CEA asks Tata, Hindalco others to speed up coal mine output…

 

The Central Electricity Authority has asked companies including NTPC , Hindalco,  Tata Power  and  Tata Steel  to expedite production from captive coal blocks allocated to them and inform it about any constraints.

"A meeting was held...to review the status of development of captive coal blocks allocated for power generation," according to the minutes. "There are constraints in supply of coal to new power plants...therefore, it is necessary to expedite the development of captive coal blocks," the minutes said.

The Supreme Court had observed last week that huge investments made by companies in coal blocks without getting approvals cannot be a ground for not cancelling licences. The apex court had sought the Centre's response on whether it intended to de-allocate such mines. The CEA asked "the participants to intimate the latest status of development of captive coal blocks and end-use power plants, including the constraints being faced by them, if any, in obtaining clearances, land acquisition and mining lease," according to the minutes of the meeting.

The CEA would try to facilitate the removal of the constraints, it added. The CEA is the apex technical organisation for facilitating development of the power sector in the country. During the meeting held in December, the CEA reviewed the progress of 22 mines, including NTPC's Chatti Bariatu, Talaipalli and Pakri Barwadih blocks; Essar Power and Hindalco's Mahan block; Mandakani 'A' block jointly allotted to Tata Power, Monnet Ispat & Energy and Jindal Photo, and Ganeshpur block given to Tata Steel and Adhunik Power & Natural Resources Ltd.

The coal ministry has allocated 88 captive blocks with geological reserves of about 1.37 billion tonnes of coal for power generation.

NTPC stock price

On January 15, 2014, at 12:03 hrs NTPC was quoting at Rs 132.80, up Rs 1.40, or 1.07 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 167.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 122.65.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.55 per share as per the quarter ended September 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 9.13. The latest book value of the company is Rs 97.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.36.

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Odisha rejects CEA projection of power shortfall by 2017…

 

The Odisha government has rejected the projection of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on power availability in the state. The CEA has predicted that Odisha will face power deficit in the 12th Five Year Plan that ends in 2017 in its 18th Electric Power Survey (EPS) report.

For the current fiscal, the EPS said that the peak demand of the state will be around 4,686 Mw. However, the state government pegs it at a much lower level.

"For the 2013-14, OERC (Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission) has approved a peak demand of 3,993 Mw, against the forecast of 4,686 Mw made in the 18th EPS. Therefore, the demand forecast presented in the 18th EPS cannot be taken as absolutely correct," said state Energy department in its observation on the survey report.

The CEA had earlier projected that Odisha's power requirement in 2013-14 will be 4,686 Mw while availability will overshoot the demand at 6,356 Mw. However, due to delay in the commissioning of several power projects caused by land acquisition and coal linkage issues, concerns were raised that the state would be power deficit in the current and subsequent years till the end of 12 Five Year Plan period.

Out of 29 Independent Power Producers (IPPs), who have signed agreements with the state to produce thermal power with a combined generation capacity of 37,000 Mw, only three have completed construction of their plant within the agreed timeline, while all others have missed their deadline. These agreements were signed in 2006 and 2009 with a commitment that the plants would be ready by three years from the date of agreements.

As per the survey projection, peak power demand in the state would be in the range of 4,994 Mw, 5,322 Mw and 5,672 Mw for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively. But the state said, the projections are not realistic.

"Power availability in the state during the 12th Plan shall be adequate in comparison to the demand forecast. Further, availability from CGPs (captive generating plants) and renewable energy sources and opportunity to procure power through bilateral trading and power exchanges have not been considered in the availability of peak power. Therefore, the demand in the state can be comfortably met during the 12th Plan," the Energy department said.

Officials in Gridco said, while average demand of the state is around 2500 Mw in winter season and 2700 Mw in summer, it is getting supplies of around 2800 Mw from various thermal power stations, hydro power generators, captive power producers and its share out of Central power pool. The sources said, Odisha would be surplus in 2016-17 by around 500 Mw, when at least five new IPPs would become operational. As per the agreement with these IPPs, Odisha will get at least 14 per cent of their total production.

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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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Micro-windmills could power your cellphone…

 

Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have designed a micro-windmill that generates wind energy and may become an innovative solution to cell phone batteries constantly in need of recharging and home energy generation where large windmills are not preferred.
 
Smitha Rao and J C Chiao designed and built the device that is about 1.8 mm at its widest point. A single grain of rice could hold about 10 of these tiny windmills. Hundreds of the windmills could be embedded in a sleeve for a cellphone.

Wind, created by waving the cellphone in air or holding it up to an open window on a windy day, would generate the electricity that could be collected by the cellphone’s battery.

Rao’s designs blend origami concepts into conventional wafer-scale semiconductor device layouts so complex 3-D moveable mechanical structures can be self-assembled from two-dimensional metal pieces utilising planar multilayer electroplating techniques that have been optimized by WinMEMS Technologies Co., the Taiwanese fabrication foundry that took an initial interest in Rao’s work.

“The micro-windmills work well because the metal alloy is flexible and Smitha’s design follows minimalism for functionality.” Chiao said. These inventions are essential to build micro-robots that can be used as surgical tools, sensing machines to explore disaster zones or manufacturing tools to assemble micro-machines.
 
The micro windmills were tested successfully in September 2013 in Chiao’s lab. The windmills operate under strong artificial winds without any fracture in the material because of the durable nickel alloy and smart aerodynamic design.

“The problem most designers have is that materials are too brittle,” Rao said. “With the nickel alloy, we don’t have that same issue. They’re very, very durable.” The micro-windmills can be made in an array using the batch processes.
 
The fabrication cost of making one device is the same as making hundreds or thousands on a single wafer, which enables for mass production of very inexpensive systems.

“Imagine that they can be cheaply made on the surfaces of portable electronics,” Chiao said, “so you can place them on a sleeve for your smart phone.

When the phone is out of battery power, all you need to do is to put on the sleeve, wave the phone in the air for a few minutes and you can use the phone again.”

Chiao said because of the small sizes, flat panels with thousand of windmills could be made and mounted on the walls of houses or building to harvest energy for lighting, security or environmental sensing and wireless communication.

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Researchers finally harness solar energy during day for use at night…

 

A team of researchers has built a system that can be used to harness sun’s energy during day- when its rays are strongest- for use at night.

The researchers led by Tom Meyer at the Energy Frontier Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have built a system that converts the sun’s energy not into electricity but hydrogen fuel and stores it for later use, allowing us to power our devices long after the sun goes down.

Meyer said that the system offers a solution to how to store energy for nighttime use by taking a cue from natural photosynthesis.

“Our new findings may provide a last major piece of a puzzle for a new way to store the sun’s energy – it could be a tipping point for a solar energy future,” the researcher said.

In one hour, the sun puts out enough energy to power every vehicle, factory and device on the planet for an entire year. Solar panels can harness that energy to generate electricity during the day.

The new system, known as a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell, or DSPEC, generates hydrogen fuel by using the sun’s energy to split water into its component parts. After the split, hydrogen is sequestered and stored, while the byproduct, oxygen, is released into the air.

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MMTC, Adani in fray for NTPC coal tender…

 

State-owned MMTC Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd and Knowledge Infrastructure Systems Pvt. Ltd (KISPL) are among the firms in the fray for supplying 7 million tonnes (mt) of imported coal estimated to be valued at around Rs. 4,500 crore to NTPC Ltd.

The tender for the largest such package in the current fiscal year was called by NTPC, India’s largest coal consumer, which has a coal requirement of 166.7 mt in the year to March.

Of this, 150 mt is to be supplied by state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd; the balance 16.7 mt is to be sourced from overseas. NTPC has already ordered for 9.7 mt with the price bids opened for the balance 7 mt this month.

“This 7 mt is being sourced through four separate tenders for which the price bids have been opened. They are under evaluation,” said a senior NTPC executive requesting anonymity.

Another NTPC executive confirmed that MMTC, Adani Enterprises and KISPL were in the fray for supplying fuel to India’s largest power generation utility.

The utility has the capacity to generate 42,454 megawatts (MW) of electricity with 17 coal-fuelled projects. The demand for coal will increase with the utility setting a target of becoming a 128,000 MW power producer by 2032. Of this, 56% or 71,680MW will be coal-based.

“Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for imported coal procurement was notified in newspapers and is currently under evaluation therefore the information sought can not be shared at this stage,” an NTPC spokesperson said in reply to emailed queries.

Queries emailed to the spokespersons of MMTC and Adani Enterprises on Wednesday remained unanswered as of press time on Monday.

“We are one of the participants in the recent NTPC tender for imported coal,” a KISPL spokesperson said in an emailed response. “We are awaiting formal announcement and award of contract by NTPC.”

Analysts said NTPC must improve procurement efficiency.

“The negotiated route with coal miners in select geographies such as Indonesia, South Africa and Australia may have greater procurement efficiency given that the volumes are large and the miners may favour long-term contracts in view of uncertainties ahead, but these need to be weighed against the established procedures and objectives of transparency,” said Dipesh Dipu, a partner at Jenissi Management Consultants, a Hyderabad-based resources-focused consultancy.

“In future, adopting a globally accepted standard contract of coal trade may also enhance procurement efficiency,” said Dipu.

NTPC, India’s largest power generation utility, has been allocated six captive coal blocks by the government and aims to mine 15 million tonnes per annum in three years. However, it has not been able to make them operational yet.

“India has a strong structural demand for coal, given the country’s reliance on thermal power. We expect the country’s thermal coal-based power capacity to increase from an estimated 123GW at the end of FY13 to ~150GW by FY16,” UBS Global Equity Research wrote in a 18 December report.

“Thereby, we expect the total coal demand to increase from~720 mt in FY13 to 920 mt in FY16. However, we expect the domestic coal supply to only cater to 76% of the FY16 coal demand, with rest of the requirement being filled up by imports,” it said.

NTPC’s orders comes at a time when demand for the fuel in the country is expected to grow from 649 mt per year now to 730 mt in 2016-17, and its failure in securing coal assets overseas.

Of India’s current capacity of 227,356.73MW, 58.6%, or 133,188.39MW, is fuelled by coal.
NTPC has an 18.29% share of India’s installed power generation capacity.

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10MW power plant in collaboration with Nabard and JREDA to light up 200 Hazaribag houses…

 

The 10MW mini-power plant, set up in collaboration with Nabard and Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Authority (JREDA) at Bengwari village under the Keredari block of Hazaribag district, was launched on Monday.

The chief general manager of NABARD, K C Panda, inaugurating the plant, said: "Nabard provided Rs 6 lakh and JREDA Rs 1 lakh, apart from technical assistance for setting up the plant. With this, more than 200 houses in the village will be electrified."

Residents of the remote village expressed their gratitude to NABARD and JEDA, an NGO for providing power, denied to them since Independence.

The plant will generate power with the help of coal and wood, which are available in plenty in Keredari. It may be mentioned here that the coal blocks in Keredari and Chatti Bariatu in Keredari block have been allotted to NTPC for the production of coal to generate power. But the company is yet to start its work due to a long-standing dispute with the villagers over land acquisition as well as payment of compensation.

Panda said: "Nabard is willing to provide financial assistance for setting up of more such mini-power plants if villagers come forward to be trained in running such plants." A team of villagers led by M K Mahto of Bengawari were sent to Rajasthan to obtain technical knowhow on running and operating the mini-power plant. The technical expert of JREDA, P P Verma said: "Now the villagers will have to ensure that the plant is run by trained villagers." He, however, added that whenever the villagers require any technical assistance, JREDA will provide it to them.

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Power deficit falls as slowdown trips companies' usage…

 

India's peak power deficit hit a record low of 4% for the quarter to December 2013 from 9% a year ago, according to an estimate by experts. They attribute the decline partly to the increase in generation capacity, but mainly to the worrying fall in industrial demand amid the economic slowdown.

The trend is likely to continue as manufacturers in auto, metals, and cement sectors may continue to run at low capacity due to poor demand, resulting in lower demand for power, experts said.

"Growth in energy consumption in the eight months to November 2013 has been less than 1%, as against an estimation of 7-8% for the 12th Plan period. This is unprecedented and reflects the severe slowdown in economic activities," said Debashish Mishra, senior director-consulting at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

Power deficit falls as slowdown trips companies' usage India's peak power deficit or the shortage of electricity supply when demand is maximum during the day, was as high as 13-14% during the 10th Plan period (2002-2007).

The figure came down to 10% as new power units started generation and stayed around this level over the past few years. But it has been consistently declining since May 2013, plunging to its lowest level of 2.9% in November.

Although, government officials attribute this to capacity addition and delayed winter, industry experts warn that the decline is mainly on account of slowdown in industrial demand.

This is corroborated by the data on industrial production, which contracted 2.1% in November compared with the year-ago period. The manufacturing sector reported a year-on-year decline of 3.5%, its worst since March 2012, triggering worries that the worst might not be over yet.

"The November data indicates the depth of the current macro slowdown. We expect that the production data will continue to be weak for another three months since we do not see any recovery in manufacturing," said Tirthankar Patnaik, director and India strategist and economist at Religare Capital Markets.

According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, India added 6,963 MW of power generation capacity during April-November 2013. The authority is yet to release the data for December but expert estimates indicate that demand for power may have declined in the quarter ended in December.

Brokerage Sharekhan estimates that India's power requirement during the quarter declined to 4% year-on-year to 239.4 billion units, while power availability is expected to have grown by 2% to 230 billion units.

"During this quarter, we also observed that the power demand has fallen sharply compared to the growth in power availability," Sharekhan said in a report. Experts also believe that demand for short-term power from power distribution companies would remain low as the loss-making units resort to load-shedding over buying expensive power.

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