman-cum managing director, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), Hemant Sharma, said.

The officials justified the selection of the three towns, saying Berhampur was the biggest commercial hub in the southern part of the state, Gopalpur, a seashore town, was a tourist place and Chhatrapur was the district headquarters town.

Power infrastructure in the district, particularly in these three towns, was severely damaged in cyclone Phailin in October.

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APERC public hearing: Farmers oppose power tariff hike…

 

Mild tension prevailed at the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (APERC) public hearing here on Saturday, as representatives of several farmers’ associations and political parties vociferously opposed the power tariff hike mooted by the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL).

The hearing began with a presentation by APSPDCL Chairman and MD H.Y. Dora, who put forward the achievements of the Southern Discom, along with proposed power tariff hike and steps to be taken for effective power distribution. But, the proceedings had to be adjourned by APERC Chairman V. Bhaskar for more than 30 minutes as the farmers’ association representatives and activities of several political parties raised slogans and refused to calm down. 

YSRC Spokesperson B. Janak Prasad said the failure of the government to ensure supply of coal and natural gas to power projects had forced the Discoms to generate power at a higher cost with imported raw materials. TDP activists also flayed the officials for being unable to curb the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. Quoting experts’ opinion, they said that Rs.400 crore could be saved by reducing the loss by 1 per cent. Meanwhile, in a statement, CPI (M) State Secretary B.V. Raghavulu said that in last four financial years, the commission had permitted tariff hike to the tune of Rs.12, 605 crore and Fuel Surcharge Adjustment (FSA) for the last five years stood at Rs.12,800 crore. “Due to the proposed hike, the average hike is 28.2 per cent and 23.9 per cent for LT and HT categories,” the statement read.

Members of farmers’ associations demanded that the government provide uninterrupted power at free of cost to ryots in the morning instead of at nights as the latter would serve no purpose.

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Maharashtra slashes power tariff by 20 per cent…

 

In a major pre-election initiative, the Maharashtra government on Monday slashed power tariff by 20 per cent across all sectors.

The move will provide relief to domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural consumers, according to an announcement by the Chief Minister's Office.

The 20 per cent cut will be applicable for domestic consumers - around 1.30 crore in the state - using up to 300 units per month.

The move drew criticism from the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The decision will be implemented in the entire state including north-east parts of Mumbai which get power from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

"A decision on the other areas of the city - like north-west and south Mumbai - which are serviced by private suppliers like Tata Power and Reliance Energy shall be taken next week," an official said.

The MSEB has a total of 2.14 crore consumers in Maharashtra, of which 1.56 crore are domestic users, a MSEB spokesperson said.

Of these 1.56 crore, a whopping 1.30 crore fall in the below 300-units per month range, making them eligible for the 20 percent slashed tariff.

Maharashtra also has 3.60 million agriculture consumers, 1.60 million commercial users, 300,000 industrial and 100,000 powerlooms.

Certain other consumers like the railways are no included in the above list, the spokesperson said.

The 20 per cent reduction in tariff would mean a loss of around Rs.706 crore per month for MSEB.

However, the government will provide subsidy of Rs.606 crore per month or Rs.7,272 crore per annum to the MSEB.

The remaining Rs.100 crore per month or Rs.1,200 crore per annum will be borne by the MSEB.

Since the past fortnight, Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam has launched protests demanding reduction in power tariff in Mumbai and other parts in the interest of ordinary consumers.

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Delhi discoms offer to surrender surplus power to state govt...

 

Facing allegations of selling a surplus 1,000 mw to group companies at below-market rates to supress profits, BSES discoms have urged the Delhi government to take over management of unused power so that the controversy can come to an end.

Despite the Delhi High court quashing the regulatory order that said discoms could make profit of Rs 3,577 crore a year by selling surplus power alone, consumer groups continue to cite the order to bolster their case that discoms are manipulating electricity trading deals. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission had arrived at the profit figure by assuming electricity price of Rs 5.75 a unit in 2007.

On the other hand, discoms maintain that power is surplus only during non-peak hours when prevailing market rates are low. So, prices are usually lower than rates at which power is purchased from central generating stations under long-term power purchase agreements ( PPAs).

In a letter to Delhi power secretary Puneet Goel, discoms have said they sell surplus electricity through transparent mechanisms like power exchanges, trading and banking arrangements and unscheduled interchange (UI), where all transactions are accounted by the state load despatch centre in compliance with the guidelines laid down by the regulator. Anyway, the discoms have further said that they cannot be held responsible for terms of the PPAs that were signed by the erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board prior to its privatisation in 2002, and assigned to them in 2007.

“In the interest of transparency and to avoid baseless allegations and unnecessary controversy, the BSES discoms request the Delhi government to take over the entire responsibility for ensuring adequate power to meet the peak demand and sell off-peak power in the most optimal manner,” said the letter sent by Gopal K Saxena, CEO, BSES Rajdhani Power. BSES Rajdhani Power and BSES Yamuna Power together cater to two-thirds of electricity consumers in the national capital.

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Government looking at ways to reduce smart grid tech costs…

 

Various options are being studied to reduce the cost of smart grid technologies, which will help in bringing down overall transmission and distribution losses in the power sector, a Planning Commission member said today.

Smart grid technologies would help in ensuring efficient power system and pilot projects in this regard have already been identified by the government.

Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi said that an exercise is underway to reduce the cost of smart grid technologies.

High capital and operating costs are among the major challenges in implementing smart grid technologies in the power sector.

"There is an eminent need to develop smart meters to meet the challenges of power theft," Chaturvedi said and added that the losses related to transmission and distribution of electricity should be reduced.

He was speaking at a conference on smart grids organised by industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

Fourteen smart grid pilot projects have been shortlisted by the Power Ministry for funding.

Going by estimates, India's Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses are more than 20 per cent, among one of the highest in the world.

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BYPL not to get power from Nathpa Jhakri power station…

 

Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Ltd has regulated power supply to Reliance-backed discom BSES Yamuna from Nathpa Jhakri power station from January 1 to June 30, 2014, following non-payment of dues.

BYPL had earlier been barred power supply from this Himachal Pradesh-based power plant from October to December 2013, after defaulting on payments and now SJVN Ltd has extended this power regulation till June-end. This deprived the national capital of about 40-50 MW of power.

SJVN Ltd sent a regulation notice to the state load dispatch centre on regulation of supply from its 1,500 MW hydel plant in December, sources said. BYPL's share from the plant is 27.24% of total allocation.

"SJVN Ltd in its notice has informed that power rendered surplus due to regulation of power supply to BYPL would be sold through PTC on energy exchange platform," said an official. Sources said the regulation will continue in 'duration of regulation' or up to an earlier date if the default is rectified.

"The regulation will be communicated by reducing the schedule of BYPL from the identified source (Nathpa Jhakri plant). SLDC Delhi will have to regulate drawal schedule for the intrastate regulated entities and the regional load dispatch centre (RLDC) would regulate drawal schedule of Delhi State Control Area," said a notice served by SJVN Ltd.

BSES discoms have been regularly defaulting on payment to entities like NTPC, NHPC, DTL, IPGCL and PPCL, claiming cash flow crisis and financial difficulties.

The discoms are now in the midst of disagreement with the new government led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who not only ordered a CAG audit for the companies but also announced a Rs 200 crore subsidy benefit for consumers, the cost of which owed to the BSES companies would be adjusted against their pending dues to Delhi government. BSES discoms have said that this adjustment would not be sustainable for them.

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Odisha to sell surplus power to Karnataka…

 

The Odisha government has decided to sell surplus power to Karnataka.

The matter was discussed at a high-level meeting here on Monday, which was attended by chief secretaries of both states. Senior officials of the Odisha government’s Energy department were also present.

“Karnataka Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee, who is in the State, had an official meeting with our Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra here on Monday, where a preliminary discussion on the power sale was held. Details will be worked out when officials of both states meet,” said sources in the Energy department.

At the meeting, the Karnataka chief secretary reportedly expressed his keenness to purchase power from a State-owned undertaking in Odisha rather than a private company.

If everything works out well, Karnataka will purchase power from the Grid Corporation of Odisha, a State-owned undertaking which purchases power from different sources, including private sector electricity generation companies in the State. It sells them to four power distribution utilities that supply power to consumers in four different zones in Odisha.

This will not be the first instance of Odisha, one of the very few power surplus states in the country, selling electricity to another state. It had earlier sold power to Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana.

If sources in the Energy department are to be believed, the average power requirement in Odisha at present stands at around 2,700 MW. The State currently gets about 3,000 MW from different sources, including its own thermal and hydro power stations, besides electricity generating private sector companies. “We get around 300 MW of surplus power at the moment which can be sold to other states”, an official in the Energy department said.

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Maharashtra Cabinet likely to discuss power tariff subsidy today…

 

The Maharashtra Cabinet is meeting on Wednesday and is likely to take up the proposal to cut power tariffs in Mumbai.

This comes after Congress MPs Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt held protests on Monday demanding slashing down of electricity bills for Mumbaikars.

Backed by a crowd, the two Congress leaders gathered outside Reliance's regional office in Kandivali and raised slogans.

A Group of Ministers headed by Industries Minister Narayan Rane had recommended 10 to 20 per cent cut in power tariffs for Mumbai.

Earlier to protests, Nirupam had also written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan demanding a cut in power tariff, asking if the AAP government in Delhi can do so why the same can't be done in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

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To fulfil its promise, Rajasthan government to buy electricity from private companies...

 

To fulfil its poll promise of continuous electricity supply to the domestic consumers and over six hours supply to agricultural sector across the state, the Vasundhara Raje government has decided to purchase electricity from private companies for the first three months to provide uninterrupted power supply to people.

Sources inform that the ruling party doesn’t want to take chances in the upcoming general elections and hence, has decided to ensure proper supply of electricity to farmers during the Rabi season. It has therefore ordered all three discoms - Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur to purchase electricity from private companies.  A total of 1,050 MW of power will be purchased in total in first three months.

The purchase is only for a short term, as another unit of Chhabbra Power Plant is expected to start generating power by April. Also, the government is expecting power supply from Kawai Power Station in the coming months.

On various occasions, energy minister of Rajasthan, Gajendra Singh Khinwsar has stressed on continuous electricity supply in rural areas and ordered officials to ensure the same.

However, as ironic as this may sound, but the ‘necessary’ supply will affect the cash-strained discoms.

“I can’t tell you about the availability and the quantum of the electricity purchased right now. I will be able to tell about it on Monday when I resume my office. And, all the information will be known to all soon,” said Arjun Singh, director of power trading cell of Jaipur Discom.

To manage the daily balance between demand and supply of electricity across the state, power trading cell usually adopts the bidding route and purchases electricity from power exchange depending on the anticipated electricity demand.

Since the day it took charge, the BJP has been focusing on the availability of electricity in the state especially to the farmers which may prove to be politically sensitive. Notably, other parties, especially AAP had come to power in Delhi on the basic issue of electricity only.

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Soon, wireless power transfer on the go...

 

Imagine charging your cell phone while on an evening walk without any wire or device near you. This 'power in the air' thought has received a big boost with Duke University researchers demonstrating the feasibility of wireless power transfer using low-frequency magnetic fields over distances much larger than the size of the transmitter and receiver.

"What consumers want and expect from a useful wireless power system is the ability to charge a device wherever it is - not simply to charge it without a cable," said Yaroslav Urzhumov, assistant research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University.

"Previous commercial products like the PowerMat have not become a standard solution exactly for that reason as they lock the user to a certain area or region where transmission works," he added.

The Duke researchers have created a 'superlens' that focuses on magnetic fields.

The superlens translates the magnetic field emanating from one power coil onto its twin nearly a foot away, inducing an electric current in the receiving coil, said the study published in the journal "Scientific Reports".

This is the first time such a system has successfully sent power safely and efficiently through the air.

"We have demonstrated that the efficiency of magneto-inductive wireless power transfer can be enhanced over distances many times larger than the size of the receiver and transmitter," said Urzhumov.

"This is important because if this technology is to become a part of everyday life, it must conform to the dimensions of today's pocket-sized mobile electronics," he added.

Superlens looks like a few dozen giant Rubik's cubes stacked together.

Both the exterior and interior walls of the hollow blocks are intricately etched with a spiraling copper wire reminiscent of a microchip.

On one side of the superlens, the researchers placed a small copper coil with an alternating electric current running through it, which creates a magnetic field around the coil.

"It's actually easy to increase the power transfer distance by simply increasing the size of the coils," explained Urzhumov.

Urzhumov and his team want to drastically upgrade the system to make it more suitable for realistic power transfer scenarios such as charging mobile devices or other electrical devices as you move around in your home or in the neighbourhood.

Source: Business Standard

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Indian to launch National Smart Grid Mission soon...

 

The government will soon launch a national smart grid mission and monitor the implementation of policies and programmes envisioned in the smart grid road map for the power sector.

"This will help in finding solutions for some of the daunting challenges the Indian power sector is faced with, such as enabling better access to electricity, providing lifeline supply to all households and reducing T&D losses among others. This would also guide planning and investments for future power projects and T&D activities," B N Sharma, joint secretary, ministry of power said.

Speaking at an international conference organised as part of an international exhibition on electrical products and services, ELECRAMA, on Friday, he said the government had recently unveiled the Smart Grid Vision and Road Map for the future for both modernising the ageing grids as well as for transition towards low carbon power economy by integrating renewable generation with the grid.

According to ABB, a smart grid is an evolved grid system that manages electricity demand in a sustainable, reliable and economic manner, built on advanced infrastructure and tuned to facilitate the integration of all involved. Smart grids will provide more electricity to meet rising demand, increase reliability and quality of power supplies, increase energy efficiency, and be able to integrate low carbon energy sources into power networks.

G Kumar Naik, Managing Director, KPTCL said, "The Government of Karnataka has given top most priority to transformers by proposing to set up transformer repair centres in every taluk in the state and transformer banks in every district head quarter."

Raj Eswaran, President, Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturing Association (IEEMA) said in his address that the industry body had identified five areas for strategic and policy interventions by both the government and industry.

India's Rs 12,000 crore transformer industry is facing a few challenges as it is currently operating at about 60 per cent capacity due to a slump in demand projected by the government companies, said Aditya Dhoot, Vice-Chairman ELECRAMA. The Mission plan 2012-2022 for the electrical equipment industry was launched in July 2013 and its vision is to make India the country of choice for production of electrical equipment and reach an output of $100 billion by balancing exports and imports.

Source: Business Standard

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Buying hydro power may become mandatory for discoms...

 

The Union power ministry is planning to make it mandatory for power distribution companies (discoms) to buy electricity from hydel projects — a move that would put them on a par with renewable power plants. The idea is to attract investments into the sector and raise the falling share of hydroelectricity in the country’s power mix.

Since the proposal has the potential to increase discoms’ power purchase costs, the ministry has decided to consult electricity regulators and state governments on the issue. Sources said the proposal will be first put up before electricity regulators who are meeting in Chandigarh on January 17. Thereafter, the ministry is expected to call a meeting of state energy ministers to discuss this issue.

Specifically, the idea is to put in place a policy of hydropower purchase obligation (HPO) similar to renewable power purchase obligation, which mandates discoms to buy a certain share of electricity from generating stations running on wind, solar energy and bio-mass. Under the mechanism, discoms in states lacking renewable resources can fulfil their obligation by buying renewable energy certificates from others. Apart from discoms, captive power generators are also required to comply with the policy.

“We are considering HPO for hydropower plants along the lines of renewable power purchase obligation and will soon begin consultations with stakeholders, including state governments, on it,” a senior power official said.

The ideal ratio of thermal and hydropower is 60:40. But, in India, the share of hydel power in the energy basket has fallen from 26% in 2007-08 to 16%, and is projected to further decline to 13% by 2022.

India has the potential to generate 1.5 lakh mw electricity from hydro resources, but it has harnessed only 40,000 mw. The Union power ministry had envisaged capacity addition of 8,237 mw in the hydropower sector during the 11th Plan. However, only half the targeted capacity could be added.

Some industry experts feel the proposed HPO can go a long way in boosting investor sentiment on the hydropower sector if it is implemented properly. Others think HPO needs to be complemented with other incentives, such as an increase in the return on equity (RoE) for hydel projects, if the desired result is to be achieved.

Debasish Mishra, senior director, Deloitte, told Fe: “HPO will definitely give a boost to investment in hydel projects provided state electricity regulators set reasonable targets and ensure adherence by utilities and consumers. Else it will meet the same fate as renewable power purchase obligations.”

“Apart from HPO, the RoE on hydel projects should also be increased if the share of hydropower is to be restored to the ideal level of 40%,” said Ashok Khurana, director-general, association of power producers.

Apart from the risk of geological surprises, lack of road connectivity, especially in border areas, hampers capacity addition based on hydro resources. The Centre has constituted a ministerial panel headed by finance minister P Chidambram to suggest ways to expedite development of supporting infrastructure for hydel projects.

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Indian T&D industry should tap global opportunities to increase exports: World Bank...

 

Domestic transmission and distribution companies need to tap global opportunities to increase exports from the current $ 5 billion to $ 25 billion in the next five years, a World Bank official said.

"Indian transmission and distribution industry should look for opportunities globally to enhance exports from $ 5 billion to $ 25 billion in the next five years in power generation, transmission and distribution," World Bank Director (Department of Sustainable Energy) Subramaniam V Iyer said.

Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers' Association here, Iyer said this growth potential should be seen with the perspective of the huge untapped demand for power.

"Globally 1.2 billion people still do not get power, and India occupies a prime place as around 300 million people are not getting any power. So one can understand the need for the resources and efforts to reach out to the deprived lot."

According to the International Energy Agency, demand for energy is going to grow exponentially but the transmission and distribution losses will also grow in a big way unless the T&D equipment makers improve their efficiency.

"There was a concern about the climate change, and reduction of carbon footprint should be a major focus area for the generation and transmission equipment makers," Iyer added.

IEEMA President Raj Eswaran said frugal engineering and innovation help cope with business cycles in the global electricity sector, and manufacturers should embrace upcoming technologies.

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Haryana discoms prepare a Rs 5,000-cr capital expenditure plan...

 

The Hayana discoms (Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) have prepared a capex (capital expenditure) plan of Rs 5,000 crore for the next three years to strengthen power distribution system in the state, so as to ensure more power with greater reliability to meet the increasing demand.

Devender Singh, principal secretary (power) and chairman, Haryana Power Utilities, said here on Tuesday that power transmission and distribution systems have been planned to match the increase in demand. The discoms have planned a capex of about Rs 5,000 crore over the next three to four years, for which integrated planning has already been initiated.

Singh said that to meet the increasing demand of power in the state, the power utilities are likely to make arrangements for an installed generating capacity of 18,000 to 19,000 MW by 2016. The total installed power generation capacity (from all sources, including state's own projects and long term arrangements from other sources) in Haryana has increased to over 10,000 MW. Presently, the availability is more than the demand.

He said that the power transmission and distribution system was also being strengthened accordingly. The utilities would construct 146 new sub-stations of various levels and augment capacity of 182 existing sub-stations in the next three years at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore, so as to match the capacity of the transmission system in accordance with the increasing availability of power in the state. This plan is besides the capex plan to strengthen the distribution system. During the current financial year, 32 new sub-stations have already been commissioned and capacity of 47 existing sub-stations has been augmented.

He said that the Centre had approved power development schemes of Rs 1,487 crore for 36 towns in Haryana under its Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP).

The RAPDRP would be implemented in two parts. Under the first part, the power distribution system would be made information technology (IT) based while under the second part, the power distribution system in towns would be strengthened and renovated.

Under the first part of this prestigious programme, the nigams plan to give a strong information technology base to the electricity distribution system through consumer indexing, asset mapping, metering of feeders and distribution transformers, automatic data logging, feeder segregation, ring fencing, information technology applications and the establishment of base line data system.

While the second part of RAPDRP covers renovation, modernisation and strengthening of 11 kV level by adding distribution transformers, re-conductoring of lines at 11KV level and below, feeder segregation or bifurcation, load balancing and installation of capacitor banks, mobile service centers and others.

Source: Business Standard

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Mahadiscom sitting on Rs 1,000 crore Dabhol bill...

 

Fuel shortage is not the only problem the Dabhol power project is faced with. It turns out that one of its shareholders and beneficiaries, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahadiscom), is also partly responsible for the project's financial woes.

In a letter to power secretary P K Sinha, IDBI Bank chairman M S Raghavan has said the state government's discom has failed to pay Rs 1,003 crore to Dabhol, making it difficult for lenders to keep the project's loan account out of the list of bad debts.

Mahadiscom is Maharashtra government's distribution arm. The state government, through MSEB Holding Company, owns over 17% in Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private, the joint venture with state-run utilities NTPC and GAIL that owns the project.

"While the company is facing serious liquidity problems owing to stoppage of gas supply from RIL (Reliance Industries), the delay in release of payments by MSEDCL (Mahadiscom) has further strained the cash flow position of the company (Dabhol)," Raghavan has said.

According to Madhavan, The discom owes Dabhol Rs 497 crore for power purchased from the project during the April-July 2013 period and another Rs 506 crore towards recovery of 'fixed charges' for the capacity declared available on the basis of using imported liquid gas as fuel.

 

Sources said the discom made a payment of Rs 50 crore against its outstanding on December 30 after Madhavan wrote to Sinha. But bankers described this as too little too late.

No wonder then that Dabhol has been defaulting in servicing its debt since October 2013. It ran up overdues of banks and institutions of around Rs 331 crore. It is reported to have made a minimum payment of Rs 167 crore by December 31 to avert being tagged as a non-performing asset. But going by Madhavan's letter, it may be only a temporary reprieve and saving Dabhol from being declared as an NPA would solely depend on Mahadiscom clearing its dues regularly.

As TOI first reported on October 7 last year, ICICI Bank managing director Chanda Kochhar first sounded alarm bells over loan default by Dabhol and its devastating impact on the banking sector that has an exposure of Rs 8,500 crore to the project.

The project's problems started in October when gas flow stopped completely under the government's policy decision forced by a sharp fall in output from RIL's KG-D-6 field. The government was forced to divert the available gas away from power plants from RIL's field to fertilizer plants.

Mahadiscom rejected Dabhol's proposal to run the plant on costlier imported liquid gas on the ground it would push up the power tariff beyond acceptable levels. As a result, the company is struggling to recover even the fixed costs on its capacity.

Dabhol is one of the showcase business rescue missions the Centre carried out by taking over the mothballed plants and an adjacent gas shipping port after US energy major Enron went bust in 2001.

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Amendment to Electricity Act will threaten BEST’s existence: GM...

 

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking's administration has opposed a move by the Union Power Ministry that could prevent BEST from cross-subsidising transport losses from its supply division, and allow private distributors to supply electricity to residential and commercial units in the island city.

The Union ministry has proposed an amendment to the Electricity Act 2003, which the BEST administration believes could threaten the survival of the undertaking. The Ministry plans to send the proposal for Cabinet approval soon.

Om Prakash Gupta, General Manager of BEST on Tuesday said, "I see no reason why the amendments are being made. We have sent a strong objection to the proposed amendment, as it raises questions on the survival of such an old organisation."

During a BEST committee meeting on Tuesday, Gupta asked the members from political parties to support the BEST administration. The committee has now decided to deliberate on the issue, and take it up with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray.

The Union ministry plans to remove Sections 51 and 42 (3) of the Electricity Act. While Section 51 allows BEST to continue cross-subsidising its transport losses from the supply side, Section 42 (3) prevents private distributors from meeting supply needs of units that consume more than one megawatt of electricity. BEST and New Delhi Municipal Corporation are the only two organisations that use the special provisions in the country.

Gupta said, "Open access will take away our clients and allow private players to distribute electricity in the island city. While this will be similar to the arrangement in suburbs presently, it will go against BEST which serves the island city only."

Of BEST's 10 lakh users, 45 per cent are commercial establishments and the rest residential. Open access will take away high-end users from BEST, forcing the undertaking to raise supply charges for residential units.

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