Sunday 30 November 2014

Chhattisgarh receives three national awards for excellent work in power sector

Chhattisgarh was awarded with three national awards for excellent work in power sector. Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh congratulated the Principal Secretary of energy department Aman Kumar Singh and all the officials and employees of the department for this important achievement.

Chhattisgarh has received the first prize in power sector for excellent work in investment and developing infrastructures, while the Principal Secretary of State Energy Department Aman Kumar Singh received the prize of country’s best bureaucrat for doing excellent work in power sector. The prizes were awarded in a programme organised by a prestigious magazine of power sector ‘Inertia’ in New Delhi on Friday night. The residential commissioner of Chhattisgarh BV Uma Devi received these prizes.

The second prize Pradeep Pimple Grass Root Innovation Award was given to Chhattisgarh government’s public sector unit Akshya Urja Vikas Nigam Abhikaran (CREDA) for making water filtration technique plant with the use of solar energy. This award was received by superintending engineer RK Shankar on behalf of CREDA.

It is to be noted that under the leadership of Dr Raman Singh, various appreciable works have been done in the field of power production and distribution in Chhattisgarh state. Chhattisgarh has become first power-cut free state in the country since 2008.

Chhattisgarh received the other prize by the jury in power sector for surplus production, progressing to achieve the target of 70,0000 megawatt power production till the end of 12th Five Year Plan and availability of electricity in 97 percent rural area of the state. State energy department has received the investment proposals of Rs 92 lakh crore. The T & D deficit has been brought down from 26.72 percent of 19.79 percent.

Saturday 29 November 2014

Battle of storms-2 : Wind energy sector an overview

Wind energy was one of the earliest renewable energy to come up in India .It started in early 1990’s in southern most state of India in Tamilnadu. From there it went on to increase its portfolio and later spread in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It not only attracted many investors because of its accelerated depreciation but also made textile giant manufacturer Tulasi Tanti to start a wind firm Suzlon ,which is now the fifth largest supplier of wind turbine in the world.

Vestas played an important role in supplying wind turbines in 1990’s and very few players were there in the market including suzlon which was founded in 1995.There were more investors attracted in building new wind farms because of its accelerated depreciation from which they earned more profits. Wind farms were success and there was nothing to pull its growth as Energy hungry India was planning to utilize its wind potential. State governments were supportive as it not only satisfied the energy needs but also created many jobs.

In 2000’s it reached the peak with India becoming the 5th largest wind power capacity in the world and by 2006 Indian wind turbine supplier Suzlon captured 7.7% of the market share in global wind turbine sales.

Glory days were then hit by recession and there were also many problems wind farms were facing regarding the maintenance. Wind power moved from a fringe source of power to one of the world’s fastest-growing sources of new electricity, scrutiny did increase along with that. The short-term outlook for renewable energy, especially wind power, was clouded by the credit crunch and the economic slowdown, turbine makers’ woes only fueled the flames.

Suzlon were hit badly due to recession and had severe cash flow problems which also made them to shut down their plant in Pondicherry and its losses piled up to 11000 crores. Suzlon got plenty of attention for its turbine troubles and it suffered from turbine breakdowns, cracked blades, and turbine underperformance that drove customers to cancel orders but it wasn’t entirely the only one . All turbine makers have at one time or another have wrestled with technical glitches in the complex machines.

Suzlon’s market share then decreased in India from 58% to 35% with new firms entering and capturing the market.Spanish wind turbine makers Gamesa was one of them which captured 10%.

Another big shock faced by wind turbine makers was the cancellation of accelerated depreciation(AD) and generation based incentives(GBI) in 2012.With the removal of the benefits, the wind sector in 2012-2013 saw investments falling to Rs.10,200 crores while in the preceding year, it was close to 19,000 crores.

The government change at the centre brought back the accelerated depreciation and GBI which made the wind farms to launch new plans and products . Gamesa inaugurated a new production facility at Chennai for its G114-2MW turbine last week. Suzlon launched world’s largest 120 m wind turbine this month, Tata power renewable energy announced that it is on talks to invest in wind firms soon. In addition to all these there are 3 new states identified on the India’s wind energy map .With all the above news its time to say that the wind firms is all set for the battle . For now let us gear up and watch the battle of storms which was not look like the 1990’s which looker more like monopolist market. The battle is getting more hotter ,stronger and windier.

India’s renewable energy share is increasing everyday with solar parks booming and WtE(waste to energy ) peeping up , wind energy sounds like the old war horse .Which would lead the battle in the renewable energy portfolio? Only time will tell.


Source:

indianrenewable.blogspot.in
Avinash Sridharan

How are Supercritical Boilers different from Subcritical Boilers?

Supercritical power plants were in service from the late fifties. But the technology did not really take off due to problems of reliability especially from the metallurgical aspect.

The single most important factor that determines the use of higher and higher pressure and temperatures are the availability of materials to withstand these conditions.

 Increases in operating pressure and temperatures have to go hand in hand with developments in metallurgy.

With more than 600 units in service the reliability issue seems to be resolved. Supercritical units are the standard for future power plants in many countries including China.

What are the key differences between the subcritical units and the Supercritical units?

Efficiency

The main advantage and the reason for a higher pressure operation is the increase in the thermodynamic efficiency of the Rankine cycle.

Large Subcritical thermal power plants with 170 bar and 540 / 540 ° C (SH / RH) operate at an efficiency of 38 %. Supercritical units operating at 250 bar and 600/615 ° C can have efficiencies in the range of 42 %.
Ultra supercritical units at 300 bar and 615 / 630 °C will still increase the efficiency up to 44 %.Increase in efficiency directly lead to reductions in unit cost of power and CO2 emissions.

Operational Flexibility


Most of the Supercritical units use the once through technology. This is ideal for sliding pressure operation which has much more flexibility in load changes and controlling the power grid.

However this also requires more sensitive and quick responding control systems.

Evaporation End Point
In subcritical units the drum acts as a fixed evaporation end point. The furnace water walls act as the evaporator. Not so in the case of a supercritical unit. The evaporation end point can occur in various levels of the furnace depending on the boiler load. The percentage of Superheat in supercritical units is higher than subcritical units. Because of this the furnace tubes act more as superheaters than waterwalls. This necessitates the use of higher grade of materials like alloy steels in the furnace.

Heat transfer Area

Higher steam temperatures in supercritical units results in a lesser differential temperature for heat transfer. Because of this heat transfer areas required are higher than subcritical units.
Higher Superheat steam temperatures entering the HP turbine also mean higher reheater inlet temperatures which again results in a higher heat transfer areas.

Water chemistry

In supercritical units the water entering the boiler has to be of extremely high levels of purity. Supercritical boilers do not have a steam drum that separates the steam and the water. If the entering water quality is not good, carry over of impurities can result in turbine blade deposits.

Materials


Supercritical power plants use special high grade materials for the boiler tubes. The turbine blades are also of improved design and materials. In fact, the very increase in higher pressure and temperature designs are dependendent on the development of newer and newer alloys and tube materials.

The aim of the industry is to achieve power plant efficiencies in the range of 50 %.

Friday 28 November 2014

Obama plan to 'Power Africa' gets off to a dim start



Barack Obama last year told a cheering crowd in Cape Town that a $7 billion plan to "Power Africa" would double electricity output on the world's poorest continent and bring "light where currently there is darkness".

A year later, the U.S. president's flagship project for Africa has already achieved 25 percent of its goal to deliver 10,000 megawatts of electricity and bring light to 20 million households and businesses, according to its annual report.

But the five-year plan has not yet delivered the power.

Power Africa has not measured its progress by counting actual megawatts added to the grid but promises of additional power made in deals it says it helped negotiate, according to sources inside the project and documents seen by Reuters.

Some projects facilitated by Power Africa -- a program operated by the U.S. aid agency USAID -- were under way years before the scheme's inception, others are still in the planning stage.

It is unclear how much of the $7 billion Obama pledged has actually been spent or if a further $20 billion in private sector investment commitments will materialize.

"Saying you've met targets on projects that might never happen or taking the credit for projects that have been worked on for years makes me uncomfortable," a source working on Power Africa told Reuters. "It's misleading."

Obama's pledge to double power generation in Africa within five years looked highly ambitious from the start. Per capita electricity output in Sub-Saharan Africa has been flat for three decades because most promised power plants never get built.

"We're dealing with megawatts on paper, rather than on the grid," a second source working on the project said.

"Is that really what Obama promised?"

The first African-American U.S. president, the son of a Kenyan father, Obama has often been criticized for a lukewarm engagement in Africa, consisting more of words than deeds.

"WE'RE LIKE A PHARMACIST"
The 48 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, with a combined population of 800 million, produce roughly the same amount of power as Spain, a country of just 46 million. This constrains Africa's growth and keeps hundreds of millions in poverty.

Power Africa coordinator Andrew Herscowitz told Reuters there had been some confusion about the role of the program. He said it was always intended to "expedite transactions", facilitating private investment rather than handing out aid.

Herscowitz said Power Africa was there to help the private sector deliver electricity and it had already negotiated commitments from companies worth $20 billion, although he did not know how much of this money had been spent.

"We’re like a pharmacist, where people come to us, we reach out to people and figure out what is needed," he said.

"In some projects we may have a lot of involvement and in some we have very little involvement."

Foreign companies sign billions of dollars of agreements with African governments to build infrastructure every year, although a large number never get built.

In April 2011, the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corp., a government aid agency involved in Power Africa, signed a $350 million deal to "revitalize" Malawi's power sector.

More than three years on, 1.7 percent of that money has been spent, according to the programmer's website, which gives no detail on progress on the ground.

Memoranda of understanding Power Africa signed this year with its six focus countries -- Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia and Ghana -- contain less than $100 million of financial commitments targeted at specific countries, most of which is for consultants.

U.S. consultancy Tetra Tech won a $64 million contract and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative was given a $3 million deal.

As with many African aid projects, rights groups have criticized Power Africa as mostly being a vehicle to subsidize U.S. companies.

Documents show $5 billion out of the $7 billion pledged is for loans for U.S. exports from the government's Export-Import Bank (EXIM) and Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC).
TURN ON THE LIGHTS

"It’s absolutely not true. Power Africa is an opportunity to turn on the lights for millions of Africans by taking investment from all over the world," Herscowitz said.

Herscowitz rejected suggestions Power Africa merely tapped into existing projects, highlighting a 5 megawatt "NextGen" solar project in Tanzania and a 30 megawatt biomass scheme in Kenya which he said "didn't exist before Power Africa".

The NextGen project website, however, says a power purchase agreement for the solar project was signed in January 2013, six months before Power Africa was launched.

It is by no means guaranteed that the Power Africa program, which has an initial five-year mandate, will continue or be seen as a priority when Obama's final term ends in two years, U.S. government sources told Reuters.

In addition, the investment banks EXIM and OPIC are fighting for their survival in Congress, where Obama's Democratic Party was severely weakened in mid-term elections this month.

In a change of tack, the U.S. government said this month it wants to partner with China on improving power in Africa.
Meanwhile, corruption in the countries that Power Africa operates in remains a problem.

Nigeria's state oil company was accused last year by the then central bank governor of withholding $20 billion in oil funds due to the government, while Tanzania's parliament is currently reviewing a report on graft in its energy sector.

Steps soon to help coal, natural gas-based power plants: Piyush Goyal



NEW DELHI: The government will shortly take steps to address all fiscal and fuel hurdles faced by coal and natural gas based power plants so that people get affordable and uninterrupted supply, Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters in a hurriedly called news conference late on Wednesday which was also attended by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.


"The government will look at all possible options to provide fuel to power projects with an aim to keep tariff low for the utilities and end users," said Goyal. He said banks are on board to discuss the possibilities of relaxing lending norms to power sector.

"We are in discussions with banks to extend the term of payment for power plants to prevent them from turning non performing assets," said Goyal. The ministers held meetings with stakeholders in the power sector, who are facing an acute fuel shortage and are under pressure from banks to repay loans. "Today's meeting was a precursor to final decisions which will be taken very fast," he said.

The government has already announced plan to auction coal blocks and hopes to double the country's coal output to meet the fuel shortage. Thousands of megawatts of new power generation capacity is idling or operating at suboptimal capacity because Coal India, the state monopoly, could not keep pace with rising demand.

Goyal stated that the government will try to increase domestic gas and coal output for power projects. "We have looked at all possible options to address the problems of gas-based power projects. We have already initiated the coal block auction process and are looking at natural gas-based plants to utilise stranded capacity with an aim to keep the tariff low," Goyal said.

The power sector is also waiting for a financial package as companies are unable to repay loans because they don't get fuel to operate their plants. In some cases, plant construction could not be completed because banks are reluctant to lend to power projects. A panel of experts has recommended a series of measures to help the sector. The government is working on big-ticket financial reforms for about 1,30,000 mw thermal and hydropower power plants worth over Rs 6,00,000 crore that are hit by severe funds crunch while continuing to face cost and time overruns.

Thursday 27 November 2014

Coal block cancellation: Public sector banks may lose Rs. 96,000 crore

Public sector banks may take a hit of Rs 96,484 crore due to cancellation of coal blocks to power projects, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court had in September cancelled allocation of 204 coal mines since 1993 to power plants and other user industries after finding their allotment irregular.
Banks have extended credit to power plants built based on coal supply from some of the mines cancelled by the apex court.

“The impact of cancellation of coal block allotment on public sector banks due to likely stoppage of production of power plants is estimated at Rs 96,484 crore,” Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

He, however, did not say if all the Rs 96,484 crore loan by banks to the projects may turn into bad debt if mining is stopped.

The Supreme Court had allowed companies to continue mining till March 31 in blocks where coal production had already started.

“As per the information collected from public sector banks, the exposure of all PSBs to the power sector is Rs 5,82,469 crore,” Sinha said.

The government had last month promulgated an Ordinance for auctioning the 204 coal blocks whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court. In that Ordinance, a provision was added for allowing commercial mining of coal by private companies.

The first lot of 74 mines will be auctioned to specific end-users in early February.


Discussion

Whether auction of coal mines is good for future...

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Adani buys Avantha plant, becomes largest private power utility

The Adani Group on Monday announced the acquisition of Avantha Power's Korba West power project in Chhattisgarh, in a deal estimated at Rs 4,200 crore. The project comprises 600 Mw of operating power plant and the planned addition of a 600-Mw unit. The group said in a statement issued from Ahmedabad that this acquisition had made Adani Power the largest private power utility in India, with an installed capacity of 11,040 Mw.

The deal, coming within days of State Bank of India's in-principle approval for a $1-billion loan to Adani's Australian coal mine project, gives the group a big push in the power business.


                                         


This is another big acquisition for the group in the power industry after it took over a 1,200-Mw plant from Lanco Infratech in August in a deal valued at Rs 6,000 crore.

Monday's deal would allow the Avantha group to reduce debt incurred for financing power projects, an industry source said. The group had borrowed from private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, mutual funds and other lenders and has been under pressure to retire debt as its power projects are behind schedule. A planned initial public offering did not materialise, "hence the stake sale", the source added.

The Adanis did not reveal the size of the deal or how it would be funded, but the Avantha group said the Korba West Power Company was valued in excess of Rs 4,200 crore.

"This is time for consolidation in the power sector and Adani Power has taken the lead in acquiring assets that are a strategic fit to group businesses and potentially at the lowest end of the cost curve," Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

"This acquisition consolidates our pan-Indian presence and reaffirms our belief in the reforms processes under way in the power and coal mining sectors. This acquisition expands our footprint in the coal mining belt and we are bullish about expanding our presence further. We are committed to achieving our target of 20,000 Mw by 2020," Adani added.

He said Adani Power would endeavour to expand the capacity of the Korba unit expeditiously, leveraging its project execution capabilities.

"This recent acquisition is a precursor to many the industry is likely to see in the near future, with one or two project companies exiting the space and emergence of seven or eight large utilities on global lines," said EY Vice-President Rupesh Agarwal.

"The interesting aspect will be to see how these larger independent power producers are able to finance such acquisitions against the backdrop of continuing sector challenges, leveraged balance sheets and exposure of Indian lenders to the power sector," he added.

The Avantha group was to commission two phases of 600 Mw each of the Korba project by the second quarter of 2013-14. It has commissioned only one so far. Also, 1,200 Mw of the group's Jhabua power plant, which was to become operational by the fourth quarter of 2013-14, is under implementation.

The Avantha group had plans to build a 1,320-Mw thermal power plant in Gujarat and a memorandum of understanding was signed with the state government in 2009. The group's website offers no details on the status of the Gujarat project. A spokesperson for the Avantha group did not respond to a query seeking details of its projects.


Discussion

Whether Adani should concenterate on distribution sector... 

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Waste wood to energy plant bags £110m




A facility that converts wood waste into energy in Merseyside has bagged funding worth £110 million.

The UK Green Investment Bank will provide £16.9 million of loans and a further £13.2 equity investment via its Foresight-managed fund, UK Waste Resources & Energy Investments (UKWREI), in which it is the cornerstone investor.

The rest of the £42.1 million is being provided by GCP Infrastructure Investors.

The plant will process 146,000 tonnes of Grade B-C recovered wood every year and provide 20.2MW of power capacity to the grid as well as 7.8MW of thermal energy to an adjacent wood drying facility.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “This investment in one of the largest green power plants in the UK will create more than 200 local jobs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate enough renewable energy to power 35,000 homes a year.

“The project would not have happened without the Green Investment Bank – it is at the heart of our industrial strategy, improving energy efficiency through innovation and creating sustainable jobs and growth.”The facility, expected to come online by December 2016, is being developed by Danish company Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S while the wood is sourced by Stobart Biomass Products.


Discussion-

Whether India can have waste wood to energy plant...What is the feasibility of this plant in India?



Sunday 23 November 2014

Cabinet approves 3 major power projects

New Delhi: The Union cabinet Thursday approved three major projects for the power sector, the power ministry said in a statement here. The projects are the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated Power Development Scheme and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project. 

The North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project aims to strengthen the intra-state transmission and distribution system at a projected cost of Rs. 5,111 crore, including a capacity-building expenditure of Rs. 89 crore, the statement said. The scheme is to be implemented with World Bank assistance, it added.

 The Integrated Power Development Scheme is designed for urban areas and entails an expenditure of Rs. 32,612 crore. The earlier scheme, known as the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms for 12th and 13th Plans will get subsumed in this new scheme, the statement said. 

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is targeted at the rural areas. The scheme entails a total investment of Rs. 43,033 crore, while for 2014-15, the government has allocated Rs. 500 crore. "The programme requires budgetary support of Rs. 33,453 crore from the government over the entire implementation period, the statement said. The cabinet had earlier approved Rs. 39,275 crore for the scheme, which includes budgetary support of Rs. 35,447 crore under the earlier Rajiv Gandhi Gram Vidyutikaran Yojana. This outlay will be carried forward to the new scheme, in addition to the outlay of Rs. 43,033 crore.

Go Beyond Power Politics

India is structurally short of electricity. Power pricing is fundamentally disconnected, with retail tariffs significantly lower than the cost of production. Electricity losses, due to theft and illegal connections, account for more than 25% of power generated in India. Massive state electricity board bailouts have resulted in higher losses, mostly borne by public sector banks.

The government seeks to change this situation dramatically by easing the rules for power plant construction, arranging fuel supplies and reforming the way electricity is distributed and paid for. It seeks to construct a new bargain — regular electricity supplies for higher prices, with pilfering deterred by fines. State governments, long used to providing free electricity as a sop, will now have to consider the financial viability of their private and public generators and distributors.

There remain many pitfalls. Full power availability needs to consider the needs of the rural poor particularly in electricity pricing. Combating power pilferage and a tradition of politically-motivated free power will require changing social attitudes. A belief in markets, instead of deficits, needs to be fostered.

Coal is India’s short-term play for energy security, filling the gap until gas and renewables scale up. With marginal steps taken to build high-margin coal beneficiation plants (lowering ash content) and the utilisation of e-auction for high-margin coal sales, double-digit coal production growth will be hard to achieve. Coal India is too big to fail. It must be broken up into its constituent parts.

Consider Singareni Collieries, India’s second-largest coal producer. State ownership, as opposed to federal ownership, has helped it gain permissions and clearances quickly. Its local workforce has embraced mechanisation and an operational focus on growth. Coal India’s regional presence in Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal is hampered by state resistance to connecting railway lines and land acquisition. Far better to give states a stake in Coal India’s growth through outright ownership or equity stakes.

India’s electricity consumers are fed up of high price rises and cannot, in such middling economic circumstances, put up with continuing rises. No one doubts that coal should reflect the cost of production and pollution, with price escalation made over the coming years to shift power generation towards renewables and natural gas. But increased government royalties on production should be used to subsidise the price increase.

Unit electricity tariffs for industrial and corporate consumers are typically 30% lower than the cost of generation, excluding pilferage and political giveaways. Such tariffs should be rationalised, with firms graded according to their paying capacity. Dynamic pricing should be introduced, with industries and commercial institutions rightly facing market prices.

The reform plans seek to restructure state electricity boards (SEBs) with the right incentives. The power sector has over Rs 5 lakh crore in outstanding debt, which rises by Rs 60,000 crore annually. The previous bailout plan has failed. With low tariff increases, high pilferage rates, higher electricity purchase costs and crippling debt, SEBs are due for another bailout.

The State Electricity Distribution Responsibility Bill, mandated for adoption to enforce fiscal discipline, remains in abeyance. A comprehensive programme to address operational productivity, manpower skills, fiscal responsibility and state proclivity for election-related electricity giveaways is needed. The distribution should be opened up further to the private sector, with smart grid applications and billing systems encouraged.

Solar and off-grid power are increasingly being encouraged through fiscal incentives. The Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) remains key. By forcing large consumers and electricity boards to purchase renewable power, this mechanism creates a ready initial market for the renewables sector. Enforcement remains patchy. In 2013-14, not a single major state met its RPO targets. Any financial restructuring of SEBs and utilities must be conditioned on compliance with strictlydefined RPO targets. The clean energy cess, collected by Coal India, should be utilised for renewable investments.

Private investors are being encouraged to invest across the electricity value chain. Open access provision would allow major power consumers to choose among competing power companies over a common transmission and distribution grid. Power trading would lead to cheaper electricity and minimise disruption. Greater investments in transmission networks and a rationalisation of differential open access tariff structures across states would encourage this shift. With the government taking steps to address these concerns, regular 24-hour electricity may no longer be just a dream.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

JSW to buy 300 mw Baspa and 1,091mw Karcham Wangtoo hydro projects for Rs. 9,700 crore

Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Energy on 16-11-2014 agreed to acquire two hydropower projects from Jaiprakash Power Ventures for Rs. 9,700 crore, making it one of the largest deals in the power sector.

The transaction will include a court-monitored transfer of the assets of the two projects – 300 mw Baspa and 1,091mw Karcham Wangtoo in Himachal Pradesh – into a special purpose company, which will be acquired by JSW Energy.

"This is an attractive deal for our shareholders. It is expected to be earnings accretive. Our strategy is to increase capacity manifold and create synergies through a mix of organic and inorganic opportunities," said JSW Energy chairman Sajjan Jindal.

The deal signifies the hectic activity seen recently in the Indian power sector where large conglomerates have rushed to acquire troubled assets from promoters after the latter were unable to service loans taken when interest rates were high. Jaiprakash is one of several Indian power and infrastructure companies weighed down by debts and weak profitability and the deal will help the company retire its mounting debt.

JSW Energy initiated acquisition talks after Jaiprakash failed to conclude a similar transaction with the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power and with Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. Jaiprakash's talks with the two companies had failed due to differences over valuations.

JSW Energy has a current installed capacity of 3,140 MW. Post-acquisition, the aggregate installed power generation capacity of JSW Energy will enhance to 4,531 mw.

"The acquisition will yield immediate cash flow and is expected to enhance JSW Energy's consolidated profitability and create significant synergies," JSW said. In 2013-14, the Karcham project earned a revenue of Rs. 1,242 crore while the Baspa project Rs. 320 crore, it added. Axis Capital and SBI Capital Markets acted as financial advisors for the transaction.

JSW has a net worth of Rs. 7,000 crore and an operating profit of Rs. 3,500 crore. Current outstanding debt is about Rs. 9,000 crore.

"The funding pattern will be finalised in the next couple of days. This transaction also improves our portfolio of electricity buyers. Since the Jaiprakash project sells 85% of its power through long term PPAs (power purchase agreements), it improves our share of total PPAs to 65% compared to the current 55%," said JSW Energy CEO Sanjay Sagar.

Monday 17 November 2014

10 largest power stations of the world

1-Three Georges Dam: When it comes to installed capacity, it is the world’s largest power station. It spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China.

2-Itaipu Dam: The Itaipu Dam spans across Parana River, which is located on the border of Paraguay and Brazil. When it comes annual energy generation, it is the largest hydroelectric facility.

3-Xiluodu Dam: The Xiluodu Dam is an arch dam on the Jinsha River, i.e. the upper course of the Yangtze River in China. The dam contains several spillways to include seven surface outlets, eight mid-level orifices and four spillway tunnels

4-Guri Dam: The Guri Dam is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela on the Caroni River. It finds a place among the most powerful hydroelectric power stations.

5-Tucurui Dam: The Tucurui Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Tocantins River located on the Tucurui County in the State of Para, Brazil. It is the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.

6-Kashiwazaki Nuclear Power Plant: The plant is owned and operated by The Tokyo Electric Power Company(TEPCO).It is a large, modern (housing the world’s first ABWR) nuclear power plant on a 4.2-square-kilometer (1,038 acres) site including land in the towns of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture, Japan on the coast of the Sea of Japan, from where it gets cooling water.

7-Grand Coulee: Grand Coulee is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It is the largest electric power-producing facility in the United States.

8-Longtan Dam: Longtan Dam is a large roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam on the Hongshui River in Tian’e County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, a tributary of the Xi River and the Pearl River.

9-Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam: The Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam is located on the Yenisei River, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia, Russia. When it comes to average power generation, it is the sixth-largest hydroelectric plant in the world and the largest in Russia.

10-Bruce Nuclear Generating Station: Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in the communities of Inverhuron and Tiverton, Ontario. It occupies 932 ha (2300 acres) of land.


Friday 14 November 2014

SBI gives blueprint for Rs. 50,000cr power fund

India's largest lender, State Bank of India, has submitted details of the proposed power sector fund, which is likely to be set up with a corpus of Rs. 50,000 crore for reviving stalled power projects in the country. It will also help recover thousands of crores worth of banking sector funds that are stuck in such projects.

According to the concept paper worked out by SBI, a copy of which is available with HT, the fund would have 49% contribution from power sector PSUs, with the balance coming from banks and foreign investors.
"The fund would provide equity support and undertake some debt restructuring," said the minutes of the October 17 meeting, quoting SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya.

The meeting was held at SBI's head office in New Delhi and attended by senior officials of the finance and power ministries, along with heads of banks and financial institutions including SBI, Punjab National Bank and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd, besides the Asso­ciation of Power Producers (APP), which represents the country's top power companies.

The proposal of the fund was first mooted in June soon after power and coal minister Piyush Goyal had taken charge and met the bankers on power sector issues. SBI was asked to work out the finer details.

"The government is looking at options by which it can become feasible for banks to fund long-term projects, which include power as well. At present, there are a few issues that concern banks and these need to be addressed for speedy financing decisions," a senior SBI official said.

Private sector companies have contributed significantly to the installed capacity in the power sector during 2007 to 2012, with their share rising to 67% by August 2014 from 55% in 2012.

State-run power sector financial institutions including Rural Electrification Corp, Power Finance Corp and cash-rich companies such as NTPC, along with various public and private sector banks, are likely to contribute to the corpus of the fund, officials with knowledge of the proceedings said.

"As much as 136,000 MW of capacity, out of India's total installed capacity of 254,000 MW, involving an investment of over Rs. 6.23 lakh crore, has been added by the private sector," according to a presentation made by the APP during the October 17 meeting. "The capital charge on the investments (by the private sector) is about Rs. 90,000 crore."

Fuel shortage, high coal import prices, a depreciating rupee, delays in land acquisition, transmission bottlenecks and poor financial health of distribution companies are some of the issues plaguing the power sector. Besides time and cost overruns, the projects are also facing funding constraints. This has resulted in higher non-performing assets (NPAs) - loans that do not yield returns - for banks, besides affecting economic growth and the overall investment climate.

High cost of alternative fuels and the reluctance of discoms to procure power have resulted in substantial decline in revenues of power companies, leading to cash flow issues. The high construction risk is keeping away new investors and project developers are finding it difficult to manage long-term contractual obligations.



Wednesday 12 November 2014

Toshiba to invest $30 mn to expand power business in India

Toshiba to invest $30 mn to expand power business in India

Japanese firm Toshiba Corp. will invest about $30 million for expanding its production capacity in the power transmission and distribution business in India.

 The investment is part of the company’s plan to invest $100 million in Indian power sector by 2016. “Toshiba Corp. will reinforce its transmission and distribution (T&D) business in India with a 3 billion yen (approximately $30 million) investment in new production capacity at Toshiba Transmission & Distribution Systems India Pvt. Ltd (TTDI) in Hyderabad,” the company said in a statement. “India is a high-growth market that Toshiba has positioned as a strategic base for its power-related businesses.

 “In the period to FY16, Toshiba plans to invest a cumulative 10-billion yen (approximately USD 100 million) in its T&D business there, including this current round of investment,” said Katsutoshi Toda, CMD, TTDI. “Toshiba is seeking to secure a 20% share of the Indian market by 2018, and also reinforce TTDI as a core T&D production base for other major markets, including Europe, ASEAN, and Africa,” Toda said. A new facility for large power transformers will come on line in 2015 at Hyderabad at the same time as the full scale launch of a new unit for switchgears.

 Alongside its existing production line of small and medium capacity transformers and low and medium voltage switchgears, the new power transformer line will support production of 765 kV (kilovolt) transformers with a capacity of 500 MVA (mega volt ampere), while the new switchgear line will produce high voltage products. Toshiba established TTDI in 2013 by acquiring T&D business from Vijai Electricals for 20 billion yen or approximately $200 million, and also started operation of a new power transformer facility in Russia in February 2014

Monday 10 November 2014

Narendra Modi finds a reform partner in Suresh Prabhu

Narendra Modi finds a reform partner in Suresh Prabhu

New Delhi: Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, who was sworn in as a cabinet minister on Sunday, is remembered for ushering in reforms in the Indian power sector when he was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. 

The 61-year-old Prabhu, a former member of the Shiv Sena, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday to take part in the next set of reforms as promised by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. 

Described by many of his colleagues as “intelligent, focused and result-oriented”, Prabhu, a four-time member of Parliament from Rajapur constituency in Maharashtra, has been heading the advisory group for integrated development of power, coal and renewable energy. Prabhu is Modi’s sherpa— the senior official who helps prepare the agenda for leaders—for the upcoming G20 summit and is well versed in the grammar of governance. 

“He pushed through two things—the Electricity Act of 2003 and securitization of dues from the states. This has been his landmark contribution to the Indian power sector,” said a former secretary in the Union government who had closely worked with Prabhu. Prabhu was a minister in the Union cabinet for six years where he handled portfolios such as industry, environment and forests, chemicals and fertilizers, heavy industry and public enterprises and power.

 India allows 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the power sector, and the Electricity Act 2003 opened significant opportunities for private sector investments. The landmark Act also provided for non-discriminatory open access in the transmission segment and mandated State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to introduce open access in distribution after taking into consideration state-specific conditions. 

While several amendments to the Act are being considered now in tune with the times, many including petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan have lauded it. “In Atalji’s (Bihari Vajpayee) government, a new Electricity Act was brought in and after that power generation capacity increased in the state and so did private sector investments. That was a very transparent and progressive step,” Pradhan had earlier told Mint. Of India’s current capacity of 254,049.49 megawatts (MW), 36% or 90,903MW is operated by the private sector. 

Prabhu, who headed the task force for interlinking of rivers, was also the chairman of the Maharashtra State Finance Commission, Saraswat Co-operative Bank and member of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Board, and has been lauded for the settlement of outstanding dues by the state electricity boards (SEBs) which helped in saving the state-owned utilities from financial collapse. He was also instrumental in the implementation of the landmark tripartite agreement which allowed the Union government to recover the amounts due from the states by deducting them from central devolution.

 Interestingly, many distribution utilities are now saddled with losses arising from theft, besides transmission and billing inefficiencies. State electricity boards with debt of Rs.3.04 trillion and losses of Rs.2.52 trillion are on the brink of financial collapse. His initiatives at the power ministry included electricity for all by 2012, the Electricity Bill of 2001, accelerated power development programme and rural electrification.

 “He has a knack for working diligently and quietly,” added the former government official cited above. Another person who has worked closely with Prabhu as part of his advisory group which has held around 20 meetings said, “A lot of us have told him that he was the right person in the wrong party. Now, since that has been taken care of, a lot is expected out of him. 

He has been the architect of the Indian power sector reforms and was instrumental in opening up of the electricity generation and distribution sector. Had he continued, he would have revamped the sector. He will be holding an important portfolio, given his track record. ” 

The advisory group headed by Prabhu has already submitted two reports on the coal and electricity distribution sector to Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal and new and renewable energy. This comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s landmark September judgement that cancelled the allocation of more than 200 coal blocks between 1993 and 2010 and provided the government an opportunity to make a fresh start and put in place a transparent rules-based regime in the allocation of coal. “There is a lot of mutual respect between the minister and Prabhu.

 What distinguishes him from the others is his ability to drive consensus and being incisive. Also, not having a private agenda makes him credible,” added this person. Prabhu, who holds a bachelors degree in commerce and a degree in law from Mumbai University, is a qualified chartered accountant and is involved in nine strategic dialogues. He is married to Uma S. Prabhu, a journalist.

CERC to soon review functioning of power exchanges

Power sector watchdog CERC plans to review regulatory compliance levels and operational efficiencies of the country's two electricity exchanges as part of efforts to safeguard the interest of stakeholders.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL) are the two functional electricity bourses. Both began their operations in 2008.

Under the planned comprehensive 'health check' of the bourses, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) would review a slew of factors, including related party transactions and nature of relationship between promoter and the power exchanges.

To carry out the review, CERC has recently sought bids from interested entities.

"The period of the review/investigation will be FY 2012- 14 (except related party transactions which would be examined since inception of power exchange)," CERC has said.

CERC plans to "undertake review of the overall regulatory compliance to (CERC) regulations, the robustness of operational processes, the control and checks placed by the power exchanges to ensure business continuity, safeguarding public interest and absence of any untoward systemic risk".

The review would also cover the nature of commercial relationship between present trading system technology provider with the power exchange; monetary flows between the bourse, its member and their clients; processes in place to maintain bid data confidentiality and market surveillance, among others.

Elaborating on the mechanisms in place at these bourses, CERC said the exchanges have constituted a Market Surveillance Committee headed by an independent director.

"The committee shall submit quarterly surveillance report to the Commission. The power exchange shall also carry out periodic IT system audit for data security, date integrity and operational efficiency and submit its report to the Commission annually. However, this has not been done since 2011," the regulator has said.

In six years since their inception, power exchange business has seen good growth. These bourses offer day-ahead and term-ahead market products besides trading in renewable energy certificates.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) is the leading bourse with more than 95 per cent market share and billions of units of electricity is traded every month on it.

Saturday 8 November 2014

Indian power sector looks at saving INR 6,000 crore in coal transportation

Economic Times reported that the power sector is heading for a INR 6,000 crore, saving in coal transportation cost and earnings of another INR 3,600 crore by additional generation as the government plans to tweak fuel supply arrangements to ensure that coal from each mine or port is shipped to closest plant.

Currently, a lot of imported coal travels deep inside the country while some domestic output is transported to plants on the coast, which inflates the price of electricity.

Further, many power companies get fuel from a mine far away even if coal is producec much closer to the plant. The proposed changes would affect nearly half of India's tota power generation capacity.

In some cases two plants will simply swap the coal suppliers, while in other cases the supply adjustments would involve many plants.

Government sources said said that the government had appointed KPMG to assess the benefits of reorganising fuel tie-ups. The global consulting firm has estimated savings in the range of INR 4,500 crore to INR 6,000 crore in logistics as the distance between the supplying coal mine and the plant would come down by 27%.

It has also estimated that this would lead to additional generation from 3,500 MW of capacity with potential benefit of INR 3,500 crore.

The rejig of fuel supply pacts would come as a blessing for the power sector, which is reeling under acute fuel shortage and reluctance of main buyers, the state distribution companies, to buy power that it finds costly. The government has already issued an ordinance to auction coal blocks and has plans to ensure better fuel supply for gas-fired and coal-based plants by blending imported and locally produced fuel.

Government officials said that increase coal supply is on top of their agenda.

Mr Piyush Goyal, Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Minister, said that the fact that different companies supplying coal are subsidiaries of CIL, would help restructure the supply pacts, and this was a reason why the state-run giant was not being split.

The KPMG report, submitted to the power ministry, said that the exercise will also decongest the railway network as the average distance travelled by coal will come down to 429 kilometer per tonne from 589 kilometer per tonne and hedge coastal power projects against any interruptions in supply in future.

Power companies are incurring huge costs on importing coal and transporting it to plants in hinterlands, while projects on the coast get coal from far-off states. The consultancy has advised the power ministry to bilaterally swap coal supplies of 32 power projects of 45,000 MW capacity while multilateral swaps have been recommended for 95 power stations of 74,000 MW capacity.

Meanwhile, the proposal would require nod from power companies including private firms, states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and electricity regulators.

Source – Economic Times

Thursday 6 November 2014

Power sector to see investment of $250 billion over the next four years: Piyush Goyal

The minister for Power, coal and new and renewable energy, Piyush Goyal, on Thursday said that the sector will see an investment of $250 billion dollars over the next four years with $100 billion in renewable energy and around $50 billion in transmission.

Recollecting the state of power in the country, Goyal said that even after 67 years almost one fourth of the population does not have access to electricity and the new government will endeavour to provide electricity to all over the next five years.

“I am hopeful that in 2019 when we go for the next general elections we have provided power to all houses, offices and other establishments,” said Goyal while speaking at the India Economic Summit organized by WEF and CII. He said that almost 53 million houses in the country still need to be electrified.

He said the new government is hopeful that fuel supply issue will be addressed over the next few years and the government has taken steps in that direction. He said that coal production will be doubled to 1 billion tonnes by 2019 and the revised gas pricing will result in increased development and discovery.

Stating that the new government has raised the target for solar power generation by 2022 from 20,000 MW to 100,000 MW, he said that Nuclear energy too had potential but it even has some problems. “We want to be sure that we are not saddled with something that has been discarded by the West. We have to be clear on what we are getting,” said Goyal.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Modi govt needs to fast-track power sector reforms

The Modi government needs to fast-forward power sector reforms by purposefully putting paid to mounting distribution losses of state utilities pan-India with clearcut policy initiatives and follow-through action. The poor performance of electricity distribution companies (discoms) in states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu poses systemic risks, hampers quality supply and jacks up the power infrastructure deficit. And the Centre needs to invoke specific sections in the Electricity Act, 2003 to speedily transform the situation on the ground. Reports say that the Centre is seeking instead to amend the Electricity Act, by demerging ‘carriage from content’ so as to have separate licences for the wire business and the actual supply of electricity, to bring about greater transparency in the whole process.

However, the marginal utility of the legislative changes now proposed is questionable. The fact of the matter is that several state governments have done well, using extant provisions in the 2003 Act to overhaul power utility finances, including by separating feeders for agricultural and domestic supply in rural areas. The Act also empowers the Centre, or specifically the Central Electricity Authority, to direct and advise state power utilities to rationalise crosssubsidies and follow norms as per the national tariff policy. Besides, sustainable utility bottomlines would incentivise “open-access” and reform the market for power, with multiple suppliers competing for custom, with adequate line capacity in place. The fact remains that openended subsidies, giveaways and moribund utility finances really make no sense.

Ratings by CARE show discoms in UP as the worst-performing, with those in TN close behind. Aggregate technical and commercial (ATC) losses, euphemism for plain theft of power, are a massive 40% in UP. Predictably, the cross-subsidy levels there are sky-high. Reckless populism is perverse incentive to steal and overdraw power. Instead, states need to strive to deliver quality power at competitive rates to shore up industry and services.

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Tata Power installs 36 bio-gas plants in Mundra

Tata Power Company under green village concept successfully installed 36 Bio-Gas plants across 8 villages. The company has undertaken the installation of Bio-Gas plants under project 'Annapurna' in Mundra and Mandvi in association with Tata Power Community Development Trust (TPCDT).

With this initiative, Tata Power aims to promote the use of Household Bio-Gas by creating awareness on the optimal use of cow dung. Being considerably cheaper than conventional energy sources, the daily input in each Bio Gas plant is nearly 40 KG which enables cooking for a family of 5-6 people.

The total cost of each plant is Rs 26,200, of which Rs 18,000 was invested by Tata Power with Rs 8200 contributed by the community. The used cow dung can be further reused as fertilizer, whereas maintenance of the unit is simple and stress free. The unit has also resulted in monthly savings of nearly Rs 300 which was earlier spent on wood and kerosene. Additionally, the unit assists in protection of the environment as well as health of the villagers as it avoids the pollution caused by burning wood. This reduction in pollution further protects the families from future ailments such as asthmatic problems, cataract etc.

Speaking on the initiative, K K Sharma, CEO and ED - CGPL stated that ''At Tata Power we understand the need for the holistic development of community. The Company has constantly aimed to ensure effective and sustainable development which enables us to create a world which is conscious of its responsibilities towards the environment. The Bio-Gas plants equip us with a bouquet of benefits while utilising readily available natural resources which protects villagers from chronic diseases arising out of burning wood and coal. We aspire to work collectively for the augmentation of the society and will continue implementing such initiatives in the future. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Tata Power team, Tata Power Community Development Trust and all affiliated parties for their support and participation.''

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.4, or 0.43%, to trade at Rs 93.35. The total volume of shares traded was 429,930 at the BSE (3.28 p.m., Monday).

Monday 3 November 2014

Power restored to 99 per cent of domestic customers

Power has been restored to almost 99 per cent of the domestic customers in the three districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.

The three districts plunged into darkness, after cyclone Hudhud made its landfall on October 12, and it took over 9,000 men to restore power in just about 18 days, said AP Energy Secretary Ajay Jain.

In total, there are about 23.73 lakh domestic consumers in the three districts, and power has been restored to about 23.50 lakh. “The remaining 23,000 odd consumers will be connected by Monday,” assured Mr. Jain.

As far as agriculture connections are concerned, 28,000-odd are yet to be connected and according to the Energy Secretary, many of the farmers have requested not to take up work, as paddy is in its harvest stage. “But we shall connect them by November 10,” he said.

Of the 23,000-odd yet to be connected, domestic connections, about 11,469 connections are in S.Kota and Vepada mandals of Vizianagaram. “We have achieved 100 per cent connectivity in Srikakulam and in Visakhapatnam city and we have about 800 connections left. In Visakhapatnam district, power is to be restored to about 4,600 and 5,500 connections in Narsipatnam and Paderu areas,” Mr. Jain told mediapersons. Divulging future plans, he said plans were afoot to procure new machinery for erecting poles. “This machine has the capacity to drill and erect over 200 poles in a day. We plan to have this machine, which cost about Rs. 6 lakh, in all the vulnerable divisions of APEPDCL. This apart we are going ahead with the underground cabling network,” he said. APEPDCL has already got a sanction to the tune of $ 100 million from the World Bank for underground cabling and gas insulated indoor sub-stations. “As a pilot project we shall take up the work in the most vulnerable areas,” said Mr. Jain.

The 400 kv Kalapaka link has been restored to Gajuwaka 132 kv sub-station and the estimated loss to the power sector in the aftermath, is to the tune of Rs. 1,200 crore. So far about Rs. 150 crore has been spent on restoration work.

Sunday 2 November 2014

Catch-22 situation for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh solar power bids

Picture for representational purpose.

Hyderabad: Both AP and Telangana are planning on developing solar power in a bid to create a larger energy pool but experts say that entering into the traditional 25-year PPA (Power Purchase Agreements) will be a loss-making move, as the cost of power is expected to go down in the future.

Preference to solar power projects under the state Gencos (AP Genco and TS Genco) should thus be given. While power sector insiders have pointed out several times that the preference to private sector projects has hit both the power sector as well as the consumers hard, there is need to give preference to Genco projects.

“If in future the costs comes down, discoms will be paying the higher costs for a long time. Once entered into PPAs, the discoms will have to purchase power from the producers. The Electricity Regulatory Commission has given orders under which discoms have been mandated to purchase a minimum of 5 per cent of their energy needs from non-conventional sources, which means irrespective of cost, even when cheaper power is available, first priority is given to that percentage,” said power sector expert, P. Venugopal Rao.

As per experts, a better way would be to extend subsidy to the individual Gencos by the state governments, which can be translated to subsidies for end consumers.

“The Gencos can be given subsidies to set up solar parks, to the extent that they get the subsidy that has to be passed on to consumers. Also by using solar power for agricultural needs, power supply can be given at a single stretch to farmers and the problem of staggered timings can be avoided,” added the expert.

There is also a catch in encouraging solar power for all segments as in case of captive consumption, those who can afford to set up a solar power plant will generally have a higher consumption capacity.

This is likely to be true even in the domestic sector and especially true for the industrial and commercial sector. In case of a consumer setting up a captive plant, the state will also lose out on the cross subsidy to that extent.

Coal block auctions likely by December, power cos to get priority

The coal ministry may commence the auction of coal blocks by early as December this year, highly placed sources in the government told HT. The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) is expected to approve the plan soon.

As 79 out of the 214 blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court relate to the power sector, the move is expected to help power projects with a combined capacity of 40,000 MW, ease chronic power shortages over time and give a fillip to the government’s efforts to revive the economy. Investments of Rs. 2 lakh crore are stuck in these projects.




At present, Indian public and private sector banks have a combined exposure of close to Rs. 5 lakh crore in various coal and gas-based power projects. An early auction of coal blocks will provide fuel linkages to stressed power projects and ease power shortages. A steady and quality supply of power is a necessary pre-condition for growth.

“The decision vests with the CCEA.... as soon as the approvals come, we (ministry of coal) will commence auction of coal blocks, by December this year,” the source told HT.

“Those power projects that don’t get a coal block in the auction will be considered for allocation of coal by Coal India Ltd. CIL will import coal to meet any shortfall in its own production and pool this with a part of domestic production,” he said.

The total installed power capacity of the country is 250,000 MW. Coal-based plants account for 150,000 MW or 60% of this.

Coal shortages have short-circuited India’s power capacity addition plans. Coal production could not keep pace with demand from the power sector: in the last 5 years, demand grew 87%, but coal output grew a mere 15%.

Adding to this low production were Letters of Assurance (LoAs) for coal linkages the coal ministry in the previous regime had issued to power projects. Upto 2010, LoAs were issued for projects equivalent to 108,000 MW, though coal available was sufficient to generate only 60,000 MW, or 65% of the coal requirement if power plants operated at 85% of capacity.

As on date, Coal India has signed Fuel Supply Agreement for about 74,000 MW. That still leaves about 14,500 MW already commissioned or to be commissioned in the 12th Plan, without coal linkages provided.