OPGS Power Gujarat Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of UK-based OPG Power Ventures Plc, will commission its 300 MW coal-fired power plant on Saturday at Bhadreswar in Kutch district of Gujarat, managing director and chief executive officer Arvind Gupta said in a press conference on Thursday.
Work on the project, located in a special economic zone developed by the Adani group in Mundra, started three years ago and around 300 acre land was acquired from private owners in Kutch
Inox Wind has signed a Rs 4,500 crore preliminary agreement with Gujarat for setting up a 700 MW wind power plant in the state.
The MOU will be implemented over next 2 years in 3 districts of Gujarat - Rajkot, Amreli and Kutch.
According to the company, it had an order book of 1,258 MW as of December 31. Inox's customers include Green Infra, Continuum Wind Energy, Tata Power, Welspun Energy, Bhilwara Energy, ReNew Power Ventures, Hero Future Energies and a subsidiary of CESC.
In Madhya Pradesh, it is setting up an integrated wind turbine manufacturing facility.
In order to provide the necessary fillip roof-top solar power projects sector in Gujarat, the state government will be introducing a new "net-metering policy" in 2-3 weeks, that will provide better financial incentives to solar-power generating households.
"We have prepared this policy and we hope to declare it before the Lok Sabha elections are announced," DJ Pandian, principal secretary (energy), Government of Gujarat told The Indian Express on the sidelines of a seminar on "Solar Energy in India' organised by the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on Saturday.
Under this new policy, Gujarat government proposes to introduce "Net-Metering" for power consumers in the state. Net metering is an electricity policy --- similar to the ones introduced by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or Uttarakhand --- for utility customers who operate their own "self-generation" photovoltaic systems at their residences.
"So, if a household consumes 200 units of electricity and generates 100 units through the solar panel on their roof-tops, they will have to pay for the remaining 100 units. In case, if a house produces more than their requirement (at any given point in time), the power will go to the grid," said Pandian while explaining the new net-metering policy that is expected to be announced in the next 2-3 weeks.
Under this policy an electricity meter, that measures the power utilised by the household from the grid, and the power supplied (from the solar-rooftop) to the grid, will be installed in homes.
Gujarat government in 2010 had started the Gandhinagar rooftop solar programme and had approved the installation of rooftop solar panels up to a capacity of 5 MW across the state capital. In absence of a net-metering policy, the Gujarat government along with solar power companies had been providing individual homes in Gandhingar (under a pilot project), a green incentive of Rs 3 for every unit of power generated by photovoltaic systems installed on rooftops of households.
The net-metering system is expected to make solar rooftop projects more attractive to individual households, especially in the new towns and cities in Gujarat where the project is yet to pick up. As per the Census 2011, there are about 16,000 households in Gujarat that use solar energy as a primary source to illuminate their homes.
"The next revolution in solar power is not utility connected power, but solar power produced on roof-tops," the state government official said taking about the huge potential the segment held.
Pandian also spoke about how ITI students needed to be trained in managing and repairing these solar panels and systems so as to ensure that the roof-tops across Gujarat continue to generate power.
Apart from Gandhinagar, solar roof-top projects have been floated for the cities of Vadodara, Mehsana, Surat (5 MW each), Rajkot (6.5 MW) and Bhavnagar (3.5 MW).
Anticipating a power shortage of 11,000 MW by the end of 12th five year plan in Southern region (SR), Central Electricity Authority proposes to lay two high voltage direct current (HVDC) lines from Gujarat and Chhattisgarh with 6,000 MW capacity each to overcome power deficit faced by Southern states.
According to CEA estimate, total projected demand for SR comprising Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala at the end of 2016-17 would be 57,221 MW while the total availability would stand at 48,188 MW which includes generation by newly added power projects of 15,760 MW.
“The SR would be deficit of power due to high load growth and the fact that some of the planned generation projects, like Krishnapatnam Ultra Mega Power Project, Ind Barath, Yermarus, Edlapur, Kalpakkam, Udangudi and Cheyyur UMPP, among others are getting delayed. It was assessed that the SR would have deficit of 7000 to 11,000 MW of power by 2016-17,” said CEA sources.
A senior official of Power Grid Corporation of India said that to overcome the power crisis in the SR, many inter and intra regional transmission projects are to be undertaken. “We are planning to construct two lines from Gujarat and Chhattisgarh to SR to import the surplus power from there,” the official said.
A 800 Kv HVDC line would be laid between Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and Pugalur in Tamil Nadu with a capacity of 6,000 MW.
TANGEDCO along with Maharashtra State Mining Corporation proposes to set up a 4,000 MW pit head power station in a coal block jointly allocated to them in Chhattisgarh. The state would get 2500 mw as its share.
PGCIL official said that Gujarat could have around 6,000 MW of surplus power in the future.
“The surplus power from Gujarat can be imported to southern region to meet the deficit. Hence we are planning a 800 kv HVDC link from Gujarat to a suitable landing point in SR,” the official said, adding that total cost of the project be around Rs 12,000 crore.
A TNEB official said that execution of these transmission lines would ease grid congestion and enable power import from surplus regions in times of need.
French power equipment maker Alstom's India arm has bagged a contract worth Rs 106 crore from Reliance Industries Limited for supplying equipment for the latter's Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat.
"Alstom T&D India was recently awarded a contract worth Rs 106 crore from Reliance Industries for supplying transformer packages for its Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat," the company said in a statement filed with the stock exchanges today.
According to sources, the contract was bagged by Alstom T&D in December 2013. The scope of the contract includes designing, engineering, manufacturing, supply and supervision of erection and commissioning of transformers and other equipment, the company said.
"We are pleased to partner with RIL once again. We remain committed to delivering high quality, cost effective products and services," said Rathin Basu, Managing Director, Alstom T&D India. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 189.50 apiece, up 3.02 per cent, during afternoon trade on the BSE.
Tata Power, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Coastal Gujarat Power (CGPL) striven towards the betterment of the communities in and around its Mundra plant.
In line with this, Tata Power has undertaken numerous projects and initiatives to bring a positive change amongst the fishermen community.
The fishing community in Kutch district lacked infrastructure, access to quality healthcare, sanitation and clean drinking water. The community had a low annual income and was under debt on account of their inability to earn good price for their produce.
Recognising the needs of the community and in order to ensure sustainability of livelihood, Tata Power partnered with Fisheries Management Resource Centre (FishMarc) an organization of experts in co-operative institution building amongst fishermen and fishing related activities.
Shares of the company declined Rs 0.5, or 0.65%, to trade at Rs 76.45. The total volume of shares traded was 173,403 at the BSE (2.29 p.m., Wednesday).
Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) is finding itself in a complex situation with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas rejecting company’s request to utilise unused natural gas from Dhuvaran unit 1 and 2 of the power plant for the commissioning of the third unit.
As a result GSECL is finding it difficult to commission its third unit at Dhuvaran. According to petroleum ministry Dhuvaran 3 does not qualify for diversion of gas.
As per the guidelines on clubbing/diversion of gas between power plants, the clubbing/diversion is possible only among original gas allottees and Dhuvaran 3 has no allocation. Further, the petroleum ministry has noted that higher production of electricity after undertaking the proposed diversion has not been certified by the power ministry and on these grounds also the ministry has rejected GSECL’s request.
GSECL’s Dhuvaran Combined Cycle Power Plant, at present, has two units, both of which were taken under commercial operation since November 2007.
While the unit one has total installed capacity of 106.617 MW, unit two has total capacity of 112.45 MW.
Dhuvaran 3 proposes to add another 375 MW generation capacity. Originally, Dhuvaran thermal power station had 6 units of oil and gas based power plants with a total generation capacity 534 MW which were retired from service between 2007 and 2010 after their useful life.
Vestas is to supply Powerica with 51.8MW for two onshore wind projects in India.
The contract covers the delivery, installation and commissioning of 26 turbines to the Jangi and Charbara projects in Gujarat.
The first 21.8MW is expected to go live in July of this year, followed by a further 30MW in March 2015.
The hardware payload is split between 25 2MW V100s and a single V100 1.8MW model.
Powerica chairman Naresh Oberoi said: “We are the best in our business and hence it is natural for us to be associated with the best in the wind industry too.
“Vestas is a good partner to work with and the experience is more than excellent.”
Vestas acting president for Asia Pacific and China Danny Nielsen said: “We are glad that our customers in India see Vestas as a trusted partner.
“With more than 30 years of experience pioneering the wind industry, we are confident we will provide maximised performance and return on investment to Powerica.”
After getting lauds for Gujarat model which has become a benchmark for development, Gujarat is planning to launch new pilot project across the State which will generate power and fertilizer from solid waste.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the State Government will run a pilot project to set up solid waste management plants in nearly 50 cities of the State.
Modi was addressing Vibrant Gujarat’s National Summit on ‘Inclusive Urban Development’ on Thursday.
He said, ‘these waste management plants will generate power, fertilizer and reusable water which will be provided to rural areas for usage in agriculture.’
“This is a part of a two-way strategy in which both urban as well as rural areas gain,” Modi said.
He said, “This will also stem the flow of migrants into urban areas as these steps will result in the long term development of rural areas.”
Criticising the Congress ruled Central Government, Modi said that he had suggested the same plan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but he never took it seriously.
Modi further said that the country should give up pessimistic mindset and look at urbanisation as an opportunity.
He said the waste management plants will be erected out of a ‘PPPP’ (people public private partnership)
Raymond Limited, marketer and retailer of suiting fabrics, today said it has been conferred with National Energy Conservation Award by President Pranab Mukherjee for its Vapi manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
"Raymond was awarded this feat for an energy conservation programme undertaken by its Vapi manufacturing plant in Gujarat," the company said in a statement.
The award was presented by President Pranab Mukherjee to Raymond Limited. Union Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was also present at the event.
The Raymond Vapi manufacturing plant achieved a commendable feat of saving of 30.23 lakh units of electrical energy in the last one year, the statement said.
"We have always been committed towards energy conservation and continue to make efforts in implementing innovative ideas to conserve energy," Harish Chatterjee, Vice President, Manufacturing, Textile Division at Raymond Limited said in the statement.
The company has facilities in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh and Jalgaon, Thane in Maharashtra.
Solar gas technology has great potential for India for securing its energy needs, a new study has found.
The study, conducted by Australia's National Science Agency - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), has found that the new technology has potential of creating job, providing improved energy and food security, greater yields in fertilizer and produce solar liquid fuels for transport.
Gujarat and Rajasthan were identified as key states for India for the application of the technology due to excellent solar resource, existing natural gas infrastructure and existing major industrial users of hydrogen in the petro-chemical and fertilizer industry, officials elaborated.
"The technology has strong potential in Gujarat and Rajasthan because both states have excellent resources and natural gas infrastructure as well as being major industrial users of hydrogen," CSIRO's Senior Research Scientist, Jim Hinkley said during the launch of the study at the Australian High Commission today.
The technology concentrates the sun's rays to drive a reaction between water and natural gas which stores solar energy in the form of chemical bonds.
Hinkley further added that application of solar gas technology include electricity production through combustion in gas engine, to make pure hydrogen for end uses such as fertilizer production and others, as a blend between natural gas for cleaner burning transport fuel and others.
Officials said that apart from undertaking an assessment of potential industrial application of solar gas in India, the study also aimed at identifying potential sites and develop localised cost for implementation of a pilot scale solar gas facility in India.
"India needs energy security and it is looking at countries like Australia to help provide that security and Australia is also looking to India for continued investment and support with our resources," Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling said.
He said both India and Australia are deeply committed to having renewable energy as part of the energy mix.
"We have this initiative for solar gas and the research and study which has been done. India is very interested in this sort of technology. This work is also bringing together innovation and research between our two countries," he said.
Gujarat's first roof-top solar energy project in Gandhinagar that started operating this year has so far generated a total of 1.2 million units of solar power.
In the first six months of operations, nearly 260 small residential households participated in the first phase of the project in Gandhinagar with a total generation potential of one megawatt,stated an official release from Gujarat Power Corporation Limited (GPCL) which is in-charge of developing and implementing the rooftop solar concept in Gujarat.
To facilitate this partnership, Gujarat Power Corporation has opened a facilitation centre at Gandhinagar where households willing to offer their roof can enroll for an initial assessment of the technical suitability of the rooftops. Till date over 760 KW of residential leases have been signed by the developers with 260 residents in Gandhinagar. The rooftop owners get at least Rs. 3 per unit of energy generated as a rooftop rental. So far, about 3.2 MW of solar rooftopsystems have already been installed in the state's capital.
"The total installation capacity under the Gandhinagar project is five megawatts. Out of this, four megawatts will be installed on government buildings and a total of one megawatt will be installed on private residential homes. We are now taking this successful program to Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Vadodara in the second phase where we plan to generate 25 megawatt of energy", says Gujarat minister for Energy, Saurabh Patel.
80 per cent of the capacity for the Gandhinagar Project will be made available from government buildings while the balance 20 per cent of the capacity will be installed on residential premises.
Selected after a competitive bidding process, two experienced companies -Azure Power and Avantha Sun Edison are developing the project in Gandhinagar.
The two companies are now installing and maintaining solar photovoltaic systems on rooftops of homes and government buildings. The solar photovoltaic systems convert direct sunlight into electricity which is fed into the electrical grid.Under this model, the solar power generated by rooftops is sold by Azure and Sun Edison at a competitively determined tariff to Torrent Power - a private distribution company that operates the electricity grid in the capital city.
The Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL) has received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests to set up a 800 MW power unit at a cost of over Rs 4,100 crore. However, the ministry has directed GSECL to phase out and dismantle "old and inefficient" units at its Wanakbori, Ukai and Gandhinagar stations.
This 800 MW power generation unit will be the biggest in the existing coal-based Wanakbori Thermal Power Station of GSECL in Kheda district, which currently has seven units of 210 MW each.
While granting the clearance recently, MoEF has laid down certain "specific conditions" for GSECL. "Old and inefficient units, which have outlived the plant life, Unit 1, 2 and 3 of 210 MW each at Wanakbori and 120 MW units at Gandhinagar and Ukai, shall be phased out and dismantled within the next three years or before commissioning of the Wanakbori unit, whichever is earlier," the ministry stated while giving clearance on December 2.
"Life Cycle Assessment of old units — 4 to 7 of 210 MW each at Wanakbori — shall be carried out either by Central Electricity Authority or any other competent agency and vetted by CEA. In case the units are found fit for efficient operation after proposed overhauling, the ESPs (Electrostatic Precipitators) shall be replaced or retrofitted so that particulate emission does not exceed 50 mg/Nm3," it added.
The MoEF has also asked GSECL to conduct a long term study on radioactivity and heavy metals content on coal that will be used. "A mechanism for an in-built continuous monitoring for radioactivity and heavy metals in coal and fly ash shall be put in place," it said. The coal requirement of 4.17 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) for this unit will be obtained from Maccha Kata Captive Mine in Talcher, Orissa.
Alstom T&D India, an arm of French firm Alstom, today said it is eyeing new business opportunities of close to Rs 15,000 crore in the power transmission space in India in the next 3-4 years.
"A series of projects is coming up and they will require several SVCs, PMUs (grip components) in different parts of India and we at Alstom are more than ready to do it," Rathin Basu, President and Managing Director of Alstom T&D India, told reporters here.
Grid security technology is another great opportunity coming up in the next 3-4 years, Basu said.
Static Var Compensators (SVCs), 1700 Phasor Measurement Unit (PMUs) are used in electricity transmission grids.
He said 30 SVCs and 1,700 PMUs would be required by March 2017 for transmission network strengthening in the country .
Government has already started the tendering process for for SVCs which is a Rs 3,000-4,500 crore business opportunity, he said, adding in the PMUs technology space the opportunity is close to Rs 6,000 crore.
"These devices will make the grid more secure and protected," Basu said.
In the area of providing technology for grid security the potential is about Rs 3,000-4,000 crore, he added.
Basu said: "We have set up factories, we have technical manpower and we can deliver such projects."
Alstom T&D India's share in the transmission equipment and EPC market has risen to 19 per cent from 13.5 per cent in 2007, the company said.
The company's turnover 2012-13 stood at Rs 3,150 crore. The company is investing Rs 100 crore this year for expansion of its Vadodra (Gujarat) facility.
Basu also said that the government's initiative of restructuring the loans of power distribution companies should happen quickly and will benefit his company.
As per the plan, state governments will take more than 50 per cent of the outstanding short-term liabilities of the discoms up to March 31, 2012.
The debt would then be converted into bonds to be issued by discoms to participating lenders, duly backed by State Government guarantee.
Welspun Energy Ltd. (WEL) is partnering with Gandhinagar based Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (GERMI) for the advancement of solar technology in India.
The organization will be setting up a lab at GERMI where different solar technologies will be studied for their performance in Indian terrain and climatic conditions.
The MoU was signed with Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), during the recently held Vibrant Gujarat’s International Conference for Academic Institutions (ICAI) 2013.
The organization will also be working closely with students. Welspun Energy will be designing & offering internship programs to students of PDPU’s Solar Program. With WEL’s large solar and wind projects under development, it is expected that students participating in this internship program will be able to witness the entire project development cycle of a clean energy power plant. Skilled manpower in this field is scarce and through such initiatives the organization will be able to help students transform into specialized resources.
Mr. Vineet Mittal, Co-Founder & Managing Director Welspun Energy stated “Solar energy industry in India is still young, with some amount of research carried out in India for standardization & technology selection. However, we need to be ready for the next phase of growth and that calls for a greater focus on research and building relevant skill sets in our young. As an extension to society, we want to support leading institutions in India and foster indigenous capability.”
A student exchange program has also been initiated by WEL with the Singapore Managment Univesity. Through the corpus, scholarships will be awarded to PDPU’s select meritorious students to study at Singapore’s leading university.
Simultaneously, Welspun Energy has also committed to making PDPU a green energy institute by commissioning a 25 KW rooftop solar system.
Alstom T&D India has been awarded two contracts from GETCO (Gujarat Energy Transmission Company Limited) to supply 400KV/220KV/66KV AIS substation on turnkey basis, located at Charanka and Sankhari, to evacuate power from Asia's largest and Gujarat's first dedicated solar park.
The substations will also play a pivotal role in strengthening transmission network in the state of Gujarat by acting as the evacuation and nodal grid substations. Additionally it will also improve the energy flow in the western region of India.
Both the orders, worth approximately INR 1510 million (€22 million) involves manufacture, supply, erection, testing, and commissioning of 400 KV Substations with Alstom's key products like 400kV, 220 KV & 66 KV air insulated switchgear and related equipment, SCADA automation system along with the civil works. All equipment will be manufactured by Alstom's world-class manufacturing facilities in India.
Commenting on the contract, Rathin Basu, Managing Director, Alstom T&D India said, "Alstom T&D India is happy to have been selected as the supplier of choice for this very important solar power evacuation project. It reaffirms GETCO's confidence and trust in our wide repertoire of products and solutions and our project management capabilities. Gujarat is playing a lead role in developing renewable power in India. Alstom T&D India is pleased to deliver its expertise and solutions in these substations to integrate renewable power to the grid. "
The project is being developed under ADB1's Solar Energy schemes to catalyze 3000 MW of solar power generation projects in ADB developing member countries. With solar energy poised to play a pivotal role, these projects holds immense significance in increasing the share of renewable energy and green energy mix in the country.
About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation power transmission and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it
offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 93,000 people in around 100 countries. It had sales of over €20 billion and booked close to €24 billion in orders in 2012/13.
Alstom T&D India (globally known as Alstom Grid), is a market leader in the Indian power transmission sector. It has over 100 years of expertise in building the transmission infrastructure for the country. Alstom has a strong portfolio of products, solutions and services, comprising the entire range of transmission equipment up to Extra and Ultra High Voltages (765 kV and beyond) including air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and locally manufactured power transformers and gas-insulated switchgear (GIS}. It also provides power electronics solutions (HVOC, FACTS} to create super highways and offers highly advanced power management Smart grid solutions for transmission and distribution including renewable energies integration. With over 3,500 employees and eight world class manufacturing units, Alstom T&O India is future ready to support the raptdly evolving transmission sector in India.
Source: BSE Corporate Updates
It is a paradox that a little bit of planning can easily address. Gujarat, a power surplus state, is forced to shut down power units for there are no buyers for the power it generates.
On the other hand, power deficit states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, with capacity to buy power they badly need are not able to tap in to this surplus in the absence of west-south grid, the commissioning dates of which are being pushed further ahead.
Explaining this dilemma that his government faces on daily basis, Saurabhbhai Patel, minister for power, government of Gujarat, said Gujarat government sold 30 million units on December 6 at an average rate of Rs 3.28/unit. But the following statistics was more alarming. It could not sell 45 million units for lack of power evacuation means. And Gujarat pays fixed costs to the power generating companies.
In an informal chat with select media here on Saturday, Saurabhbhai Patel said Gujarat has stated generating capacity of around 21,000-MW.
"But if one keeps out of this equation, power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and the nearly 4,000-MW of power that can be generated through gas based units, we are still left with a surplus. The gas based units are closed due to gas pricing policy and variable costs," he explained.
Selling this excess energy either through Indian Energy Exchange or Power Exchange of India Limited or by floating tenders, Patel said, the biggest problem is to get remunerative price. "Most of the northern states are not in a position to pay for power, and states that can do so are unable to get the same due to logistics reason." This situation has arisen due to lack of planning on part of union government which is fully aware of power projects.
The Gujarat government on the other hand is now aggressively promoting industries to set up base in that state so that this surplus power can be tapped into. "We are also striving to attract textile industries without textiles policy so that not only do the cotton growers in the state benefit, but also these industries are able to feed on the power surplus," he said, adding South can benefit if the West-South grid is commissioned at the earliest.
Tata Power today said the restoration work at its Mundra plant, which was impacted by fire, has been completed and the insurance claim is being processed.
“Restoration of the impact of fire on conveyor was achieved on November 20, 2013 and the company has processed the insurance claim as per coverage,” Tata Power said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges.
Tata Power’s 4,000-MW ultra mega power project at Mundra in Gujarat caught fire on November 18 last month, partly affecting coal feeding conveyors.
According to sources, the procurer states will suffer loss of availability of electricity to the extent of 433 million units (Gujarat), 182 million units (Maharashtra), 91 million units each (Haryana and Rajasthan) and 114 million units (Punjab). The share of these states is 47.5 per cent, 20 per cent, 10 per cent, 10 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
The power tariff of this plant is Rs 2.26 per unit.
Successful research and development carried out by Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) has brought down the fixed cost of setting up of a solar power plant to just Rs 3.5 crore per megawatt.
“About seven year ago, the fixed cost attached with a 1 MW solar power plant was about Rs 15 crore, which we have brought down to Rs 7 crore. GERMI’s R&D efforts have successfully brought down the cost further to Rs 3.5 crore by using graphite and silicone in solar cells.
The laboratory experiments are successful and now we are trying it for industrial scale,” Dr. T. Harinarayana, Director, GERMI, said at the ongoing Sixth CII Energy Expo and “India Energy Conclave” here.
Dr. Rahool Panandiker, Partner & Director, Boston Consulting Group, said the domestic power situation in India could become more severe as the demand-supply mismatch in coal is projected to increase from 137 million tons in 2012 to 326 million tons by 2030. “So we need to increase LNG imports by ten times in order to meet the power sector needs.”
Dr Harinarayana said India has a landmass 10 times that of Germany but had a solar power generation capacity of only 1.3 gigawatt (GW), vis-Ã -vis 31 GW of installed capacity in the European nation. “To use this resource of energy, we need to bring down the cost of solar energy and to serve this purpose, we should be more focused on research & development activities.”
N. Srivastava, Managing Director, Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, said the transmission and distribution losses in some of the Indian states remained very high at 30% in some cases, which makes it difficult to keep the electricity rate at a reasonable level. However, as implemented by Gujarat, these states could now have an open access policy for large consumers, which enables them to source power with rates ranging from Rs 3.50 per unit to Rs 3.90.
Like cell-phone users, people may be able to pick a plan for electricity consumption. The Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (UGVCL) will roll out India's first modernized electrical grid, or the smart grid, in Naroda and Deesa in north Gujarat by April 2014.
The pilot project will study consumer behaviour of electricity usage and propose a tariff structure based on usage and load on the power utility. Eventually, it will be rolled out across the state to disincentivize power consumption during peak hours.
New meters embedded with SIM cards will be installed in 20,000 residential and industrial units in Naroda to monitor data every 15 minutes on how a particular consumer uses power.
The smart grid was first implemented in the US for efficient transmission of electricity. Like the internet, the smart grid consists of controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment working in unison. These technologies work with the grid to respond digitally to the consumer's dynamic electricity demand.
"The smart grid will work on the 'time of day' concept, based on which tariffs will be set. For example if the demand is at peak during 7pm to 11pm, the tariffs will be higher for that period," said Nityanand Srivastava, and managing director, UGVCL on the sidelines of the 6th India Energy Conclave organized by CII.
"This will help us curb power theft substantially," said energy minister Saurabh Patel. In a 50-50 partnership, UGVCL, along with the Central government, will invest Rs 48 crore in the project to set up new infrastructure, meters, servers and analytic systems for smart grid.
The process of inviting tenders for the project will begin on December 17 and after a month of evaluation the companies will be selected. "Once we get data, we will submit a proposal for tariffs based on the data," added Srivastava.
