India's first greenfield Nuclear power site to begin operations...

 

India’s first greenfield site for nuclear reactor in 14 years is set to become operational on Monday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays the foundation for two 700-MW nuclear power plants at Gorakhpur in the Fatehabad district of Haryana.

“The two units are likely to produce commercial electricity by 2020-21 as it would take five to six years to complete the construction, which would begin in June 2015,” Nalinesh Nagaich, executive director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, Mumbai, told Deccan Herald.

From the first date of construction, when concrete is first poured into an excavated site, it may take five and a half years for the first unit to be ready and another six months for the second unit. Over the next one and a half years, NPCIL may excavate and prepare the ground for actual construction.

Once the first two units were ready, there might be two additional units at Gorakhpur, taking the total capacity of the nuclear power plant to 2,800 MW. However, units III and IV have not yet been sanctioned.

After Kaiga in north Karnataka, where the first unit became operational in 2000, Gorakhpur was the first greenfield site where an indigenous nuclear reactor would be installed for power production. Two more greenfield sites were under preparation in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

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West Bengal deals double whammy to RP-SG's CESC...

 

Fears arise that minuscule tariff hike, unchanged key rates could strangle the power producer. The West Bengal state power regulator has dealt a double whammy to the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group’s flagship CESC which supplies power to Kolkata and some adjoining areas.

CESC has been allowed to raise tariff by a measly 0.15% or less than a paisa to Rs 6.10 per kilo Watt hour (kWh) for 2013-14, much less than the nearly 1% hike of last fiscal (2012-13) to Rs 6.09/kWh.

The tiny raise would give little leeway to CESC to raise investments for upgrading some of its old infrastructure, meet rising costs of fuel and give out new connections, company officials said.

Worse -- and this is what makes the decision a double whammy – most of the key rates have been kept unchanged. For instance, rates for consumer groups like domestic urban and commercial urban consuming more than 300 units a month have remained same at Rs 7.95 and Rs 7.99 respectively, according to the tariff rate disclosed by CESC on Thursday.

The two consecutive marginal hikes come in sharp contrast to a comfortable 13% raise allowed for 2011-12.

The tariff of 610.66 paisa for this fiscal has been arrived at by allowing Rs 5,710.21 crore as revenue to be recovered through tariff, minus Rs 17.02 crore expected to be received from sale of power to state power utility, and then dividing the net tariff revenue by projected sale of 9,323 million units, the regulator said in its order.

While determining the tariff, the regulator has allowed CESC to purchase power from it at a highest rate of 536 paisa/KWh during the peak period of summer and a lowest rate of 470 paisa during the off-peak period in winter.

CESC has been asking the regulator to allow it to get compensated due to steep increase in coal and other fuel prices and also copper, a major material for electrical plant and equipment, adversely affecting its operation costs.

Also, there is “overwhelming requirement of large and continuous investment to protect consumers’ need of reliable power supply while large-scale developmental activities are taking place in and around Kolkata which calls for matching infrastructure in electric supply,” CESC had said in an annual performance review filing.

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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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Public hearing on AP's Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station expansion project tomorrow...

 

The public hearing on the proposed expansion of Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS) scheduled to be held on Friday is going to give some tense moments for officials and engineers of AP Power Generation Corporation Limited (AP-GENCO) and NTTPS as several villages have passed resolutions against the project fearing a spurt in environmental pollution and represented their grievances to the District Collector M. Raghunandana Rao and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) demanding that the project should be stalled.

The APPCB was to conduct the public hearing in September last but had to postpone it due to protests against bifurcation of the State.

The NTTPS has six units of 210 MW each and one 500-MW unit and it is the proposed expansion of its capacity by 800 MW that has stirred the Hornet’s nest in its conceptual stage itself. The proposed unit is coal-based and its requirement is 3.95 MTPA to be sourced from Madhya Pradesh and its capital cost was pegged at nearly Rs.5,290 crore.

The people of Guntupalli, Kethanakonda, Kotikalapudi and other villages situated in close proximity to the power plant have resolved in their meetings to oppose the expansion project on the ground that it will aggravate pollution, and dismissed the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) made by Hyderabad - based Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL) as a farce.

Their argument is that the scientists and engineers who made the field studies commissioned by REEL presented a distorted picture of the actual situation prevalent in their villages and that the huge quantities of fly-ash spewed into the air have been damaging crops in more than 5,000 acres and the new unit will only make matters worse. Besides, the ash-pond is blamed for contamination of groundwater.

Obtaining public consent on Friday is going to be an uphill task as people are upset with the Government’s alleged negligence in addressing their concerns.

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Lanco said to consider sale of Australian Griffin Coal division...

 

Lanco Infratech Ltd, India’s second biggest private power producer, is considering selling its Australian unit Griffin Coal Mining Co. to help repay debt, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Lanco is examining options including a full sale of Griffin Coal, which it bought for 750 million Australian dollars ($665 million) in 2011, said two of the people, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The company is also in advanced talks to divest a hydroelectric power plant in India, two people familiar with the matter said, without naming a buyer.

Lanco is seeking to sell the unprofitable Griffin Coal unit after agreeing with banks to restructure debt that ballooned to Rs.33,900 crore in September. It is among foreign companies whose coal acquisitions in Australia have soured as prices for the fuel fell for three straight years.

Nagaprasad Kandimalla, who ran Griffin Coal, said on Thursday in a phone interview that he quit to join a political party, without elaborating. He declined to comment on Lanco’s plans to sell the unit.

Power-station coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port, an Asian benchmark, fell 1% to $85.41 per tonne for the week ended 3 January, according to data from Global COAL. Prices slid 6.5% in 2013, the third year of declines.

A. Narasimhan, a Lanco spokesman, declined to comment. The company’s shares have slumped 44% in the past year while India’s BSE Sensex advanced 5.2%.

Griffin loss
Griffin Coal’s loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization almost doubled in the fiscal year through March 2013 to Rs.105 crore, Lanco said in May without giving a reason. Its mines in Western Australia’s Collie Basin produce 4 million tonnes of coal a year, and Lanco plans to boost output to 18 million tonnes by fiscal 2018, according an August presentation.

Lanco approved a debt restructuring proposal from its banks, according to a December exchange filing that didn’t include details of the plan. Its lenders include State Bank of India and ICICI Bank Ltd, according to Lanco’s latest annual report. Lanco’s debt has swelled more than fourfold since March 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The company runs a 70-megawatt hydropower plant in Himachal Pradesh, according to its website. Philip Chacko, then director of investor relations at Lanco, said in January 2012 that the company was seeking to raise as much as $750 million by selling a stake in its power business to private- equity investors.

Lanco plans to sell stakes in other power projects besides the hydropower facility, two of the people said.

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Linking Ladakh with national grid: PGCIL to implement Rs 2076.56 crore project...

 

The government has finally decided to start implementing the 220-kv power transmission line that would link the arid Ladakh desert with the national grid. The PGCIL will implement the Rs 2076.56 crore project that will be jointly funded by the centre and the state government but will eventually become property of the J&K state. CCEA has approved the project.

Apart from having two small stretches of 8.30 kms length underground to avoid damages by massive snow fall on Zoji La range, the 352.30 kms Srinagar-Leh line with around 1400 towers will have four 66 kV interconnection systems at Drass, Kargil, Khaltse and Leh. The sub-stations would require laying 50.50 kms of 66 kV transmission network. The line will carry a voice and data line along with.

Surge in power requirement of the region and a deficit of 95 percent apart, the project is being implemented fast to ensure resistibility of supplies to the defence establishments as the area having borders with China and Pakistan has huge strategic importance.

The PGCIL that will implement the project within 42 months will charge only 12% of the project cost as its consultancy fee to help the government make project viable. Given the strategic nature of the region, the government ruled out hiring any foreign consultant. This will be the first project of its kind that PGCIL will implement in highly hostile terrain. PGCIL sources said they have already undertaken the survey of the entire line. Its route alignment was undertaken using Satellite Imageries through National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) Department of Space and for designing avalanche prone towers, help was sought from defence ministry's Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment ( SASE).

For laying towards in a particular stretch, the corporation will have to fly the men and material because there is no possibility of laying any road.

The line will pass through a very hostile terrain comprising very heavy snow zones from Gagangeer to Ghumri (around 60 km), high security areas close to Line of Control (LoC) between Drass and Kargil (about 60 km) and very low temperature and dry climate (cold desert) of Ladakh (about 220 km). The challenges involve working in extremely harsh climatic conditions, lesser working period available and transportation of heavy machinery and laying of 220 KV underground cabling at Z- More and Zozilla Pass. Transformers for four sub-stations may also have to be airlifted because of low capacity of road bridges.

The line that was initially announced as part of the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan (PMRP) in 2004 was deferred as the Ladakh region wanted the implementation of twin power project - Nimu-Bazgo and Chutak, on priority. The twin projects with cumulative capacity of 89 MWs are already completed and partly in operation. In absence of power evacuation system or the proper distribution network locally, the twin projects operate as captive stations being linked directly to the load.

The sparsely populated Ladakh constitutes almost 74% of J&K geography but comprises of Leh and Kargil districts only. Apart from a new corps of army that was raised after the Kargil war, the region is emerging tourist destination as well. Currently, the net energy requirement of 150 MWs is expected to reach 224 MWs in next five years. Most of the peak time energy is being managed through highly polluting DG sets that costs Rs 18 per unit and in certain cases upward of Rs 30.

Of the Rs 2076.56 crore investment, J&K is contributing only five percent. But the ownership of the line will eventually be transferred to the J&K government. While substantial Rs 1451.26 crore would go for purchasing equipment, the project has Rs 34.33 crore for compensating forests and private land and Rs 64.64 crore for raising required civil works. The project would require 40 acres for substations and another 78 acres for the transmission line. It includes 131.43 hectors of forest land. The project is expected to be ready by latter 2018.

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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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Govt mulling National Offshore Wind Energy Agency...

 

To explore the potential of generating power through wind energy, New and Renewable Energy Ministry is making efforts for setting up a National Offshore Wind Energy Agency.

The agency will explore wind generation potential in the offshore areas of the country.

"The potential of generating power through wind energy in the offshore areas is immense and the ministry will approach the Union Cabinet soon for a decision," New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah said.

He was speaking during a day-long "National Level Consultation on National Wind Energy Mission" here.

Abdullah also expressed hope that the Finance Ministry will restore the benefits of accelerated depreciation for wind power producers in the Interim Budget to be presented next month.

The Minister also supported the idea of appropriate financial support to the wind power producers.

The national consultation was organised by the ministry to discuss the need and scope of a National Wind Energy Mission.

The mission works towards improving investment climate by resolving issues connected with resource potential, land availability, grid connectivity, clearance procedure and zoning.

This initiative is part of the efforts of the ministry to remove hurdles in wind power development in the country and bring together all stakeholders on a common platform to work in a coordinated and concerted manner, officials said.

The consultation was attended by industry representatives, state electricity regulators, state and central government officials and research and development experts.

Secretary, MNRE S B Agnihotri also highlighted the importance of setting up an evacuation infrastructure and short-term large scale storage facilities for the renewable energy.

He also stressed on the need for making long term finance available at reasonable rate for the wind power producers.

Source: Business Standard

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Reliance Power, Lanco seek higher tariffs for the Concentrating Solar PV Projects...

 

Solar power plants of Reliance Power, Lanco and others, are seeking higher tariffs saying that the data on solar radiation provided by the government was faulty which has led to lower generation.

Several companies have filed petitions before the central regulator, seeking higher tariffs jut as a panel chaired by Deepak Parekh recommended compensation for Tata and Adani's higher costs of generation.

At least three solar thermal power project developers with mandate to commission total 250 mw of capacity have moved petitions before the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) seeking higher tariff.

Reliance Power subsidiary Rajasthan Sun Technique Energy, Lanco Group's Diwakar Solar Projects and Godawari Power and Ispat owned Godavari Green Energy, in their respective petitions, claimed that the solar radiation data shared by ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) are incorrect and solar thermal projects may not be able to generate power as per the projection.

According to an executive with one of the petitioners, the government's flawed data may take a toll on the viability of all the existing and upcoming solar power projects in Rajasthan, which has emerged as a solar hub of the country. The regulator is yet to admit these petitions. India's solar power generation capacity is largely concentrated in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.

"At the time of bidding under the Centre's Solar Mission, we banked on ministry of new and renewable energy's data on 'direct normal irradiance' for Rajasthan.

However, it turned out 15%-20% less than ministry's projections for solar radiation, which is the only fuel for our kind of projects.

It means, our project will have that much less electricity generation and hence return on investments," said the executive requesting anonimity. He added that weak Rupee too shot up project cost. Under solar mission's first bidding round held in 2010, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam selected seven developers to commission 470 mw of solar thermal projects for tariff of .`0.49-12.24 per unit. Reliance Power and Lanco Group quoted .`11.97 and .`10.49 per unit and bagged 100 mw projects each, which are under commissioning.

Godawari Power that quoted .`12.20 per unit announced commissioning of its 50 mw project mid-last year.

Earlier in September 2013, the Association of Power Producers also wrote to the union minister Farooq Abdullah requesting the necessary support by offering compensatory tariff to the project developers.

"The bidders had no other source of verifying the DNI data and could base the bid on DNI range provided by MNRE only," read a letter from the association director general Ashok Khurana. He stated that the developers could find the actual DNI only after their data could be independently collected after the projects were awarded.

DNI is the amount of solar radiation received per unit area by a surface that is always held perpendicular to the rays that come in a straight line from the direction of the sun at its current position in the sky. As per the original deadline, developers were expected to commission their projects by May 2013, which was extended by 10 months by the ministry.

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Inter-State power transmission needs closer attention: Power Ministry

 

As all the regional grids in the country have been synchronised, now inter-State transmission needs attention, said Devendra Chaudhry, Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Power.

Speaking at the Elecrama meet, the mega conference of power distributors in Bangalore, Chaudhry said likeminded States need to invest in and share power resources.

“From this month, 2,000 MW flow into the southern grid is happening. This needs to be judiciously used as inter-State transmission is crucial,” he added.

Rural market

Electrical and electronics manufacturers should explore untapped rural market and also aggressively target the industry, he said.

“In the last three decades, penetration of rural consumption has not increased significantly. It is only around 15 per cent. Industrial consumption has not increased either,” said Chaudhry.

Giving reasons, he said, “Farmers do not have power in the fields; increase in overall consumption will be possible if we energise pump sets.”

The industry needs to take note of Union government’s initiatives for power sector. We are adding one lakh circuit kilometres of distribution, 2.8 MUA transmission lines, said Chaudhry.

Talking about coal linkage, he said, “About 60,000 MW coal linkage has been tied up and we expect significant amount of power will be generated in both 12th and 13th plan.”

Gas shortage

“Gas is not there for power generation. We need to import. We are experiencing 75 to 80 per cent shortfall due to failure of KGD,” he said.

There has been lot of positives in renewable. States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have taken the lead. The Centre has taken up $8-billion programme for power evacuation. Also €1 billion grant and assistance from the German Government and private lender KFW will have huge impact on the country, said Chaudhry.

Karnataka scene

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on the occasion that the State would become a power-surplus State by 2017, thus ending the electricity shortage in the State.

“The State government has initiated several power projects to the tune of 18,000 MW across Karnataka, both in the conventional and non-conventional sectors, and they are at different states of implementation. Karnataka will, in all probability, be a power surplus State by 2017,” he said.

“As the Indian electrical equipment industry has matured over the years, India is becoming a major sourcing destination for the global players. That is why we are showcasing global competitiveness of Indian products and the capability to develop world class engineering products at competitive costs,” Raj Eswaran, President, the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA).

“With good demand for products at competitive costs, we the industry is targeting $25 billion in global trade in the next 10 years from current $1 billion levels. I am confident that at Elecrama 2014 there will be many deals to boost exports of Indian products,” said Sanjeev Sardana, Chairman, Elecrama 2014.

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