Power sector needs over $250bn investments: Report

New Delhi: India needs investments of over $250 billion for development of the power sector in the next three years, says a report.

"Total investment of over $250 billion is required for development of the power system during the 12th plan," Integrated Research and Action for Development said in its report.

This will give an ample opportunity for investors, developers, power equipment manufacturers in developing power projects and associated transmission infrastructure, it said.

During the 12th plan period (2012-17), India plans to add 88,537 MW capacity, out of which 69,280 MW will come from coal.

The government has planned additional renewable energy capacity addition of around 30,000 MW (5,000 MW wind, 10,000 MW solar and 2,100 small hydro).

Currently, India's installed generation capacity, from all sources of energy, is close to 2,50,000 MW.

"It is estimated that around 25,000 MW capacity is being sub-optimally utilised because of inadequate availability of domestic coal," the report observed.

It said that the country is likely to suffer a coal shortfall of 200 million tonnes (MT) by the end of the 12th plan period.

"India is facing lot of difficulties in production of domestic coal due to various reasons. The scenario is likely to remain the same till the end of the 12th plan," it added.

Due to higher share of coal-based power generation, which has a high environmental impact owing to greenhouse gas emissions, India is emphasising on clean energy development, which includes the use of hydro, solar, biomass and so on.

Gujarat to add 9000 MW of power in next 3 yrs

Gujarat's total power generation capacity will be raised to 32000 MW, by adding 9000 MW of power in the next three years, said Saurabh Patel, state minister for energy and petrochemicals on Friday.

"Power will not be an issue in Gujarat. The state will take the lead in the country in the energy sector. We will be adding 9000 MW in the next three years to boost our existing power generation capacity of 23000 MW," said Patel while addressing the inaugural session of a pre-Vibrant Gujarat summit event held at Gandhinagar.

However, he did not clarify if the capacity addition will be done by state utilities or by private power producers. In Gujarat, private power producers currently hold about 60 percent of the power generation capacities, while the state utilities contributes only 26 percent.

In his speech, Patel also pointed out that the lack of gas from the KG basin and the higher prices of imported LNG has made gas-based power projects unviable. "Even in a state like Gujarat, we have a huge capacity of 4000 MW that is lying idle due to non--availability of gas," he said.

The state government is yet to revive the capacity lying idle in the gas-based power plants, even after BJP-led NDA government came to power at the Centre almost four months ago.

"As far as Gujarat is concerned, next six months, to one year, will be tough. The crucial decisions taken by the Centre are equally going to affect the state," he said adding the cost of power in the state could go up in wake of the higher cost of LNG.

Talking about the recent approval granted by the Centre to swap the source of coal supplies between the state-run Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited (GSECL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Patel said, "A formal agreement will be soon be made between GSECL and NTPC to swap 1 million tonnes of coal. This will save Rs 350 crore of freight cost that is spent in transporting coal for the state utilities from the Korba mines in Chattishgarh." NTPC, meanwhile, uses the imported coal that lands in Gujarat for its power plants in Chattisgarh.

The minister also said the state government has spent about Rs 10,000 crore in strengthening the transmission network in the state during the last five years. "We have been working hard on our transmission network. The cost of land is going up and in days to come, there could be a lot of resentment among farmers against any land acquisition," he added.

Nepal clears GMR plan for $1.4-bn hydroelectric Plant

    Nepal’s centre-left cabinet has cleared the way for Indian firm GMR to build a $1.4-billion hydroelectric plant in the northwest of the country, a cabinet minister said, the Himalayan republic's biggest foreign investment scheme. The Nepalese government agreed to allow GMR in 2008 to construct the 900-megawatt Upper Karnali hydroelectric power plant in the northwest. But the project was delayed as the nascent republic was mired in instability with six government changes in as many years. Political parties also demanded greater benefits for Nepal from the scheme that is mainly aimed at exporting electricity to power-hungry India. Law minister Narahari Acharya said a cabinet meeting had approved the draft of an agreement to be signed with the Indian company. "This approval will open the way for different foreign investment projects that are in the pipeline to move ahead," Acharya said after a cabinet meeting.

"Concerns shown by different parties about the benefits from the project have been addressed as far as possible," he said.

     Officials said GMR and another Indian firm, Satluj Vidyut Nigam, plan to construct other hydroelectric plants in Nepal with a potential to generate up to 42,000 megawatts of electricity. China’s Three Gorges International Corp, is also in talks with Investment Board Nepal to build a $1.6 billion dam to generate 750 megawatts of electricity on the West Seti River in the same area, as Beijing competes with New Delhi for influence in Nepal. The GMR plant, set for completion in 2021, will provide 12% energy free to Nepal to ease a crippling power shortage and help its economy emerge from a decade-long civil war that scared away investors and slowed infrastructure projects. Officials said Investment Board Nepal will now sign a project development agreement with GMR, which will construct transmission lines across the border to transmit the remaining electricity to India. The agreement was expected to be signed during PM Narendra Modi’s visit in August but was delayed because some political parties wanted to ensure that the supply of water to irrigation canals on the same river would remain unaffected by the dam, as well as other benefits to Nepal.

   The Indian firm will give a 27% stake in the plant to Nepal. GMR will build a separate power house to generate two megawatts of electricity to be supplied to villagers in Achham, Surkhet and Dailekh districts where the project will be located, officials said. A group of former Maoist rebels says benefits to Nepal were not adequate and has vowed to protest against the scheme. Nepal's economy is expected to grow 4.6% in 2014-15, against the government target of 5.2%, with the country facing up to 16 hours of daily power cuts during the dry season when its rivers flow slowly.

Coal to power cos may get costlier

Coal India may be allowed to trade-off its e-auction cut with a higher price in fuel supply deliveries

 

Forced to cut the volume of coal sold through electronic auction, government-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is likely to go for a rise in the notified price for sales under fuel supply agreements with power companies.

The company bought peace with the Union coal ministry by agreeing to almost halve its e-auction sales at 30 million tonnes this year, to make more coal available for the fuel-starved power sector. However, this would come at a cost, with a rationale for a rise in the price of what is sold to companies in the sector, says the coal ministry in a communication to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Union coal and power minister Piyush Goyal had earlier directed CIL to cut its e-auctions by more than 50 per cent to 25 mt in 2014-15 from 58 mt last year. This had been initially opposed by CIL's board of directors.

The process of reducing these sales is on. The e-auction sales rose 30 per cent over a year before to 14.65 mt in the April-June quarter but sources say it dropped to three mt in the next two months, July and August.

Officials say CIL's loss of revenue due to lower e-auction sale would be around Rs 2,000 crore this year. Hence, the suggestion on compensation with a price rise was mooted by the coal ministry.

“The ministry has sent an impact assessment file, which clearly says there would be 'price rationalisation' of the coal sold under notified prices to neutralise the revenue loss,” a source said. CIL itself would not comment.

Amid differences between the coal ministry and CIL over the matter, the PMO had earlier asked the ministry to assess CIL’s concern before taking a decision. In its response to PMO, the ministry has suggested 'price rationalisation'.

In 2013-14, CIL earned Rs 12,767 crore from e-auction sales, with average realisation of Rs 2,196 a tonne. This was 14 per cent higher than the Rs 11,148 crore in 2012-13.

A rise in coal price is also likely to factor in a rise in mining cost due to the rise in price of diesel and in the clean energy cess, earlier announced in the Union Budget. The latter has been doubled to Rs 100 a tonne. it has been levied on coal, peat and lignite since 2010, to fund and promote promote cleaner energy initiatives. CIL is likely to pass this on to its consumers.

Officials say a coal price rise also made sense as the government plans to offload 10 per cent stake in Coal India. An apprehension of falling profitability on account of lower e-auction sales could affect the company's valuation and a decision on a coal price rise would offset this.

CIL's shares ended on Wednesday at Rs 344.90 on the BSE exchange, up 1.5 per cent from Tuesday. Over the past year, the stock has had a low of Rs 236.03 and a high of Rs 423.85.

Jobs in the power sector

The energy industry is going to be the largest sector in terms of investment, growth and employment. Skilled labor is the only aspect in which the industry lags behind. 

If you are a talented civil or electrical engineer and are looking for a lucrative industry to work in then the renewable energy sector provides some promising leads. Energy is an important factor of growth in any economy of the world. In India's 12th (2012-17) five year plan it is the key to propel the country to achieve 8-9 per cent GDP growth rate. However, there is a dearth of qualified and skilled professionals whose expertise in the domain can be applied to make this growth rate a reality.

Rahul Gupta, director, Rays Power Experts Pvt. Ltd., blames lack of awarness about the sector among youngsters and even academicians for the dearth of manpower in this robust industry. Also, the sector has developed at a much faster pace than expected making it difficult for people to catch up. "As compared to other industries, this sector is relatively new and hence people are not sure of the growth potential and availability of jobs. Moreover, most private companies working in this industry are start-ups which makes it more risky for job seekers to enter this sector,"says Gupta.

Experts point out that engineering graduates are likely to choose well-known brands as their employers. Start ups in this sector may be doing exceptionally well however, students may not aware of the same. This lack of knowledge has resulted in low percentage of engineers choosing this sector to make a career.

Industry professionals want educational institutes to develop graduates through rigorous educational course, research, projects with industries and through industry institute interface. Students should be trained to do rigorous projects on energy related issues. "The courses should be designed in such a way that it focuses on economics, finance, marketing in general, and energy economics, energy policy, renewable energy, tariff policy, energy efficiency and sustainable development etc in particular," mentions Shailesh Aggarwal, former deputy manager (Projects), Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd.

There are a few institutes in the country which offer courses on energy sector (SEE BOX). Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon runs a School of Energy Management in collaboration with United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ministry of Power, Government of India. They have introduced an energy management training programme for executives working in the power sector. "Students after completion of this course get large number of opportunities in different energy related industries such as consulting, project financing, project development, renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydro and hard core energy generating companies," says Atmanand , dean and professor, MDI Gurgaon. After telecom revolution the next revolution in India is the energy revolution. India’s growth will be determined by the growth of energy sector. The budding energy sector will provide ample employment opportunities to the students from different streams.

The booming sector can be broadly divided into oil and gas, coal, renewable energy, nuclear energy, carbon market, energy efficiency etc. It requires technical acumen as well as managerial expertise. "While civil or electrical engineering is a pre-requisite for hiring. For our business development profile and sales team recruitment, we look for graduates who have a combination of BTech and an MBA degree," explains Gupta. For example, to set up a power plant, one requires managers with domain knowledge of mechanical, electrical and civil field. Also, for power trading professionals, there is a requirement to have an understanding of the energy market, electricity act and policies of the government, power grid rules and regulations etc.

However, experts complain that currently the industry, is mainly dominated by people with technical acumen rather than those with managerial skill sets. Thus there is a huge demand of efficient managers in this sector."Having been part of power sector for more than five years in project management field, I feel a professional can perform well only if they have an in-depth knowledge and know-how of that domain," says Aggarwal.

According to Rajesh Kumar, former deputy manager, Voith Hydro Pvt Ltd., any person working in any one of the sub-sectors would require thorough knowledge of aspects like—Market analysis, government policies, foreign policies, environment, financial, operation management, business analytics and distribution. "In my five years in the industry I have been engaged in design of Hydro Power equipments (Large Hydro Generator) and I have observed that the hydro Power in India is still untapped to its full potential. There is huge gap between what we can generate and what we are generating and that too when Indian economy is under pressure for high rate of growth," explains Kumar. A well qualified professional employed in the middle management level can expect a remuneration anywhere between Rs 10 -15 lakh per annum, but it depends from person to person and also depends on nature of the job profile.

Govt must reform power sector on Gujarat model

India's power sector has over Rs 5 lakh crore in outstanding debt, amounting to roughly 4.5 per cent of GDP. It has nearly Rs 3 lakh crore in accumulated losses and it racks up Rs 60,000 crore more in losses every year. There are multiple stalled projects. Roughly one-third of India's official power capacity is sick.

A collapse here could cascade into a financial crisis apart from completely stalling growth. Many things have been tried in attempts to turn the sector around. There has been new legislation. States have unbundled utilities to identify weak elements in generation - transmission-distribution chains. Electricity regulatory commissions have been set up in states and at the Centre to set independent tariffs. Privatisation and franchising have both been tried.

The RBI has brokered tripartite deals between central utilities and states to try and ensure that the latter pay the former. Massive bailouts have been organised for state-run utilities. Incentive schemes like the APDRP (Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme) and the Restructured APDRP have been introduced.

The losses have just kept mounting. To add to the sector's issues, coal is permanently in short supply. The monopoly coal producer, Coal India Ltd (CIL), has not been able to meet demand. To do CIL justice, the Indian Railways also finds it difficult to deliver coal in the required quantities because rail links are clogged. CIL itself has receivables of over Rs 8,000 crore because its customers are in dire straits financially.

At the moment, most thermal generation plants have less than a week's supply of coal in stock. The largest part of India's power generation capacity is thermal and most of the thermal part is coal. Imported coal fluctuates in price and is vulnerable to external policy action. Indonesia, for example, has imposed export duties.

For a while, it was hoped domestic gas would significantly change the energy mix. In particular, Reliance Industries' KG-D6 was supposed to help make India nearly self-sufficient in natural gas. Large commitments were made in gas-based thermal capacity based upon such projections. Unfortunately, KG-D6 has run into problems. Imports of LNG are much more expensive and difficult to transport. It is very likely the price of domestic gas will soon be linked to international rates and raised. So gas-based capacity is also under a cloud.

What can be done? Most of the affected institutions and agencies are government-owned, which means it is clearly a question of political will. Public sector banks have the largest share of exposure, with specialised PSUs like PFC, REC, and IDFC also carrying exposure. Most of the loss-making institutions are owned by state governments.

Unit tariffs are on average 20-30 per cent less than the cost of generation. In addition, there is rampant theft. For political reasons, many consumers are allowed to use electricity without paying. States are reluctant to implement open access for fear that high-end customers will migrate. They are afraid to raise tariffs to reasonable levels or to crack down on theft for fear of a political backlash. The sector also has a classic case of moral hazard -- everybody assumes that the Centre will organise another bailout every so often.

The Centre would have to take action on several fronts simultaneously. It would have to reform CIL and, more broadly, reform the mining industry to solve supply issues. It would have to free up electricity tariffs and force open access in order to get more efficient private sector players to invest. It would have to force states to clean up their act. It would have to find ways to restart stalled projects.

None of this will be politically easy, which is why the situation has been allowed to fester for nearly 15 years. But the matter has become increasingly urgent. This government was voted in with a big mandate and the first majority in 30 years, in the hopes of reform. One of Mr Modi's major bragging points on the campiagn trail was that he had turned the power sector around in Gujarat. He must replicate that turnaround on a national scale to justify his dynamic reputation.

The sector has dozens of listed players and it needs massive investments. There is a big demand-supply gap in that there would be takers for more electricity everywhere. The investment would be forthcoming automatically if the finances became more stable.

Can wind from moving train generate power? PMO’s curious query to Railways 

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has sent the Railways Ministry into a tizzy over an idea it received from an 81-year-old resident of Gujarat —  that windmills be installed along railway tracks to produce electricity, utilising the wind generated by fast moving trains.
Vipin Trivedi of Ahmedabad, a former employee of Bank of Baroda’s Agriculture and Rural Development wing who retired in 1991, sent the idea by post to the PMO. The PMO, in turn, forwarded it to the Railways Ministry, asking it to explore the “techno-economic” feasibility of the idea, and sought regular updates.

Since the idea came from the PMO, Rail Bhawan officials started serious communication with Trivedi, but also politely told him that it did not sound doable. As per documents accessed by The Indian Express, Railways said Trivedi could be called in the future to give more technical details about his idea. Trivedi is waiting.

“One day, I was travelling by train and the idea just struck me. So I discussed it with my gurubhai (disciples of a godman) who knew a man who had worked closely with Narendrabhai (Modi) in overhauling Gujarat’s power sector. That man is now posted as the Additional Principal Secretary to the PM in Delhi. So I sent the idea to him by post,” Trivedi told The Indian Express from the Nandigram Ashram in Bharuch last week, where he was attending a course on “spiritual wellbeing”. “If they call me to Delhi, they should be willing to seriously discuss the idea,” he said.

Although nobody in the ministry was convinced about Trivedi’s idea, top Rail Bhawan officials have been applying their time and energy, keeping the Chairman, Railway Board, informed as well.

“A train will pass the windmill in less than 20 seconds. Even if there is a train every 15 minutes, a windmill can operate for only 25 minutes per day. This will not be viable economically. Further, the energy produced by the windmills would have to come from the trains only, which will consume extra energy,” said a mail Trivedi received from the ministry on September 1.

The email exchange has been regular. Another email sent a few days before that said, “We will, however, like to have some more technical details with regard to your suggestion, which may be sent to us for further detailed examination.”

Rail Bhawan officials told The Indian Express that the idea was not workable and they would communicate this to the PMO. “There is nothing wrong with anyone in the country coming up with any new idea. It is our job to take them seriously and see if they can be executed,” said a senior ministry official.

When contacted, Prof Anil Gupta of IIM Ahmedabad, an expert in alternative sources of energy, told The Indian Express, “This is not a practicable idea. Especially with Railways, it will not work at all because of the frequency of trains and the cost of the windmill, the transmission and distribution of power would all work against it. The amount of power generated would also be unfeasible.” 

Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh to get solar power

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh is toying with the idea of introducing solar power operated agricultural pump sets. So far it has been unsuccessful given the high cost involved.

 

As a large number of agricultural pump sets are working at below efficiency levels, the solar initiative may be a welcome move, but these need to be made cheaper by 60 to 65 per cent to be attractive, experts said.  

 

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, has announced that the state government will promote solar pump sets for new agricultural connections with a target of installing 10,000 sets every year for the next five years. According to the plan, installing of solar operated pump sets will enable discoms to provide electricity during the day to farmers. Currently, due to excessive agricultural load, power supply is given during evening and night.

 

Since there have been no incentives to farmers, the pump sets are running at 18 to 20 per cent efficiency. Mr Naidu has also announced replacing the non-ISI pump sets with energy efficient sets. “With proper use of capacitors, the efficiency of the pump can be increased up to 60 per cent,” said power sector expert A. Punna Rao. 

$100 BILLION INVESTMENT LIKELY IN RENEWABLE ENERGY IN 4 YEARS: PIYUSH GOYAL

$100 BILLION INVESTMENT LIKELY IN RENEWABLE ENERGY IN 4 YEARS: PIYUSH GOYAL

The government is expecting $ 100 billion investment in the renewable energy sector in the next four years as it firms up a new policy framework for the same. 

 

"We expect $ 100 billion in the renewable energy sector in the next four years," Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said today at Economist India summit. 

He also said the government expects $ 50-60 billion investment in power transmission and distribution in the next four years.
The government is working on a renewable energy policy to attract investments in the space by providing tax breaks and cheaper loans. 

 

The Power Ministry is focused on providing 24x7 electricity to households in the next five years. 

Commenting on demand for imposing anti-dumping duty on solar panels at another event, he said: "We had ambitious plans in the solar power sector. Imposition of anti-dumping duty will kill the solar mission. 

He said domestic solar panel manufacturers have 'suo-moto' withdrawn their plea for such a duty.

Imports were necessary as the domestic manufacturing had not scaled up to a level wherein it could provide the required number for solar mission, he said.

"We ensured within the framework of WTO to provide adequate support to not only fulfil the current manufacturing potential but also plan for a five year significant ramp up from what they (domestic manufactures) have now, " Goyal added. 

The Minister had earlier said domestic solar equipment manufacturing capacity of 700-800 MW is not sufficient to meet the government's ambitious plans of adding more power generation capacity through renewable energy sources. 

The country's current installed solar capacity exceeds 2,600 MW.

Earlier in May, the Ministry of Commerce under the UPA regime had recommended imposing a restrictive duty in the range of $ 0.11-0.81 per watt on solar cells imported from the US, China, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei in a move to protect the struggling domestic industry. 

The recommendations were against the backdrop of US dragging India to the WTO ( World Trade Organisation) with respect to domestic sourcing norms for the national solar mission. 

Lanco to raise 5,000 crore by selling assets

Lanco Group, which is among the many corporates buffeted by the uncertainty in the power sector, has announced plans to sell 3,000 MW of assets to raise Rs. 5,000 crore cash in order to reduce the additional debt of Rs. 15,000 crore, said a company announcement. 

“Since last one year, we have been working on each of the projects to settle the issues and bring back viability.  With all these measures as well as in the background of various meetings with bankers and strategic partners, we are confident of driving the Group into profitability again,” said a statement by chief operating officer V. Sreeenivas in New Delhi on Tuesday. 

Lanco Infratech has taken the first step in this direction by inking an agreement for the sale of its 1,200 MW Udupi thermal plant to the Adani Group. 

Mr. Sreenivas pointed out that woes of the Lanco Group started in recent years due to an adverse macro economic environment and policy paralysis. 

Having entered the power sector in 2000, Lanco till 2012 conceived and executed various projects successfully and emerged as a major private power developer with 4,732 MW under operation, 4,636 MW under construction and around 9,000 MW at various stages of development. 

But Lanco’s fortunes dipped from fiscal 2013-14 despite increasing the capacity five times. “The high confidence that the investors in the power sector had during 2006-2011 was damaged and diminished.  Since two years, the power sector has not been able to perform due to various major challenges such as transmission issues, and fuel issues besides deteriorated financial conditions of Discoms. These major issues have distanced the investors from the sector as investment into power sector should be looked at long term and not short term since value to the investment can be realised in 25 to 30 years irrespective of power purchase agreements,” reasoned the company.

 With a new Government in saddle, Lanco is “highly optimistic” that it will resolve the many unresolved macroeconomic issues which will lead to an improvement in the power sector scenario over the next 15-18 months, added Mr. Sreenivas.

Power supply worsened in Odisha despite huge investment, shows ASSOCHAM study

Despite Odisha attracting 12 per cent share in the new investments in the country's power sector, energy supply in the state has worsened due to rise in deficit, industry body ASSOCHAM said today.

"Odisha has attracted new investments worth about Rs four lakh crore of the total new investments worth over Rs 31 lakh crore attracted by the power sector from various public and private sources across India during 2004-05 and 2012-13," according to a study conducted by ASSOCHAM.

In attracting new investments in the power sector, Odisha ranks second after Gujarat.

Despite this achievement, condition of power supply in Odisha has worsened over the years as power deficit in the state had increased by about 2.5 per cent during the course of 2004-05 and 2012-13, it said.

This is mainly due to high growth in power demand as compared to that in power availability, the study titled "State-wise analysis of power sector: Consumption, demand & investment" said.

Besides, another worrying aspect is that only 43 per cent of households in Odisha have electricity facility available to them, it said.

Though, agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of Odisha, the state is lagging behind in farm infrastructure development as it is ranked 19th in terms of power consumption growth in agriculture sector, the study said.

In order to garner additional funds in power sector, the state government should lure private investment through a tax incentive scheme and facilitate quicker implementation of pending power projects, the ASSOCHAM study suggested.

Besides, efforts should also be made to promote power generation by tapping new and renewable energy sources like wind, hydro, bio-mass and solar.

During 2012-13, Odisha attracted new investments worth over Rs 3,318 crore in the power segment of which private sector accounted for a lion’s share of about 67 per cent as against 33 per cent share of public sector, said the study

"Flow of private investments is determined by attractiveness of investment opportunities as they are mostly driven by profitability considerations," said D.S. Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing findings of the chamber’s study.

"Bureaucratic efficiency, infrastructure and ease of land acquisition influence flow of private investments," said Rawat adding tax concessions, product market conditions and exit policies are effective tools to woo private investment.

With investments worth over Rs 16 lakh crore, Odisha accounts for third highest share of about 33 per cent in total outstanding investments worth over Rs 49.5 lakh crore attracted by power sector across India as of 2012-13 clocking compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 26.5 per cent, said the study by ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB).

Odisha has also taken a great leap forward in this behalf as the total outstanding investments in power sector attracted by the state have increased from over Rs 1.6 lakh crore as of FY 2004-05 thereby growing at a CAGR of over 33 per cent.

Besides, the state share has improved drastically from just about six per cent to about 33 per cent, it said.

About 47 per cent of investment projects in the power sector attracted by Odisha were under implementation as of 2012-13 and the state has registered some improvement in implementation of power projects, the report said.

L&T expects to bag large power plant contracts this fiscal 

MUMBAI: With 3,000-4,000-mw worth thermal projects expected to be kicked off in various states during the current fiscal, engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) expects to bag at least one-two large projects, a senior company official has said.                                                                                                          

"We are very optimistic about the way things have now started to take shape from the government side. We expect 3,000-4,000-mw worth projects to be bid out by various states this year," whole-time director for power, minerals & metals business Shailendra Roy told PTI.

He said the company is confident of bagging at least one or two large projects.

The company last week bagged a Rs 5,100-crore EPC order from the Madhya Pradesh state utility to set up a 1,320-mw super critical thermal power plant.

"There is a potential of 6,000-8,000 mw worth projects in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra, Bengal and Bihar among others. Also some projects of the state-run NTPC are likely to come up for bidding. Of these, we believe at least 3,000-4,000 mw projects will come up for bidding this year," he said.

The sluggish macroeconomic conditions and delays in clearances has impacted the power sector, he said.

"No new projects were bid out due to various policy hurdles. Even the private sector was not willing to invest in the sector. But now the government's situation has improved and the states are taking the initiative and we see some activity from the public sector as well," Roy said.

L&T's revenues from the power sector in the first quarter of the current fiscal declined 32 percent to Rs 980 crore from Rs 1,447 crore year-ago due to depleting orderbooks in an investment constrained economy.

He further said the company will also bid for ultra mega power projects as and when they would come up.

The country's largest engineering and construction major is currently executing multiple large EPC, boiler turbine generator and balance of plant power projects in the country as well as some abroad.

The company has established joint ventures with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems of Japan for manufacture of supercritical boilers and turbines at its complex at Hazira in Gujarat.

Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh to get 24-hour power supply: Piyush Goyal 

NEW DELHI: Delhi, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are all set to get 24-hour power supply like Gujarat, power minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. 

"The programmes for provision of 24-hour power supply in the states of Delhi, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are ready for roll-out," he said without disclosing the date of its implementation. 

The power minister also revealed that the 'coal swap' with Gujarat, which the government was trying for the last ten years, has also been completed. 

This implies that imported coal coming through Mundra port in Gujarat for use in power plants in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand will be swapped with these states against indigenous coal from domestic mines for use in power plants in Gujarat. 

Noting that politics should not be played on issues like power supply which were in national interest, Goyal lamented that chief ministers of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana have not responded to his requests for resolving pending issues on power sector and have become "unreachable". 

"Every state irrespective of its political dispensation which comes out with reforms in power sector will be welcome. The Centre would not be found wanting. It is a lie that the Centre is not cooperating. It is unfortunate that some are playing politics on it," the minister said. 

When asked about lack of cooperation from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh for resolving pending power sector issues, Goyal said, "I have been trying hard to reach out to them, but they are not responsive". 

The minister has already held meetings with 17 states to help the Centre jointly resolve power supply issues. 

"It is not a matter of ownership. It is a matter of leadership," he said talking about performance of state-owner power corporations while lauding Gujarat for turning itself around from loss-making to power surplus and profit-making. 

On some states threatening the public by curtailing power supply to those areas where people did not vote for the ruling dispensation, Goyal said, "If state government punishes the people for not voting for them, people will punish them. The Centre is not punishing anybody."

Mumbai hit by blackouts after power station snag

Several parts of south and central Mumbai faced massive power outages on September 2 after a unit of Tata Power's Trombay plant, which primarily supplies to the city, tripped 

Mumbai: A power outage left large swathes of Mumbai without electricity for hours on Tuesday, a leading utility company said, at a time when the country's energy sector is facing turmoil.

Tata Power said the tripping of a unit at one of its power stations in Mumbai reduced the supply at 09.45 am to various central and suburban parts of the city, with the problem yet to be resolved by early afternoon.

"We are working towards an early resolution and will ensure power supply to these areas at the earliest," an emailed statement said.

"We would like to reiterate Tata Power's commitment to providing reliable and 24X7 quality power to the city of Mumbai."

Starved power sector is struggling to produce enough electricity to meet rising demand, with blackouts common in large parts of the country.

The power sector, which relies on coal for two thirds of electricity production, has warned in recent weeks its coal supplies are running dangerously low.

On Monday, Government asked the top court to safeguard some coal mine concessions deemed to have been illegally awarded, amid fears the sector could be thrown into further disarray.

India imports vast quantities of coal, draining foreign reserves, despite sitting on the world's fifth largest reserves.

India To Subsidise Solar Power Projects For Army, Railways

• The Indian government has devised a plan to promote domestic solar photovoltaic module manufacturers even as it recently dropped the proposal to levy anti-dumping duties on imported modules. The Indian government plans to take advantage of some specific clauses in the WTO agreements to subsidise solar power projects by the army, railways, and public sector enterprises.
•  As per the plan drawn up by the government, the Indian army and public sector companies will set up 1,000-MW solar PV projects each. 
•  The government will offer Rs 1 crore viability cost funding for each MW of capacity. 
• The condition for this funding is that this entire capacity would use Indian-made solar cells, modules, and inverters. Projects using Indian-made modules and inverters only will get funding of Rs 50 lakhs per MW. The government is looking at the country’s power producer, NTPC Limited, to take the lead among the public sector enterprises.
•  The company already owns a number of solar power projects and is planning to set up some large-scale solar power projects with capacity of up to 1,000 MW. NHPC Limited, the largest hydropower generator in the country, may also set up some projects. The US government had challenged Indian regulations that require some projects to use domestically manufactured solar power equipment. Sources within the Indian government claim that the new scheme is WTO compliant.
•  Governments are allowed to procure domestic equipment for defence purposes and for its own use, thus the use of Indian-made solar power equipment by the army and public sector companies is justified, the sources claim. With such bold plans, the Indian government has also asked the cell and module manufacturers to operate their production lines at full capacity and even add more production capacities. BHEL, another state-owned company and the largest power equipment manufacturer in India, has plans to set up solar cell and module manufacturing facility. 
•  If the army and the railways are able to install significant solar power capacity, it would reduce substantial financial burden from the two institutions as both are heavy consumers of electricity. Railways, which pay some of the highest electricity tariffs among all consumer groups, will have their own power generation capacity.
•  NTPC will be able to bundle solar power with coal-based power, which will allow distribution companies to meet their power demand and fulfill renewable purchase obligation through a single power purchase agreement.