CIL hopes that with national electricity generation rising by 4.7 percent and prediction of early summer there would be higher coal demand. CIL was able to surpass its production target for the month of March 2017 achieving 104 percent at 66.07 MT. While offtake remained subdued to 52.30 MT for the month at 90 percent of the target. CIL missed the annual production target by 44.48 MT against a target of 598.61 MT and its off-take target by 55.45 MT for FY17. CIL said in FY17 as whole the average rake loading was 221.8/day compared to 212.8 rakes/day during FY16 registering a growth of 4.3 percent. Increase in absolute terms was 9 rakes/day for the year.
Growth of coal production during FY18 is expected to come down to two to 2.25 percent as compared to 9 percent registered in FY16. Production had been hampered to some extent due to problems in the Talcher mines due to R&R problems. In the last fiscal, CIL production at absolute terms was 536 MT. CIL has a stock 100 MT at pithead. Out of the 517 MT covered under the FSA with the power sector, 400 MT had been already validated and certified.
Replacing imports with high quality domestic coal is one of CILs strategies for finding new markets for its coal. Towards this end CIL is said to be in talks with power companies along the western and eastern coasts to discontinue the use of imported coal. Imported coal is in general more expensive than domestically produced coal.
At a time when almost everyone is worried about the future of coal, West Bengal is set to develop the country’s largest coal mine in Birbhum district, with the Centre allotting the development rights for the Deocha-Pachami coal block to the state under the government route. The block is estimated to have in-place reserves of about 2.1 BT. The block has four seams of coal ranging from 9 metres to 80 metres in thickness at depths ranging from 135 metres to 835 metres. The ash content of coal is estimated at 15-20%, which covers Grades A, B C, D and G. The block can be accessed through the Panagarh-Mourigram road and the nearest railway station is Mallarpur. The government West Bengal is said to be drawing up an ` 120 billion plan to develop the block, which would create 100,000 jobs and usher in rapid economic development in the area. It is believed that the block is expected to produce coal worth ` 2.10 trillion and attract total investments of ` 220 billion. It is not clear what assumptions underpin these optimistic figures produced by the government. If demand for power is not growing and if peak demand generation does not require even half the available power generating capacity of over 300 GW and in addition if over 160 GW of renewable energy is likely to be dumped on a system that is struggling with over capacity who will invest in producing more coal?
CIL is expected to contribute to the government policy of reducing oil imports and reducing carbon emissions as it has come up with three coal bed methane and coal mine methane projects in Jharkhand and West Bengal in FY18. While one plant will be set up in Raniganj in West Bengal, two will be located in Jharia in Jharkhand. The government has said that domestic coal gas can be used as feedstock for producing urea and other chemicals that can help limit the country’s import bill by $10 billion in five years and reduce carbon emission. It is believed that India’s dependence on petroleum and natural gas can be brought down or done away with if the country manages to extract gas from coal. This is not necessarily a new idea. India’s early plan documents are full of arguments for producing urea and petrochemicals from coal to reduce oil imports. About a third of China’s coal goes for production of olefins and other petrochemicals. CIL is said to be actively looking to acquire coking coal assets in Australia. The rationale for foreign acquisitions is rising coking coal prices. CIL has also asked Mozambique if it can explore for coal in a new area, after surrendering two mining licenses in the African country. The decision makes commercial sense, for now.
The government is said to be planning amendments to rules for auctioning of coal mines through competitive bidding. The amendments are being considered for permitting sale of coal since there have been changes in the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and to align with the rules under this Act. It is said that the changes will accommodate the provisions of the proposed revised standard bidding document for UMPP and speed up coal delivery to UMPP plants.
The government has generated revenue of only ` 17.47 billion from the auction of 31 coal blocks. So far, 82 coal mines have been allocated by way of auction/allotment. Allocation of coal mines, including allocation during 2017-18, is an ongoing process. The sum generated from coal auction is a pittance compared to the projected notional revenue losses of over ` 1 trillion in the so called coal scam papers!
Coal troubles seem to be following the Adani group into Australia. The company’s plan to supply lower quality coal with high ash content to non-premium markets like India from its $ 16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine in Queensland is being highlighted by some of the Australian opponents of the project. Adani Australia’s response is that in terms of quality of the coal it is almost 50 percent better than Indian coal. Final approvals from the Australian government could be by May or June, after which construction could begin. Adani Enterprises has maintained that the work on mine project would create 10,000 jobs for the state. The project involves dredging 1.1 million cubic metres of spoil near the iconic Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which will then be disposed off on land. A new environmental campaign to stop the development of the Adani project is said to be materialising with the backing of former Australian Green party leader. Three-quarters of Australians oppose a plan for Adani to tap a $900 million government subsidy to help fund infrastructure connected to the mine, according to a poll. The campaign group brings together 13 conservation and community organizations representing 1.5 million Australians. Environmental opposition to the mine, which could begin production in 2020, has delayed the first phase of the project and prompted the company to cut underground capacity by 38 percent. A final investment decision is due to be made by Adani as early as May.
China has apparently ordered its trading companies to return coking coal from North Korea. As per international news reports, North Korean cargo ships were heading back home to the port of Nampo. Coking coal is the country’s most important export product. At least ten North Korean ships recently arrived at a Chinese port after being stranded for the past three weeks following the top global coal consumer’s ban on imports of the fuel from its isolated neighbour. China has said it would ban coal shipments from North Korea, starting 19 February 2017, as part of its efforts to implement United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang.
Port disruptions in Indonesia and a cyclone hitting mines in Australia have tightened Asia’s coal markets in March, while demand in China and other key import markets remains strong, lifting prices. Prompt thermal coal cargo prices for export from Australia’s Newcastle port have risen by more than 11 percent since March 10, partly reversing a steep decline since last November. The price jump has been driven mainly by an Indonesian government graft probe at ports in its East Kalimantan province, which is one of the world’s most important thermal coal export hubs. The probes have disrupted ship loadings around the port of Samarinda, where 38 large dry-bulk ships are currently sitting idle to take on coal, according to shipping data. Most ships are unable to berth at the port and are being forced to take on coal via a small number of loading vessels. The delays come as demand remains strong in China, by far the world’s biggest coal consumer, after a crackdown on mining led to a 1.7 percent year-on-year drop in domestic output in the first two months of the year. Cyclone Debbie missed most of the region’s mines, but Glencore halted operations at its Collinsville and Newlands mines, and coal carriers stopped heading north for several days, delaying shipments. The higher Asian prices have led to a pickup in shipments from the US and Colombia as traders take advantage of cheap Atlantic basin coal, with prices there dipping due to an unusually mild start to the low demand spring season.
China’s top power groups are lobbying the local government in the western region of Ningxia to request their main thermal coal supplier to cut prices as they are bleeding cash due to surging coal costs and falling power prices. A glut of renewable and coal-fired power capacity in the Ningxia Autonomous Region has pushed down electricity prices, forcing utilities to sell their power at a discount after the government liberalized its power market. Prices in the region are the lowest in the country. Power company profitability is a major interest for the central government, which intervened last year to prevent a winter heating crisis when thermal coal prices soared to multi-year highs and forced mining cutbacks tightened supplies.
Eighteen districts in northern China’s heavily polluted Hebei province will ban the sale of coal by end-June ahead of a complete ban on residential coal use in October. Hebei, home to six of China’s 10 smoggiest cities in the first two months of the year, is on the frontline of China’s three-year war on pollution, and has targeted cutting coal consumption by 40 MT over 2013-2017. It has identified the use of coal by households and small businesses as one of its main targets this year as it battles to improve air quality. In a new action plan aimed at controlling coal consumption, the province said it would also strictly control the number of small businesses that burned coal directly, and crack down on the illegal production and sale of low-grade coals. The ban is likely to hurt local suppliers of low-grade coal but is not expected to have a wider market impact.
The US President’s decree to reverse former President Barack Obama’s 2016 ban on new federal coal leases, part of a wide-ranging executive order to sweep away green regulations have not had expected impact. A review of company filings showed that coal miners with the most to gain already have enough leases in hand to last well over a decade. That suggests miners could already ramp up production levels immediately if the market demanded more coal. Obama’s administration imposed the temporary ban on new federal coal leases in January 2016 as part of a broad environmental and economic review to ensure royalties from lease deals provide fair returns to taxpayers. Coal accounts for about a third of US electricity production, down from about half a decade ago. About 40 percent of all US coal comes from federal lands, mainly in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana.
Japanese trading company Mitsubishi Corp may sell stakes in Australia thermal coal mines as it presses on with a switch to core assets such as coking coal after slumping to its first-ever annual loss last year. Mitsubishi is looking to unload its 31.4 percent stake in the Clermont mine, and may also sell stake in the Hunter Valley operation. The firm plans to raise its stake in Canada’s Montney shale gas field, buying more shares from partner Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. Mitsubishi is considering whether or not to sell its 32.4 percent stake in Hunter Valley thermal coal mine in Australia after its partner Rio Tinto decided to sell its Australian coal assets to China’s Yancoal.
In the dusty scrub of the Thar desert, Pakistan has begun to dig up one of the world’s largest deposits of low-grade, brown, dirty coal to fuel new power stations that could revolutionize the country’s economy. The project is one of the most expensive among an array of ambitious energy developments that China is helping the country to build as part of a $55 billion economic partnership. A $3.5 billion joint venture between the neighbours will extract coal to generate 1.3 GW of electricity that will be sent across the country on a new $3 billion transmission network. Pakistan by contrast relies on coal for just 0.1 percent of its power. Pakistan’s coal reserves would give the nation a cheap domestic alternative to expensive oil and gas imports. In an effort to curb the import bill and meet demand for power, Pakistan plans to dig up some of the world’s biggest known deposits of lignite, a lower-grade brown coal. But first, it must clear 160 meters of sand to get to the coal.
April 18, 2017. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) signed an agreement with the Rajasthan government to set up a 9 million tonne joint venture refinery at a cost of Rs 43,129 crore, the oil ministry said. HPCL will hold 74% equity in the joint venture, HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd, while the state government will hold the balance. The agreement signed in the presence of Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje entitles the company to a viability gap funding of Rs 1,123 crore a year for 15 years from the year of commercial production. The funding will be in the form of an interest-free loan to be refunded in subsequent 15 years. The project includes a petrochemicals complex too. The proposed refinery will be able to process local crude from Vedanta Ltd’s Barmer oil field in the state as well as imported crude. Vedanta, which recently merged its group company Cairn India Ltd with itself, is planning more investments into enhanced oil recovery from its Barmer assets.
Source: Livemint
April 18, 2017. O&G (oil and gas) companies operating pre-NELP blocks and chosen for extension of their contracts by the Union Cabinet will be granted 10-year extension based on their past performance. Also, the firms will have to furnish third party reserves audit report on the availability of balance recoverable reserves from their blocks while submitting the application for extension, an oil ministry’s notification showed. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a new policy for the grant of extension of production sharing contracts (PSCs) to contractors who had been awarded O&G exploration rights during the pre-NELP regime. The government has identified 10 different blocks being operated by Cairn India, Gujarat State Petroleum Corp, Essar, Hindustan Oil Exploration Company, Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Focus Energy which would be eligible to avail and 10 year PSC extension if the conditions laid down by the new policy are met. According to the new policy, the government will only grant the extension if the past performance of the contractor is satisfactory. The grant of extension will be subject to the contractor drilling at least 70 percent of the development wells as proposed in the earlier field development report. As per the new policy governing PSC extension, contractors will have to submit an application approved by the Operating Committee for extension of Contract to the oil ministry at least two years in advance of the expiry date of the contract.
Source: The Economic Times
April 17, 2017. Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Paradip Port Trust and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) for transporting imported crude oil from Paradip port in Odisha to Numaligarh in Assam for its proposed refinery expansion. Under the NRL’s proposed refinery expansion project from the existing 3 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 9 mmtpa, a 28-inch diameter 1400 km long crude oil pipeline of 1 mmtpa capacity will be laid for transporting 6 mmtpa of imported crude oil from Paradip port to Numaligarh. The MoU provides for utilizing IOC’s spare capacity of existing SPMs (Single Point Mooring) at Paradip. Paradip Port Trust will extend land space for installation of crude storage tanks, pump house and township at Paradip, NRL said.
Source: The Financial Express
April 17, 2017. Prices of subsidised cooking gas and kerosene will continue to rise gradually and slowly reduce the subsidy burden on the fuels as the government has renewed its directive that allows state-run oil firms to raise prices by a fixed amount every month. The price of subsidised cooking gas has risen by Rs 22 per cylinder since June, or about 5%, while the price of subsidised kerosene increased by Rs 4 per litre, or about 27%, in the same period. In comparison, prices of petrol and diesel, which are no more controlled by the government, went up just about 1% and 3% respectively. Price of crude oil, from which all these fuels are extracted, increased 6% between June 1 and April 1. Last year, the government had directed Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to raise prices of kerosene by 25 paise per litre every fortnight for 10 months that ended in February. It had also directed them to increase cooking gas prices by Rs 2 per month, without indicating how long the hikes can continue. The oil ministry has issued a fresh order, allowing state firms to raise prices of kerosene by 25 paise/litre per month for another four months beginning April 1. Similarly, companies have been allowed to increase cooking gas prices by Rs 2 per month until further orders. Cooking gas prices rose about Rs 6/cylinder on April 1 to Rs 440.90 in Delhi, a steep hike to compensate for keeping prices unchanged in the quarter to March, when elections to five state assemblies were underway. In Delhi, cooking gas price was Rs 419.18 on June 1, after which state firms started monthly increases. Subsidised kerosene is not supplied in Delhi. But in Mumbai, the price of kerosene jumped from Rs 15.02/litre in June to Rs 19.03 now. Consumption of cooking gas has risen by a tenth in 2016-17 as record number of new consumers began using gas. State firms enrolled 3.25 crore new consumers to raise the total active consumer base to 20 crore. Most of the new consumers are eligible for subsidised refill and a record addition means not just sharp rise in consumption, but also subsidy. By continuing to gradually raise prices, the government is hoping to keep the overall oil subsidy burden in check. Rapid adoption of cooking gas in homes and increased supply of electricity have encouraged the central government to steeply cut subsidised kerosene supply to states. Consumption of kerosene, mostly used by rural poor for lighting and cooking, has dropped by a fifth in 2016-17.
Source: The Economic Times
April 16, 2017. Petrol prices have been hiked by Rs 1.39 per litre and cost of diesel has gone up by Rs 1.04 per litre, excluding state levies. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) announcing the price revision. The company said that it would continue monitoring dollar exchange rate and price movement in international markets. The hike comes on the back of a Rs 4.85 per litre reduction in rates of petrol and Rs 3.41 a litre in diesel effected from April 1. Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs 66.29 a litre while a litre of diesel is priced at Rs 55.61. Earlier, state-owned fuel retailers like IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) had announced that come May 1, they would be launching a pilot for daily price revision in five select cities and gradually extend it to all over the country. Following this, fuel prices would change every day in sync with international rates which is similar to what happens in most advanced markets. These four companies own over 95 percent of nearly 58,000 petrol pumps in the country.
Source: The Indian Express
April 15, 2017. India’s petroleum exports grew by more than 6 percent in the first 11 months of 2016-2017 to 58.9 million tonnes on the back of domestic surplus of petroleum products. Petroleum exports during the first 11 months of FY17 constituted 10.6 percent of India’s gross exports in value. India’s petroleum exports in value increased by 3.18 percent to $25.9 billion up to February 2017. According to ICRA report the compounded average growth rate in domestic consumption of petroleum products over the last five-year period has been high at 9 percent for petrol, 4.4 percent for diesel and 4.1 percent for aviation fuel.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. The proposed daily pricing of transport fuels in India would improve confidence in the sustainability of the market pricing regime as regular smaller changes in currency and crude oil prices should be easier to pass through to customers, US (United States) investment banker Jefferies said. The All India Petroleum Dealers’ Association said the oil marketers plan to roll out a dynamic fuel pricing pilot project from May 1 in five cities where transport fuel prices would be changed daily so as to better cope with volatility in global crude oil prices. The decision was taken by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following a meeting with officials of the three oil marketing companies (OMCs) — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) Under the pilot project, the companies will change the price of transport fuels everyday based on crude price movements. Dynamic pricing is followed in many developed countries. The project is to be implemented in the cities of Puducherry and Vizag in southern India, Udaipur in the west, Jamshedpur in the east and Chandigarh in the north.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. Aurangabad MP Chandrakant Khaire stressed on co-ordination among senior officers of all the three state-owned oil marketing companies for setting up an oil depot at the earliest. In a joint meeting of the company officers, petroleum product dealers and other stakeholders held in the city, Khaire asked the companies to prepare a detailed proposal (of the proposed depot) so that it could be discussed at a higher level and speed up the long pending process of setting up a depot. Khaire said that the depot is essential to meet the growing demand of fuel in the region, especially, in the backdrop of the upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) in Shendra Bidkin. He further took the opportunity to convince the oil companies that the proposed depot would be economically feasible project for the oil marketing companies. Recently, Khaire had discussed the issue with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. City-based petroleum product dealers also urged the company officials to speed up the process and set up the depot in Shendra. Expressing its desire to set up an oil depot in Shendra, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) had requested for about 110 hectare land. Accordingly, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp (MIDC) has offered to provide the land but as a matter of policy, the government has asked all the three oil companies to jointly set up the depot. As of now, petroleum product dealers in the city and neighbouring areas have to bring fuel from depot located at Panewadi near Manmad.
Source: The Economic Times
April 13, 2017. A recovery in Indian exports gathered steam in March with a pick-up in demand for engineering and petroleum products, bolstering an economy still recovering from the government’s cash clampdown. However, a surge in gold and crude oil imports widened the monthly trade deficit to a four-month high of $10.44 billion, data released by the government showed. The export numbers bode well for India’s $2 trillion economy that is still smarting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision in November to ban high-value currency notes. They will also cheer Modi who aims to lift India’s share in global trade to 5 percent by 2020. Indian goods exports currently account for just 1.6 percent of global trade, compared with nearly 14 percent for China. Higher volumes and prices doubled petroleum imports to $9.7 billion in March from a year ago.
Source: Reuters
April 13, 2017. Over 20 million households joined the oil ministry’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) during the last financial year (2016-17), according the oil ministry data. Also, the top five states in the list of beneficiaries included Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The centre had rolled out PMUY in May 2016 under which the government plans to release 50 million deposit-free new LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to women of BPL (Below Poverty Line) families over three years starting April 2016. Under the scheme, Uttar Pradesh received more than 5.1 million new subsidized LPG connections followed by West Bengal with 1.96 million connections, Bihar with 1.91 million connections, Madhya Pradesh with 1.88 million connections and Rajasthan with more than 1.53 million connections. India’s LPG penetration at the end of financial year 2016-2017 increased to 71 percent from 56 percent in 2014. OMCs (oil marketing companies) managed to release 32.5 million new LPG connections in 2016-17 the highest number of LPG connections released in a financial year in the country’s history. The centre had launched another campaign ‘GiveItUp’ in order to prompt people who could afford LPG connections at market prices to give up their subsidy voluntarily. The subsidy given up is being used to provide LPG connections to BPL families. Under the scheme, more than ten million families gave up LPG subsidy which enabled the government to provide more than 6.3 million new LPG connections to BPL families. In the next phase of PMUY, the centre is going to increase focus on ramping up LPG penetration in the rural areas and north-eastern states. The LPG coverage in rural areas as on March 2017 stood at 46 percent against national coverage of 71.7 percent. North-Eastern states — including Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya — have LPG penetration less than 71.7 percent.
Source: The Economic Times
April 13, 2017. Petrol and diesel prices in some cities will now see daily change in sync with international rates, according to oil marketing companies. This will be effective 1 May in five cities including Puducherry and Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Chandigarh as part of a pilot project. This will be extended to other parts of the country after an assessment of consumer response. Diesel and petrol prices move in tandem with the price of crude oil in most countries. Currently, state-run fuel retailers—Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL)—revise petrol and diesel prices on the 1st and 15th of every month based on average international price of the fuel in the preceding fortnight and the currency exchange rate. Although state-run fuel retailers have the capability to revise petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis, what needs to be monitored is how consumers react to price volatility, industry experts said. Besides, global fuel prices and currency exchange rate, central and state taxes account for a major part of the fuel prices. It accounts for half of retail petrol price and 46% of retail diesel price. The central government collected Rs 64,509 crore from petrol as excise duty in 2016-17 up to end-February, 20% more than what was collected in the whole of FY16. Excise receipts from diesel jumped 36% in the same period to Rs 1.37 trillion.
Source: Livemint
April 16, 2017. Cairn India Ltd, along with its partners is set to invest Rs 3,240 crore in the Ravva Fields in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin, to undertake 20 Developmental Wells and for setting up related infrastructure, as the oil and gas production is dwindling from the existing wells. The Ravva field (PKGM-1 Block) located in the shallow offshore area of KG Basin, has completed 21 years of successful operations with, Cairn India as the operator with 22.5 percent participating Interest. Currently, there are eight unmanned offshore platforms and a 225 acre onshore processing facility at Surasaniyanam in East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh which processes the natural gas and crude oil produced from the field, the report said.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. Conglomerates in India now have a Rs 17,000 crore investment theme built around an industrial fuel: liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Essar, Adani and JSW Groups, among others, are setting up liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals along India’s eastern and western water margins as natural extensions to the port infrastructure, reflecting the increasing demand for the gas as an alternative energy source in the country as global prices of the fuel head south. Essar Ports, part of the Essar Group, has won the recent bid for a Rs 450 crore, 1 million tonne LNG import terminal at the Haldia port in West Bengal. The Kolkata Port Trust had called bids for the terminal, for which Petronet LNG and V Energy were also in the race.
Source: The Economic Times
April 13, 2017. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has begun commercial production of coal bed methane (CBM) gas from two blocks in Madhya Pradesh. RIL’s move comes after the government approved pricing and marketing freedom for producers of natural gas from CBM on 15 March. The company has deferred production for a while due to lack of clarity over pricing CBM gas. The two blocks are located in Sohagpur East and West. RIL had begun test production from the block last April. RIL was awarded the CBM blocks in 2001, in the first round of CBM auctions. With this, RIL has become the third company in India to begin CBM gas production. Great Eastern Energy Corp. Ltd (GEECL) and Essar Oil Ltd are the two existing players selling CBM gas in the market. RIL holds another CBM block in Sonhat, Chhattisgarh. Reliance Gas Pipeline Ltd (RGPL), an RIL subsidiary, has laid around 312 km of pipeline to carry natural gas from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh close to its CBM blocks to Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh. Initial gas output from RIL block could be around 0.4 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd). Peak output, however, is envisaged at 2.5-3 mmscmd.
Source: Livemint
April 13, 2017. India will build pipelines to carry diesel and natural gas to Bangladesh as the world’s third largest energy consumer looks to strengthen ties with the neighbour. While a 131 km pipeline will be laid from from Siliguri in West Bengal to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh to transport diesel, a line from Dattapulia in West Bengal will take natural gas to Khulna, the third-largest city of Bangladesh. Oil Secretary K D Tripathi said the pipelines are part of a non-binding Framework of Understanding (FoU) which India will enter into with Bangladesh for cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. The Cabinet had approved signing of the agreement to establish an institutional framework mechanism for facilitating and enhancing India-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, he said. As part of the cooperation, India is looking at setting up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Bangladesh, supplying diesel from Numaligarh Refineries Ltd and selling liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), he said. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is looking to transport LPG to north eastern states via Bangladesh.
Source: The Economic Times
April 18, 2017. Coal India Ltd (CIL) said the coal quality watchdog Coal Controller Organisation has downgraded 40.76 percent of 871 sidings at 386 mines in 2017-18. During 2017-18, the Coal Controller announced new methodology for declaration of grade as per directives from the government. Under revised methodology, sampling and analysis of different seams or loading points was carried out through academic institutions and based on their results, the Organisation finalised the grade. In most cases, downgrading has been of one to two grades, it said. Since the miner dispatches most of its coal to power sector, ultimate realisation from sale continues to be derived from analysed grade, done through third party assessment. Annual declaration of grade is a routine exercise, being carried out by coal companies as per directives and methodology prescribed by the Coal Controller.
Source: Business Standard
April 14, 2017. Seventy-one village youths, including six women, joined the service of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL). The new appointees, who belong to Soloda village of Talcher in coal-rich Angul district of Odisha, were welcomed at a ceremony organised at Hingula Area of MCL, the company said. Welcoming the new recruits to MCL by providing safety helmets, General Manager of Hingula Area Kalicharan Khuntia said the new coal miners will add to the strength of CIL in general and Hingula Area of MCL in particular. Known for its attractive compensation package to land-losers, MCL has provided employment to over 12,000 families of land-loosers in Angul, Jharsuguda and Sundergarh district of Odisha. The company, which contributes around 25 percent to the total coal production of CIL, supplied a record 143 million tonnes of dry fuel to consumers, majority of which includes thermal power plants.
Source: The Economic Times
April 18, 2017. Delhi government’s policy to subsidise power for households is undoubtedly among the most generous in the country but it is benefiting the rich more than the poor due to inefficiencies. While poor households on an average get subsidy of around Rs 1,000 per year as they consume less electricity, rich households end up benefiting by Rs 9,000, a Brookings India research paper has said. This is happening due to the combined impact of the eligibility criteria, which is based on how much one consumes, and the high subsidy cut-off point of 400 units a month. As a result, around 80% of households qualify for the 50% subsidy paid with taxpayer’s money. Delhi is one of the richest states in the country and has the highest per capita power consumption rate for households. But the state government has shown an overwhelming reliance on subsidy to keep tariffs in check, unlike other states which are focusing on a mix of policy revisions and improving efficiency to reduce tariffs. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s 2016-17 budget had a provision Rs 1,600 crore for power subsidy. This is eight times more than allocation for the Smart City project, more than one-third of the total budget for medical and public health services and nearly 20% of the total budget allocated for education.
Source: The Times of India
April 18, 2017. Messing with power will invite jail term in Uttar Pradesh (UP), literally. Borrowing a model from Gujarat –– a legislation that envisages jail for power theft ––UP’s Power Minister Shrikant Sharma said he plans to replicate the model in his state and even bring in a law that will provide for the creation of dedicated police stations to deal with power theft cases. The minister indicated that the proposed legislation is likely to be in place in three months. The UP government had launched a two-month ‘amnesty drive’ for customers with pending power dues. The state government estimates that there is about Rs 15,000 crore worth of dues from customers which include surcharge over delayed payments. The amnesty drive not only waives surcharges but also offers customers sufficient time –– two months for rural customers, 45 days for urban customers and 30 days for small scale industries –– to repay their principal amount. Sharma’s proposed move is similar to Narendra Modi’s model to provide power 24X7 when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. Modi had brought a legislation which ensured strict penalty for power theft and dedicated police stations to deal with such cases.
Source: The Economic Times
April 18, 2017. After a gap of nearly three years, power tariff in Kerala was hiked by 10-50 paise/unit. While the hike applicable to domestic consumers (using up to 250 units a month) would be 10-30 paise/unit, the increase would be up to 50 paise/unit to those households that consumer over 250 units a month. As per the rules of the Electricity Act 2003 and the power tariff policy of the Union government, the subsidy given to any category of consumers should not be above 120% or below 80% of the average cost. The 5% tariff hike (approx) announced by the commission is expected to bridge the board’s aggregated revenue gap of Rs 4,944 crore over the next four years. It was calculated that KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) would generate a profit of Rs 491 crore in 2017-18. Thus, the KSEB would be able to fill its revenue gap up to Rs 1,041 crore during 2017-18. It was in August, 2014 that the state electricity regulatory commission had earlier announced a tariff hike of 11.4%.
Source: The Economic Times
April 18, 2017. Telangana Chief Minister (CM) K Chandrasekhar Rao’s nine-hour uninterrupted free power supply to the farm sector is causing tremors in the ground water department as the water table is hitting new lows in Telangana. The TRS government’s free power sop to the farmers commenced about 8 months ago. Two days ago, the ground water department submitted a report to the state government cautioning it on overexploitation of ground water in several districts. The energy department too has started feeling the heat of the 9-hour power supply. The CM’s instruction to supply the power in one stretch without any break has pushed the power systems to the edge. Top officials told TOI that the transmission and distribution network in the rural areas are experiencing a severe stress due to the increased load. This is because thanks to the dwindling ground water level, farmers are operating their agricultural borewells without a break. To meet the ever increasing demand, the distribution companies have been purchasing power from the exchanges on a daily basis to meet the demand. As a result, purchase of power is crossing 500 MW per day due to the intense heat conditions and increased demand from the agriculture sector.
Source: The Times of India
April 18, 2017. A joint venture (JV) of NTPC has decided to snap power supply to three states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana from its Vallure thermal station over non-payment of dues of Rs 1,388 crore. The NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Ltd (NTECL) has issued a notice for regulation of power supply to Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka to the extent of 1,229 MW from its Vallur Thermal Power Station (1500 MW), for non-payment of long outstanding dues of Rs 1,388 crore. The NTECL is engaged in generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. The JV was formed for setting up a 1,500 mw coal-based power station at Vallur, Ennore in Tamil Nadu utilising the existing infrastructure facility at Ennore and supply power mainly to Tamil Nadu and also to Kerala, Karnataka and Pondicherry.
Source: Livemint
April 17, 2017. NTPC has managed to bring down its cost of electricity generation by an average 39.5 paise while for the Mauda project, it was a decline of Rs 1.65 per unit, mainly because of improvement in coal quality and supply. Data available with NTPC showed that the overall cost of power generation has come down to below Rs 2 last fiscal, driven by improved quality of coal and its supplies, the power ministry said. The overall cost of power generation of the company has come down by 39.5 paise. It does not include taxes and cess primarily imposed to finance protection of environment, the official explained. According to the data, the overall cost of power production for the company stood at Rs 2.01 per unit in 2014- 15, which has declined to Rs 1.94 in April-February of 2016- 17. The data showed that NTPC’s Mauda project registered an overall fall in cost of power generation at Rs 1.65 per unit, taking into account the impact of revision in levies and charges.
Source: The Economic Times
April 16, 2017. The government has identified old power projects totalling 7,738 MW capacity owned by the Centre and states for replacement with energy-efficient supercritical plants, which will generate a gross 18,560 MW. The replacement will result in creation of 18,560 MW of capacity as per the assessment of power generation utilities. The move is expected to not just save natural resources, but help in boosting generation capacity of the plants. Taking an example, 440 MW of the Haryana Power Generation Corp in Panipat will be replaced with an 800 MW energy efficient plant, which will almost double the generation capacity. Breaking down the numbers, state power generation utilities have marked out 6,608 MW for the purpose, which will lead to creation of 16,580 MW. The central utilities have marked 1,130 MW for replacement that will create 1,980 MW, going forward. According to power ministry estimates, as on March 31, 2016, the capacity of coal-based thermal plants that are more than 25 years old was about 37,453 MW, including 35,509 MW in the government sector and 1,947 MW in private space.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has told the Centre that the preceding Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party government understated electricity demand in the run-up to the recent assembly election to gloss over the power crisis in the state. Data available with CEA (Central Electricity Authority) shows that the energy deficit in UP in January 2016 stood high at 11.5% — the energy requirement was showed at 8,340 million units against supply of 7,384 million units. In January this year, the state showed 0.8% deficit, with demand of 8,747 million units and availability of 8,673 million units. In the past few months, UP had started calculating electricity demand to meet power supply for 18 hours against the norm of 24 hours. Earlier, the BJP-led central government had questioned accuracy of data provided on power supply situation by Uttar Pradesh to CEA. The state has allegedly signed bilateral power purchase deals at high cost while cheaper power was available.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. Electricity consumers in Telangana across all segments — domestic, commercial and industrial — face no tariff hike for the financial year 2017-18. Telangana’s power distribution companies, in their submission on tariff proposals for the year 2017-18, have suggested that the tariffs according to the order for 2016-17 be retained for this fiscal.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
April 14, 2017. The residuary State of Andhra Pradesh (AP) started its journey with a power deficit of 22.5 million units per day when it came in being after bifurcation in June 2014. Within a year, it transformed itself to a power surplus State. In the past 33 months, it has the distinction of achieving 100 percent electrification to become third State in the country to achieve this. On April 11, 2017, the State Grid managed to handle the demand of 7233 MW when the demand and supply was 169 million units per day. Gradually with the rabi season getting over, the requirement from the agriculture sector is coming down. This will free up some more power for consumption by other sectors. Given the current demand supply situation and requirements, the State utilities are confident of meeting the increased demand during the summer months and claim they can meet the energy need of up to 200 million units per day. The State-owned energy generator AP Genco too managed to add capacity commissioning expansion and new project at Krishnapatnam.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
April 13, 2017. India’s power deficit dropped to a historical low of less than 1% last fiscal, thanks to record electricity generation capacity added over the last few years, adequate coal stocks and transmission facilities, coupled with meagre growth in electricity demand. The deficit was lowest since the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) started maintaining the reports in 1992. The demand-supply gap for power in the period between April 2016 and March 2017 was at 0.7%, down from 2.1% in FY16, CEA data showed. In March, the deficit was at 0.3%, the lowest for any month, down from 0.5% in February. The All India electricity requirement grew 2.5% year on year to 11.42 lakh million units in the last financial year, CEA data showed. In FY16 the growth was 4.2% at 11.14 million units. All India peak energy shortage — the maximum demand requirement faced by the country — in last financial year was at 1.6%, down from 3.1% in the previous year. The fall in power deficit levels may simply be due to lacklustre demand and poor attendant offtake.
Source: The Economic Times
April 12, 2017. A white paper is needed on the Uttar Pradesh power sector to expose the “deep rot” of past 15 years, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, claiming he has seen some “mind-boggling and terrible” data on the situation. The state will finally ink this week the 24×7 ‘Power for All’ (PFA) document, which aims to provide round-the-clock affordable electricity. He expressed the hope that with the change of guard in Uttar Pradesh, the power ministry would be able to make it a model state even in the area of electricity and power supply. Talking about the Rural Feeder Monitoring Scheme, the minister informed that at present around 30,000 rural feeder meters are connected to national power portal and the remaining 75,000 will be connected by December 2017.The Rural Feeder Monitoring Scheme is to monitor the quality and quantity parameters of power supply in rural areas of the country. The entire data shall also be hosted on National Power Portal on real time basis and may be accessed by various stake holders through web services. The Urja Mitra launched by the minister, is an application which provides a central platform (web-portal www.urjamitra.com as well as mobile app) for state power distribution utilities to disseminate power outage information to rural as well as urban consumers through SMS/email/push notifications. Consumers can also view real time power outages in any part of the country, lodge complaints.
Source: The Economic Times
April 12, 2017. The Cabinet approved a proposal for signing an agreement to establish electricity grid interconnection among BIMSTEC countries. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the power ministry for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection. The MoU will be signed by member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) at the upcoming 3rd BIMSTEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Nepal shortly. The agreement will provide a broad framework for the parties to cooperate towards the implementation of grid interconnections for the trade in electricity with a view to promoting rational and optimal power transmission in the BIMSTEC region. This MoU will facilitate the optimisation of using the energy resources in the region for mutual benefits on non-discriminatory basis subject to laws, rules and regulations of the respective parties. The BIMSTEC is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia viz. Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
Source: The Economic Times
April 12, 2017. Following the Supreme Court’s rejecting the Tata Power plea for compensatory tariff, US (United States) rating agency Moody’s said that though the company’s ‘Ba3 negative’ rating remains unaffected, the court verdict is a credit-negative for the power major. Ba3 is a Moody’s medium grade rating indicating moderate credit risk. The Supreme Court rejected the plea for compensatory tariff by Tata Power and Adani Power for the additional costs they were incurring on raised prices of the coal imported from Indonesia for their power plants in Gujarat. The apex court overturned the order issued by the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity (ATE) in April 2016 which allowed relief to Tata Power subsidiary Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL). CGPL’s 4,000 MW Mundra ultra mega power plant (UMPP) relies entirely on imported coal, which is primarily sourced from Indonesia. The order by the ATE would have benefited CGPL by allowing compensation for higher coal prices, the extent of which was to be determined by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). Tata Power is supplying power under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana and Adani Power under PPA is supplying power to Gujarat and Haryana from its plant in Mundra. In the judgement, the Supreme Court has clarified that changes in the cost of fuel or the agreement becoming onerous to perform are not treated as force majeure events under the PPA.
Source: Business Standard
April 18, 2017. The Haryana government exempted solar devices and equipment or parts used in installation of solar power projects, from the levy of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the state. At present VAT of five percent plus surcharge is levied on solar devices and equipment in the state. Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have already exempted solar energy devices from VAT. Exemption of VAT will enable the trade and industry in Haryana to compete with other states where solar energy devices are exempted from VAT. This exemption will cost the state exchequer about Rs 2.30 crore.
Source: The Statesman
April 17, 2017. Chinese solar major, JA Solar Holdings has exported solar modules with a total capacity of 1,000 MW into India. Over the past two years JA Solar has expanded quickly in the Indian market by establishing strategic partnerships with local developers, engineering procurement and contract companies, and independent power producers.
Source: The Economic Times
April 17, 2017. The Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park achieved another landmark after it reached commercial closure for a project that has come to be the model for solar projects in the country. Two sets of power purchase agreements (PPAs) were signed by the project developers– Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar Holdings and Solengeri Power -— with the Madhya Pradesh government-owned distribution companies and the Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC). Besides the PPAs, various agreements for land transfer and coordination were signed between the developers, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company, DMRC, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd, New and Renewable Energy Department, Power Grid Corp and the department of finance in the Madhya Pradesh government.
Source: Business Standard
April 17, 2017. Rays Power Infra Pvt Ltd, Indian solar energy company, announced the commissioning of its 78 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Tehsil-Bhagwanpur in Uttarakhand. The 78 MW project comes under Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency’s competitive bidding for 2015-16. It will supply energy to the power hungry industrial areas of Bhagwanpur and Roorkee in the state. Rays Power Infra claims to have a 40 percent market share out of total number of solar projects in Uttarakhand and aims to increase to above 80 percent by the end of current financial year.
Source: The Economic Times
April 17, 2017. Change in norms by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) has deprived over 300 solar power consumers of central government subsidy. Solar consumers have demanded that MEDA and state energy ministry should take a sympathetic view of their cases and sanction the subsidy. A solar power consumer said that Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had approved 30% subsidy for consumers going in for solar panels under domestic, educational institutes and public service categories. The application was to be submitted to MEDA, which would approve it and then disburse the amount. MEDA took its own time in finalizing the process of subsidy disbursement.
Source: The Times of India
April 17, 2017. NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats, which launched its first solar ferry in Kerala, is eyeing Rs 28 crore revenue this fiscal — a 14 times rise over 2016-17, the company said. NavAlt, founded in 2013 is a joint venture between parent company Navgathi Marine Design and Construction with two French companies — Alt.En Systems and EVE Systems. Navgathi, which is into the construction of commercial boats and ferries, decided to develop solar-powered ferries and joined hands with the two French firms for the exercise, NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats Chief Executive, Sandith Thandasherry, said. Thandasherry said the first solar ferry was launched in Kerala and now it is looking at opportunities in other states like West Bengal, Gujarat and Goa, among others. He said the company is also looking to introduce this solar ferry model in Asian countries where sunshine is abundant.
Source: The Economic Times
April 16, 2017. It is sure to come as a let-down for greens and others pitching for solar panels on house rooftop. In two months of inviting applications, Madhya Pradesh (MP) Urja Vikas Nigam could not get a single application from Bhopal showing interest in installation of panels under state government’s net metering policy. The policy allows consumers to produce and sell power to distribution companies, a scheme aimed at encouraging use of green power and reducing power bills of consumers. Under the net metering, non-conventional energy generated by individuals is first used in building as per requirement and surplus power is fed to the grid. Consumer gets paid back in terms of energy credits and adjustments in his bill against power transferred to the grid. The draft policy was first approved by Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission in May last year. As per policy, consumers who install rooftop solar power panel could transfer additional or surplus power to the grid which will be adjusted in bill of consumer. Suppose a consumer has a monthly consumption of 750 units of power and is producing 450 units in a month from solar power panels installed on his rooftops. Of this, if he/she is using 300 units in day time, it means the remaining 150 units will go to the system. Taken together, the consumer’s bill will automatically come down by 300 units because in the day time he/she had only used solar power. And of 450 units for which he is billed, a discount of 150 units of power that he has injected into the system will be offered. Thus, the consumer will be billed for 300 units only. In case user produces more power than he or she consumes during day and night, the additional power injected into the grid will reflect as energy credit in the bill and will be passed on to next month. In case power production remains more than consumption and energy credits keep adding up every month, at the end of the financial year, those credits will be converted into money credits that money will be adjusted against consumers’ bill in next month. For this facility, bi-directional meters will be installed in consumer’s house. These meters will not only record power taken for consumption, but will also record power sold or given by consumers into the system.
Source: The Times of India
April 16, 2017. Telangana got its largest solar farm with a capacity of 143 MW at Dichpally in Nizamabad district. It was commissioned by Gurugram-based renewable energy producer ReNew Power Ventures Pvt Ltd. With this, the company has a total installed capacity of 345 MW (all solar) in Telangana across six sites — Medak, Minpur, Mandamarri, Mulkanoor, Mahbubnagar and Dichpally — of the total 2 GW solar and wind power installed generation capacity in the country.
Source: The Times of India
April 15, 2017. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped a fine of Rs 50 lakh on Tehri Hydro Development Corp for dumping construction debris in river Alaknanda in Uttarakhand. The order issued said that the construction company will remove the debris dumped in the river and to restore it to its original state, else face a further fine. The debris was from the construction of Vishnugad-Peepalkoti hydroelectric project (HEP) on the river in the state’s Chamoli district. The NGT has orderd the contractor working on the behalf of hydro-power company to pay a sum of Rs 20 lakh. The green tribunal asked the central government, state government and Tehri Hydro Development Corp to direct installation of efficient transportation monitoring system to ensure that such projects do not cause any pollution in the river.
Source: The Economic Times
April 14, 2017. The glittering white snow on the Himalayas has started turning muddy over the last few days. This dark grey colour will cause the snow to melt faster as it (dirty snow) absorbs more solar radiations than clean white snow, experts said. NASA scientist Dr Tom Painter, who is studying the effects of light-absorbing impurities in snow, says clean snow reflects the heat radiation which slows down melting. Using ground-based measurements, energy-balance towers, aircraft-mounted instruments and satellite data, Painter and his team examined effects of snow impurities for a decade at many locations. The first satellite images of dirt on snow cover on Himalayas were discovered in 1990s. In Himachal, particularly in Kullu and Lahaul regions with high mountains and many glaciers, it has been noticed that dust covers the snow in April and it melts fast from thereon up to June. Flash floods are noticed from June to September, which are triggered by fast-melting of snow. Most of the old glaciers in Himalayas are covered with dust that makes the snow underneath melt, resulting in decreased thickness of snow. The level of rivers and steams starts rising after the dust covers snow.
Source: The Times of India
April 13, 2017. The 1,000 MW first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) was shut down for refuelling and during the reactor cool down process the ambient noise level may marginally rise, KKNPP said. The first unit was shutdown at 5.53 hours for the scheduled refuelling activity to replace used fuel in the reactor with fresh stock. The process which includes maintenance tasks as well may take 65 days, KKNPP said. The present refuelling was the second such exercise. The first was done a year ago. All necessary tests will be conducted and all safety systems will be tested as per regulations. After fulfilling all the requirements, the first unit will be back on stream, he said, adding KKNPP unit-2 was operating at 1,000 MW. KKNPP is located at Kudankulam in Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu.
Source: Business Standard
April 13, 2017. Indian renewable energy companies have raised over $1.62 billion during the first quarter of 2017 in transactions ranging from venture capital (VC) funding, debt financing, project funding and merger and acquisitions (M&A), according to data from Mercom Capital Group LLC., a global clean energy consulting firm. Transactions in Indian solar and renewable energy companies made up for nearly half of the total global funding raised by solar companies around the world in the first three months of 2017. The global solar sector raised total corporate funding of $3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2017—nearly double of $1.6 billion raised in the fourth quarter of 2016, Mercom said in a report. The growth in the first quarter is higher by 15% when compared with the total corporate funding of $2.8 billion raised in the first quarter of 2016, the report said. In its study, Mercom tracked 233 new large-scale project announcements worldwide in the first quarter of 2017, totaling 12.7 GW.
Source: Livemint
April 13, 2017. Vikram Solar has commissioned a 10 MW capacity solar plant for Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh. Vikram Solar developed the project under a power purchase agreement with TTD. The solar plant is installed in TTD’s land located in Chittoor district. The plant covers about 67 acres of area and has a power generation capacity of 10 MW. The plant is expected to save about 15,143.5 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
April 13, 2017. IDFC Alternatives is in talks to buy First Solar’s 200 MW of renewable power assets in India in a deal potentially valued at around $200 million. First Solar, a US-based photovoltaic (PV) panel maker and one of the first overseas companies to enter India’s solar energy market, counts the country as its second-largest market after the US in terms of total shipments. The development comes in the backdrop of falling solar power tariffs because of plunging prices of solar modules. Module prices are expected to drop further in 2017 as global supply exceeds demand. Most solar power developers in India have been sourcing solar modules and equipment from countries such as China where they are cheaper. The Indian solar power generation space is getting intensely competitive. India plans to generate 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. Of this, 100 GW is to come from solar power projects.
Source: Livemint
April 12, 2017. India may add around 6,000 MW of wind power capacity in the ongoing fiscal, Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturing Association (IWTMA) said. The leading states in wind power capacity addition during 2016-17 were Andhra Pradesh (2,190 MW), Gujarat (1,275 MW) and Karnataka (882 MW). Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Kerala reported 357 MW, 288 MW, 262 MW, 118 MW, 23 MW and 8 MW wind power capacity addition respectively during 2016-17. These figures are tentative, the government had said.
Source: The Economic Times
April 12, 2017. Hydro power generation in the country posted a marginal growth of under a percent in FY 17 after two-years of consecutive dip in FY 16 and FY 15 over the respective corresponding period. This year the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has fixed a target of 141 billion units of hydro power generation, an increase of 15.6 percent over the last financial year. The water based renewable energy generation stood at 122.3 billion units in FY 17 compared to 121.3 billion units in FY16 primarily due to better precipitation in the country. The generation has been affected by scanty and scattered rains in the last few years in the country. The hydro generation missed the target of 134 billion units set by the CEA for FY17. The two-largest hydro power companies SJVN Ltd and NHPC Ltd surpassed the target set by the CEA by 4.8% and 2 % in the last financial year. But the less rains during monsoon in FY 17 to 3 percent and 2 percent lower generation in SJVNL and NHPC Ltd compared to FY16.
Source: The Economic Times
April 12, 2017. SB Energy has commissioned a 350 MW solar plant in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The 350 MW solar plant is considered to be the seventh largest solar plant in the world and is located at Ghani Sakunala Solar Park, Kurnool District, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The solar plant is the first to become operational under the Solar Parks scheme of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Operations at the plant began by the end of this March, which is about 51 days ahead of the scheduled date of completion as per the power purchase agreement. The solar plant can generate enough electricity to meet the power requirements of about 700,000 Indian households.
Source: Energy Business Review
April 18, 2017. Chevron Corp, the second-largest United States-based oil company, sold its Canadian gasoline stations and refinery in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel Corp, a marketer of petroleum products, for C$1.46 billion ($1.09 billion). Parkland Fuel said it would acquire Chevron’s refining and marketing operations in Canada and pay an additional $186 million toward working capital for the acquired business. The assets include 129 gasoline stations, three terminals and the Burnaby oil refinery, located east of Vancouver. The refinery can process 52,000 barrels of oil a day. It does not process bitumen, the heavy, tar-like substance extracted from Canada’s oil sands. Chevron is exploring the sale of its 20 percent stake in Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands project, which could fetch about $2.5 billion.
Source: Reuters
April 18, 2017. Royal Dutch Shell PLC inaugurated a treatment plant for shale oil and gas in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale play, one of the world’s largest. The plant, announced in 2014, has a capacity to process up to 10,000 barrels per day from the Sierras Blancas, Cruz de Lorena and Coiron Amargo Sur Oeste blocks operated by Shell, the company said. Investment has been picking up in Vaca Muerta in recent months after President Mauricio Macri’s government announced a deal with labor unions to lower costs and defined price supports. Shell said in September it planned to invest $300 million per year through 2020 in Argentina in exploration, refining, distribution and marketing.
Source: Reuters
April 15, 2017. Most oil producers support an extension of output cuts by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC countries, and Iran would also back such a move, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said. The market has been oversupplied since mid-2014, prompting members of the OPEC and some non-OPEC producers to agree to cut output in the first six months of 2017. OPEC meets on May 25 to consider extending the cuts beyond June.
Source: Reuters
April 13, 2017. Nigeria’s military said that it had destroyed 13 illegal refineries in the restive Niger Delta oil hub, in an operation in which two soldiers died in clashes with “sea robbers”. Military authorities say there are hundreds of illegal refineries in the region, which process stolen crude from oil company pipelines. The Nigerian government said that it plans to legalise illicit refineries as part of an attempt to bring peace to the production heartland of crude oil, but it is unclear when it will put the plan into action. The military shut down around 50 bush refineries in the first few weeks of 2017. Tensions remain in the Niger Delta where an uneasy peace is being kept as the government holds talks with local communities, including militants whose attacks cut Nigeria’s oil production by as much as a third last year. Africa’s largest economy fell into recession in 2016 for the first time in 25 years, largely due to low oil prices and the impact of militant attacks.
Source: Reuters
April 13, 2017. Global demand for oil is finally close to outstripping supply after nearly three years of surplus production, despite growth in the overhang of unused crude, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. The agency said oil stocks across the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fell by 17.2 million barrels in March. Over the first three months of the year, stocks were up by 38.5 million barrels, or 425,000 barrels per day (bpd), after a large increase in January. Overall, OECD stocks fell by 8.1 million barrels in February to 3.055 billion barrels as demand outpaced supply to the tune of around 200,000 bpd between January and March, the IEA said. The IEA said Iranian offshore stocks fell to 4 million barrels in March from 28 million barrels when sanctions were lifted in early 2016. Globally, oil held offshore fell to 58.4 million barrels in March from 82.6 million barrels at the end of 2016, the IEA said. The IEA trimmed its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2017 by 40,000 bpd to 1.32 million bpd. It warned this could prove optimistic given slowing consumption in the United States and developed Asian economies such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. On the supply front, the agency said global production fell by 755,000 bpd in March to 95.98 million bpd as OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its partners complied with their joint deal to cut output by 1.8 million bpd in the first half of this year. The OPEC stuck to its pledge in March, bringing compliance to a “robust” 99 percent, the IEA said. For 2017, the IEA said it expects non-OPEC supply to rise by 485,000 bpd, above its previous estimate of 400,000 bpd, led by increases in U.S. production growth.
Source: Reuters
April 13, 2017. The controversial Dakota Access Pipeline will begin interstate crude oil delivery on May 14, according to the United States (US) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Energy Transfer Partners LP filed what is known as a tariff, which lays out details about the line and the oil to be delivered. The 1,172 mile (1,885 km) Dakota Access line runs from western North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. The $3.8 billion project became a focus of international attention, drawing protesters from around the world, after a Native American tribe sued to block completion of the final link of the pipeline through a remote part of North Dakota.
Source: Reuters
April 12, 2017. The world’s top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has stepped up sales of light oil to Asia by offering buyers more cargoes on top of the full contract volumes it will provide for May. The offers will add to a glut of light oil supplies in Asia, increasing competition with fellow Gulf producer Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Russia. Saudi Aramco plans to supply full volumes of crude to least six buyers in Asia in May, despite cutting production to comply with a deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers. OPEC and some non-OPEC producers pledged to cut output in the first half of 2017 to support oil prices. To comply with the deal, Saudi Arabia has cut production of medium-heavy oil to keep its overall output lower. But it has kept supplies to Asia steady so far this year as it defends its market share in the world’s fastest oil-demand growth region against other producers.
Source: Reuters
April 12, 2017. US (United States) energy firms are scrambling to finish a slew of pipelines that will unleash rich reserves of shale gas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio as the nation prepares to become one of the world’s top natural gas exporters. The pipelines are expected to boost output from shale fields in the three states by giving producers access to new domestic and international markets. Those states could supply about a third of all US natural gas once the pipeline expansion is complete, up from about 25 percent now, according to projections from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The lines should allow output to increase from both fields by about 50 percent in the next two years, according to the EIA. Gas from the Marcellus and Utica is among the cheapest in the country. The completion of the lines will be a welcome boon for the firms and their investors after a tough couple of years.
Source: Reuters
April 18, 2017. The Netherlands will reduce production of its Groningen gas field by 10 percent from October to limit the risk of earthquakes, Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp said. Output has been cut several times from 53.9 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2013 to 24 billion bcm as criticism mounted that Dutch authorities had failed to adequately assess the risk to citizens from earthquakes caused by production at Europe’s biggest field. The Dutch state agency overseeing the industry said that production might need to be cut, but that the threshold for action had not yet been crossed. The Minister said that he did not want to wait until taking further action and would cut production by 10 percent from October 1.
Source: Reuters
April 18, 2017. US (United States) natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico fell to their lowest level since June 2015 due to maintenance on the NET Mexico pipe in Texas, while the first tankers from the US started delivering liquefied natural gas to Mexico’s Gulf Coast. A unit of Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), started importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy Inc’s Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana to Mexico’s Altamira import terminal on the Gulf of Mexico. Exports fell to around 2.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) over the past three days, the lowest level since June 2015. That compares with an average of 3.8 bcfd during the 30 days prior to the reductions, according to data.
Source: Reuters
April 17, 2017. Iraq plans to build three new plants to process natural gas currently being flared at southern oil fields, and use the fuel for power generation and to increase the nation’s income from energy exports, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said. Iraq is forced to flare some of the gas produced alongside crude oil as it lacks the facilities needed to capture and process it into usable fuel. The country has just one gas processing company, the Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture between Iraq state-run South Gas Co., Shell and Mitsubishi. Iraq’s natural gas output will triple to 1,700 million cubic feet per day by 2018, as the nation implements projects to reduce flaring, Luaibi said.
Source: Reuters
April 16, 2017. Iran, holder of the world’s biggest natural gas reserves, boosted output by inaugurating six projects at the giant South Pars offshore field. The country raised total production capacity at South Pars to 570 million cubic meters a day of gas, putting it almost on par with neighbouring Qatar, which produces from an adjacent portion of the same deposit, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Iran invested $20 billion to complete the six projects, or phases, President Hassan Rouhani said. Iran is on track to out-produce Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, at the Persian Gulf deposit. Even so, Iranians won’t have much gas to export because they are likely to use most of the new production themselves. Half of Iran’s gas goes to warming homes, with the rest used mostly to generate power and for industrial use. New production can barely keep up with domestic demand, and consumption almost doubled to 191.2 billion cubic meters in 2015 from 102.7 billion in 2005, according to BP Plc statistics. Each of the new projects produces 28 million cubic meters a day, Zanganeh said. They include phases 17 through 21, with phase 19 having two parts. Qatar announced that it was ending a 12-year ban on new projects at its section of the shared field. Iran has no plans to interfere with Qatar over its activities at North Field, Zanganeh said. Iran targets exporting 50 million cubic meters a day of gas to neighbouring Iraq once that country can arrange for a letter of credit to finance the purchase, Zanganeh said.
Source: Bloomberg
April 18, 2017. The Perth-based company said it’s walking away from Peabody Energy Corp’s Metropolitan Colliery coal mine and its minority stake in the Port Kembla coal export terminal, both in Australia. It had agreed to pay at least $200 million for the assets last year, but Australian regulators raised concerns the sale would weaken competition among coal suppliers to domestic steelmakers.
Source: Bloomberg
April 18, 2017. Australian coal railway line operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd unveiled a bigger-than-expected estimate for lost coal haulage from Cyclone Debbie, which analysts said will help underpin coal prices in coming weeks. Aurizon’s first forecast for lost shipments for the year to June 30 since the cyclone flooded out much of its rail network matched or exceeded the high-end of analysts’ estimates. Aurizon said as much as 21 million tonnes less coal would be carried to ports as a result of the March 28 cyclone.
Source: Reuters
April 17, 2017. SP Energy Networks, the power distribution arm of ScottishPower, has started testing new lightbulbs that will remain switched on even during a power-cut. A pilot project in this regard is being trialled by the utility’s customers in the United Kingdom (UK). The iViTiON bulb which uses LED technology is said to give out the same brightness intensity as that given by a conventional 60-watt bulb. Presently, the bulb hasn’t yet arrived in the markets and is being trialled and once successful, it will be further evaluated in towns and villages across the network region.
Source: Energy Business Review
April 14, 2017. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) adopted a draft of the Electricity Market Law No. 4493, which will change the existing legislation and set up a more competitive and liberalized market. As of today, only generating units with an installed capacity lower than 20 MW can sell electricity directly to the final consumers. With the new law, consumers will be able to choose their electric supplier and the market will be opened up for newcomers.
Source: Enerdata
April 14, 2017. Duke Energy has announced it will spend $13 bn for the modernization of North Carolina’s power grid in the United States. The power lines will be moved underground to reduce power outages.
Source: Enerdata
April 12, 2017. Australia’s antitrust regulator said it plans to let two dozen companies in the state of South Australia bargain collectively for electricity purchasing contracts, saying the move would guarantee supply and improve competition. The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy said it expects the regulator to give its final decision in June.
Source: Reuters
April 12, 2017. The 300 MW expansion of two units at Botswana’s Morupule B coal fired power plant has been delayed due to a dispute with the contractor over an $800 million guarantee, Energy Security and Green Technology Minister Sadique Kebonang said. The plant would eventually generate a total of 1,200 MW when all the expansions are completed by May 2020. The government hopes to export power to other countries in the region after the expansion is completed.
Source: Reuters
April 18, 2017. Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has expressed strong opposition to a government-led program to increase the use of biofuels following its recent decision to completely withdraw from the sector. In a document the energy ministry posted on its website, the company known as Petrobras said it was worried about the impact of more biofuels on forest conservation and food production. The document, made public, was prepared in response to government calls for public comment on its RenovaBio program to boost biofuels. Petrobras was the only company to submit a comment. Most submissions were from trade associations. Long an ally of Brazil’s ethanol industry, Petrobras said in the document that sugar mills were financially unprepared to raise ethanol output. It also suggested it was not necessary to increase biofuel use to meet Brazil’s commitments under a global climate pact. Petrobras’ new position marks an about-face from the recent past, when it aimed to diversify energy sources and become one of the world’s five largest biofuels producers.
Source: Reuters
April 18, 2017. Renova Energia SA sold a wind farm project to a unit of AES Corp for 600 million reais ($193 million), enabling the Brazilian renewable power company to replenish cash amid a severe cash crunch. AES Tietê Energia SA said it plans to assume 1.150 billion reais worth of debt owed by the Alto Sertao II project.
Source: Reuters
April 17, 2017. Petra Nova, a $1 bn carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery system, has commenced operations at the coal-fired WA Parish power plant in in Fort Bend County, Texas. The system, which is retrofitted onto an existing coal plant, is a 50-50 joint venture by NRG and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. The US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Texas Governor Greg Abbott visited the facility to celebrate the start of operations of the carbon capture and enhanced oil recovery system. It has already supplied over 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the West Ranch oil field. To increase oil production in an established process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery, the captured CO2 is injected into the oil reservoir. Petro Nova captures 90% of CO2 from a 240 MW equivalent slipstream of flue gas off an existing coal-fueled electrical generating unit at the WA Parish power plant. The captured CO2 will be used by Hilcorp to increase production at West Ranch oilfield. Jointly owned by NRG, JX Nippon and Hilcorp, the oil field is operated by Hilcorp.
Source: Energy Business Review
April 17, 2017. Saudi Arabia aims to produce 10 percent of its power from renewable sources in the next six years as it pushes ahead with a multi-billion-dollar plan to diversify its energy mix and free up more crude oil for export. The drive by the world’s top oil exporter will see the kingdom developing 30 solar and wind projects by 2023 to boost its electricity generation and reduce crude oil burning. Saudi Arabia is targeting 9.5 GW of renewable energy by 2023. The renewables initiative involves investment estimated between $30 billion and $50 billion. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih kicked off the massive renewable programme in Riyadh by announcing the beginning of the bidding process for a 300 MW solar power project, which is expected to come online by 2018-2019. Saudi Arabia has short-listed 27 companies for its solar power project and 24 firms for its wind project, the energy ministry said.
Source: Reuters
April 17, 2017. A major California utility and General Electric Co unveiled a first-of-its-kind battery storage system that will enable instant power output from a natural gas peaking plant to accommodate the state’s changing electricity needs while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. The system, which was installed at two separate Southern California Edison “peaker” plants, will give the utility increased flexibility as the large amounts of renewable wind and solar power required by state mandates have made energy generation cleaner but far less predictable. Southern California Edison’s president, Ron Nichols, said to unveil the hybrid electric gas turbine in Norwalk, California that the new system would cut plant startups in half and reduce total run hours by 60 percent. The systems will work particularly well as solar power drops off at the end of the day, just at the time when demand starts to rise as utility customers get home from work and begin running air conditioners or turning on appliances. California is requiring its utilities to source half of their electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030. At the same time, the state has required procurement of energy storage systems to help integrate those renewables.
Source: Reuters
April 14, 2017. The United States (US) said it would start an investigation into imports of biodiesel from Indonesia and Argentina for possible dumping and subsidization. The US International Trade Commission is scheduled to make a preliminary decision by May 8 on whether such imports hurt US producers, the US commerce department said. The step, just days ahead of a visit to Indonesia by US Vice President Mike Pence, comes after some US biodiesel producers last month asked their government to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia that they say have flooded the US market and violated trade agreements. Total US biodiesel imports rose to a record 916 million gallons (3.5 billion liters) in 2016, according to US government data published in March. Argentina represented about two-thirds of US foreign imports, followed by Indonesia and Canada. Indonesia is also facing pressure in Europe, with its government filing a WTO complain against European Union anti-dumping duties on Indonesian biodiesel. Meanwhile, the European parliament voted to call on the EU to phase out use of palm oil in biodiesel by 2020.
Source: Reuters
April 14, 2017. The Turkish Ministry of Energy has unveiled its plans for the next wind power call for tender which will take place in the form of a reverse auction. 1,000 MW of wind power will be available and the deadline for the proposals has been set on 27 July 2017. The bid limit has been set at $7.00/kWh. The tender takes place within the framework of Turkey’s Renewable Energy Resources Area project, an important step for Turkey’s National Energy Strategy. The country is trying to decrease its dependence on energy imports and wants to develop wind and solar parks.
Source: Enerdata
April 13, 2017. The Iranian government announced the Bushehr nuclear power plant will increase its output in the near future. In 2016, the plant generated 6.5 terawatt hours of electricity, 2% of the country’s total power generation. The figure is expected to reach 7 terawatt hours in 2017. The Iranian authorities are planning to add two reactors with a combined capacity of 1,057 MW to the plant, in collaboration with Russian authorities. The project is expected to amount US$10 bn and the new units will be commissioned in 2024. After the project completion, the power plant will have a total installed capacity of 2,100 MW.
Source: Enerdata
(Million Units)
| State/UT |
Electricity Availability (April 2016 – January 2017) |
Electricity Contribution from Central Generating Stations (April – October 2016) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 44,791 | 6968 |
| A & N | 150 | – |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 589 | 493 |
| Assam | 7,477 | 3684 |
| Bihar | 21,406 | 10857 |
| Chandigarh | 1,448 | 702 |
| Chhattisgarh | 19,459 | 4674 |
| DD | 1,996 | 1001 |
| Delhi | 27,122 | 12947 |
| DNH | 5,045 | 2153 |
| DVC | 15,395 | 862 |
| Goa | 3,661 | 2019 |
| Gujarat | 86,310 | 16425 |
| Haryana | 42,071 | 8320 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 7,338 | 5474 |
| J & K | 11,699 | 7016 |
| Jharkhand | 6,613 | 2178 |
| Karnataka | 54,251 | 10989 |
| Kerala | 20,115 | 6089 |
| Lakshadweep | 40 | – |
| Madhya Pradesh | 54,912 | 17086 |
| Maharashtra | 1,15,494 | 19130 |
| Manipur | 611 | 645 |
| Meghalaya | 1,406 | 430 |
| Mizoram | 413 | 346 |
| Nagaland | 627 | 423 |
| Odisha | 22,422 | 5425 |
| Puducherry | 2,138 | 1573 |
| Punjab | 46,744 | 11781 |
| Rajasthan | 56,199 | 10509 |
| Sikkim | 389 | 551 |
| Tamil Nadu | 87,521 | 18904 |
| Telangana | 42,839 | 7798 |
| Tripura | 1,308 | 1010 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 89,092 | 23123 |
| Uttarakhand | 10,958 | 3463 |
| West Bengal | 40,835 | 4741 |
Source: Central Electricity Authority & Lok Sabha Questions
Publisher: Baljit Kapoor
Editorial advisor: Lydia Powell
Editor: Akhilesh Sati
Content development: Vinod Kumar Tomar
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