The recent energy demand rise in India has improved offtake from the power generators but has also resulted in higher dependence on costlier coal imports as the supply of the dry fuel from domestic sources was insufficient, research and ratings agency ICRA said. The all-India electricity demand growth remained steady at 5.6 percent during the first five-month period of FY2019 and the increased demand is being met from higher generation by both thermal and renewable energy plants, it said. The spot power tariffs witnessed a sharp increase in September 2018 with the average rate on Indian Energy Exchange increasing to ₹ 4.7/kWh unit in September 2018 from ₹ 3.3/kWh in August 2018. While spot tariffs are likely to remain firm in the near term, given our expectations of strong demand from distribution companies with elections around the corner, the same is unlikely to be sustained in the medium term and would remain range-bound between ₹ 3.5 to 3.8/kWh, given the significant overcapacity in place and an increasing share of renewable energy generation, it said. In a positive development for power generation projects, the power ministry has recently issued directions to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission under section 107 of the Electricity Act 2003 for allowing pass-through of changes in domestic duties, levies, cess and taxes in a time-bound manner.
Scanty rainfall and dry weather in the southern states led to only 241 MUs of electricity being offered to be supplied on the exchange as compared with a demand for 352 MUs. Demand for electricity in the spot market is expected to climb further with the upcoming assembly elections in five states: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh. A power exchange functions on the lines of commodity exchanges and provides a platform for buyers, sellers and traders of electricity to enter into spot contracts for the same day, coming day, and on a weekly basis. Of around 1,200 billion units of electricity generated in India, the short-term market comprises 130-150 billion units. This trade volume has grown by 10% annually and is currently valued at about ₹ 221.24 billion.The recent energy demand rise in India has improved offtake from the power generators but has also resulted in higher dependence on costlier coal imports as the supply of the dry fuel from domestic sources was insufficient, research and ratings agency ICRA said. The all-India electricity demand growth remained steady at 5.6 percent during the first five-month period of FY2019 and the increased demand is being met from higher generation by both thermal and renewable energy plants, it said. The spot power tariffs witnessed a sharp increase in September 2018 with the average rate on Indian Energy Exchange increasing to ₹ 4.7/kWh unit in September 2018 from ₹ 3.3/kWh in August 2018. While spot tariffs are likely to remain firm in the near term, given our expectations of strong demand from distribution companies with elections around the corner, the same is unlikely to be sustained in the medium term and would remain range-bound between ₹ 3.5 to 3.8/kWh, given the significant overcapacity in place and an increasing share of renewable energy generation, it said. In a positive development for power generation projects, the power ministry has recently issued directions to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission under section 107 of the Electricity Act 2003 for allowing pass-through of changes in domestic duties, levies, cess and taxes in a time-bound manner.
Power tariff touched a decade high of ₹ 18/kWh in the spot market due to low hydro and wind energy production and coal shortage at thermal plants. The power price have seen an upward trend in the day ahead market at IEX since September 23 when it touched to a high of ₹ 14.09/kWh. The prices soared further to hit a nine-year high of ₹ 16.49/kWh in the day ahead market on September 28. The spot power rate touched another high of ₹ 17.61/kWh in trading at IEX. According to the IEX data, the previous high was recorded at ₹ 17/kWh in August 2009. Around this time of the year wind energy suddenly goes down and hydro also starts declining that is where some constraints always come in.
With power demand crossing 14,500 MW, state power utility TANGEDCO has been heavily purchasing electricity from various sources including power exchanges. The demand is at least 1,000 MW more than what it used to be during the same period last year. TANGEDCO has been purchasing about 4,500 MW power from the electricity market at an average price of ₹ 4/kWh.
For the first time ever, the PSPCL has been able to sell power worth over ₹ 4 billion through open exchange, without imposing any regulatory measures in the state even during the paddy season when the demand for power is at its peak. During September Punjab was rated number 1 at all-India level in selling power at the IEX. A total of 744 MUs worth ₹ 4.26 billion at an average rate of ₹ 5.73/kWh were sold. Total power traded on IEX during September was 5,725.4 MUs at average round-the-clock rate of ₹ 4.69/kWh and average peak hour rate of ₹ 6.52/kWh, so Punjab was able to get much higher average selling rate as it was able to sell more power during peak hours that helped fetch overall average rate of ₹ 5.73/kWh. During the previous year, from April to September the state had been able to sell 221 MUs power worth ₹ 870 million at a rate of ₹ 3.93/kWh, whereas this year up to September 18, 1,073 MUs power worth ₹ 5.69 billion at a rate of ₹ 5.31/kWh was sold. Last year, the PSPCL had sold power worth ₹ 4.46 billion during the entire fiscal year. This power was sold in the open exchange while the PSPCL supplied 28,773 MUs of energy during this year up to August to various categories of consumers within the state.
While the government boasts of surplus power, a challenge yet to be addressed is building transmission infrastructure under a conducive business environment. Crying foul over the bias being shown towards PGCIL for building transmission network, the private players are knocking at the doors of the Prime Minister’s Office. The private sector players have sought reconstitution of the NCT to accord a level-playing field for them. The NCT has been tasked to constitute the Bid Evaluation Committee for a Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding Projects besides other mandates. In a representation to the Centre, industry bodies allege that presence of the Chief Operating Officer of PGCIL on the NCT gives an unfair advantage to the Central transmission utility in these projects. The apprehension of private companies intensified after the 37th meeting of Empowered Committee on Transmission approved the allocation of 5 transmission schemes to PGCIL under the regulated tariff mechanism.
Rajasthan government announced free electricity for farmers up to ₹ 10,000, hours before the Election Commission announced schedule for upcoming Assembly elections in the state. According to the announcement, more than 1.2 million farmers of the state will receive free electricity up to ₹ 10,000 for a year on their agricultural electricity connection. The scheme will be effective from November 2018 billing month for the general category rural farmers. The Energy Department has already issued orders to the power distribution companies in Jaipur, Ajmer and Jodhpur.
The PSPCL would provide 10-hour electricity supply to agriculture consumers on alternate days in the state from 14 October to 31 March. Supply would be given to two groups on one day and the other two the next day. Agriculture consumers of border areas in Punjab would also be supplied 10 hours of power on alternate days. Agriculture consumers were being provided power supply for paddy season since 15 June.
The power ministry announced ₹ 1 billion award for states that would complete the household electrification early under the Saubhagaya scheme. Apart from discoms, the employees would also collectively get ₹ 5 million award for completing the task of electrifying household under the ₹ 163.2 Saubhagaya scheme. There are three categories of states to compete under the scheme which include special category states (northeast and other hilly states). Besides, the states would be categorised in two other broad categories - one pool of states would have those where number of households to be electrified are less than 500,000. Another pool of states would cover states that have more than 500,000 households to be electrified. 5 million award for employees of a discom, ₹ 2 million can be distributed among employees of its division for commendable work. Some of the states have already achieved almost 99 percent of household electrification work and those eight states would be kept out of this Award scheme. These states are Gujarat, Punjab, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh.
Power trading solutions provider PTC India will sign medium-term PPAs for 1,900 MW coal-based power capacities with seven companies and five states by month-end under a pilot scheme, the power ministry said. After this tender, the company plans another round of 3,000 MW of medium term PPAs to give some relief to stressed power projects as PPAs are required for getting fuel supplies, the ministry said. Five states which would buy power from these plants are Telangana (550 MW), Tamil Nadu (550 MW), Haryana (400 MW), Bihar (200 MW) and West Bengal (200 MW). IL&FS Energy will supply 550 MW to Tamil Nadu while RKM Powergen will supply 550 MW to Telangana. Jhabua Power Ltd and JP Nilgiri Project would supply 100 MW each to West Bengal. MB Power (Madhya Pradesh) Ltd will supply will supply 175 MW to Haryana while the SKS Power will supply 300 MW to Haryana as well as Bihar. Jindal India Thermal Power will supply 175 MW to Bihar. The government had launched a pilot scheme to procure 2,500 MW electricity for three years under medium-term arrangement from commissioned power plants without power purchase agreements earlier this year in April.
NTPC Ltd is gearing up to bid for 8,000-10,000 MW of stressed private power projects when they are moved to the bankruptcy court. The company has identified eight-nine power plants and has negotiated with banks for funding. The company will look at commissioned projects with easy spare parts availability and coal transportation facilities. NTPC had in November last year invited bids from developers and lenders of stressed power plants, and had received interest from four private power projects.
The Andhra Pradesh government is conserving 2,000 million units (mu) of power and saving about ₹ 10 billion annually by promoting energy efficiency initiatives for the last three years. Under the energy efficiency programme, the state government has so far completed installation of 1.8 million street lights in both rural and urban areas. The state government has distributed over 2 billion LED bulbs to one billion families so far at a cheaper rate of ₹ 10 per piece. While the state's total power requirement is 60,000 MU annually, the Andhra Pradesh government aims to conserve 15,000 MU of power in the next five years, The state, which has an installed power capacity of 18,000 MW, generates energy from thermal, hydro and renewables.
Sterlite Power announced commissioning of a power transmission project in Jammu and Kashmir which will ensure reliable power supply especially during winters in the Kashmir Valley. The 414 kilometre long project, the Northern Region Strengthening Scheme 29 (NRSS 29) which was one of the most challenging transmission projects globally, will ensure reliable power access for the Kashmir Valley by augmenting the state's transmission capacity by at least 33 percent, the company said. The project was commissioned two months ahead of the schedule to allow benefits to be reaped during coming winter, it said. Sterlite Power Group said that the company surmounted numerous challenges to finish the project ahead of schedule and it was among handful of global transmission developers, with projects worth ₹268 billion across India and Brazil, solving toughest challenges of energy delivery.
The NTPC Ltd and Nalco managements have decided to cancel the proposed 2,400 MW Gajamara power project located in Dhenkanal district of Odisha. The project was supposed to provide power to Nalco’s smelter plant, which is located 60 kilometre way at Angul district. In December 2016, both the PSUs had entered into a MoU, for developing power projects and other business collaborations in India. Under the MoU, the companies were to float a joint venture namely NNPC to set up power plants. But that agreement stands cancelled. NNPC’s first such power plant was planned at Gajamara. The super critical power plant project was to cost ₹ 140 billion, with three units of 800 MW. The plant was to provide uninterrupted power to Nalco’s Angul smelter. But the power project has run into coal linkage issues and land acquisition troubles.
In a pilot project, 127,000 consumers in T Nagar will soon be connected to smart meters for measuring electricity consumption, with TANGEDCO’s proposal getting a nod from the CSCL. Corporation said ₹ 860 million has been sanctioned for the project, to be carried out by TANGEDCO. The project will help to remotely monitor consumption and reduce pilferage. TANGEDCO’s proposal is for providing the design, supply, installation, and maintenance of advanced metering infrastructure for 127 million households in the thickly populated T Nagar region. The project is estimated to cost around ₹ 1.13 billion, of which ₹ 860 million will be spent by CSCL, and the remaining money will be mobilised by TANGEDCO. TANGEDCO said that the project had been implemented in other states like Uttar Pradesh because the billing process was not proper leading to huge losses. TANGEDCO is often under staff crunch and the manual way of reading meters can be changed to remote monitoring using these meters, CSCL said.
Seven companies including RKM PowerGen, Jaiprakash Associates and MB Power have secured contracts to supply 1,900 MW of power to five states. Power Finance Corp Consulting Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Finance Corp, awarded the contracts. The companies, which also include Jindal India Thermal Power, IL&FS, Avantha Group’s Jhabua Power and SKS Power, will supply power to Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana. Power purchase agreements with power distribution utilities of these states will be signed after receiving requisite clearances.
Bokaro has become the second "fully-electrified" district of Jharkhand after Ramgarh. The state would become power-surplus by 2021. Five more districts of Jharkhand will be fully electrified on 15 November. The state government is spending ₹ 350 billion to boost the power infrastructure. Work on producing 4,000 MW electricity at Patratu is underway. 2.3 million out of the 3 million households in the state have been provided electricity, a task which was achieved in "three-and-a-half years".
The UPPCL is planning to launch a new scheme for providing electricity connections easily and swiftly. The proposed scheme, 'Jhatpat Connection Yojana' (instant connection scheme), envisages quick processing of applications for electricity connections, mainly through online process. Under the scheme, a consumer's application would be immediately forwarded to the engineers concerned under a swift processing system for quick approval. A consumer may get his application filed online or at e-suvidha/Jan Suvidha centres. Below poverty line consumer would be required to pay just ₹ 10 for an electricity connection, while those in above poverty line category would be required to pay ₹ 100 for getting an electricity connection of load between 1 kW to 25 kW. The proposal comes amid repeated complaints of consumers facing harassment while seeking an electricity connection. An engineer would be required to visit the spot and file an assessment for an electricity connection within a set time frame under the scheme.
The UP government is all set to fire up at least two power units - each of 660 MW capacity - to add an installed capacity of 1,320 MW to the state electricity grid ahead of crucial Lok Sabha elections due next year. According to schedule chalked out by state energy department, the UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam and NTPC will light up the 660 MW unit of Meja Thermal Power Plant later this month, during upcoming festive season and just before Diwali. The state government plans to light up a 660 MW unit in Tanda in March next year, just prior to the general elections. According to UPPCL estimates, the demand for power in forthcoming festive season is expected to go up to at least 20,000 MW. As on date, state's own generation is to the tune of just above 3,700 MW. The state government relies heavily on Independent Power Producers which generate over 5,000 MW and Central quota which provides more than 6,000 MW. The state government is committed to provided round-the-clock power supply in the state under Centre’s flagship ‘Power For All Scheme’. But while UP government is pushing the installation of new power plants, the poor power infrastructure is turning out to be a limiting factor in improving the power supply, especially in rural areas. UPPCL said that providing power to the newly added villages was not satisfactory because of poor quality distribution lines and transformers. In fact, UPPCL has been receiving reports of some rural areas not getting power supply as per the roster.
The government has set 1 November as the deadline for UPPCL to set up power police stations across 75 districts in the state. These will be dedicated police stations to crackdown on power theft. The directives were issued to the discoms earlier but a deadline was not set to establish police stations to address power-related issues. Though efforts are on to identify land for constructing these police stations, given the deadline, it is also being considered that a suitable portion of existing power corporation buildings be vacated from where a police station can function. Earlier, it was decided that police personnel who were to be deputed in these upcoming police stations would not be engaged in maintaining law and order and only be responsible to address electricity-related matters. However, the corporation has decided that policemen from existing police stations would be assigned duties at power police stations as well. Last year, UPPCL had announced that the corporation would initially be introducing power police stations in major UP districts including Bareilly, Meerut, Moradabad, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Muzzafarnagar, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Aligarh, Lucknow and Jhansi. The pilot project was aimed at dealing with power-related cases such as power theft, taking legal actions against defaulters and addressing power-related public grievances.
The Nagaland government is "making all efforts" to engage firms for studying feasibility of power projects in the state. According to the 2017-18 administrative report of the power department, the state's energy consumption during peak hours is tipped at 165 MW and off-peak hours at 100 MW.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written a letter to all Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states regarding the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003. He said that if these amendments are passed in the winter session of Parliament, then, all the authorities of the power sector will be vested in the Centre and the state governments will not be able to make any decisions. If the Centre passes the amendments, power tariff in Delhi will become ₹ 7.50/kWh for all consumers irrespective of the categories they fall in. Presently, residents of Delhi who use up to 200 units are charged ₹ 1/kWh while those using up to 400 units are charged ₹ 2.50/kWh. The DERC recently allowed the power distribution utility, BSES Yamuna, to recover from its consumers ₹ 2.30 billion in power purchase costs incurred for buying power from Anta, Auraiya and Dadri stations from 2012-13 to 2015-16. DERC had disallowed the same in the 2015-16 tariff order as its permission was not taken for renewing the PPA with these three stations. In its submission, the distribution company said Anta, Auraiya and Dadri gas-based stations were part of the consolidated power purchase agreement signed with NTPC on 5 June 2008. As per a supplementary PPA, the terms of procurement from these stations were increased beyond their respective expiry dates to the end of their useful life.
The KERC has directed Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd to collect additional FAC from consumers at the rate of 14 /kWh, irrespective of the sector and units consumed. It was only recently that KERC had approved a power tariff hike by 25-38 /kWh. With FAC, a consumer using 200 units of electricity every month will have to pay an additional ₹ 28 from October to 31 December. FAC is charged based on the cost of coal in the market and issues related to transportation of the same from mines to power production plants. The additional tariff has been effected to reduce financial burden on power production plants.
Britain has warned operators of electrical power links with Europe that they will need to set up alternative trading arrangements if the country leaves the EU next year with no exit deal. The UK imports around 6 percent of its electricity via power links with France, the Netherlands and Ireland but plans to build several more. Companies operating electricity interconnectors, which include Britain’s National Grid and French grid operator RTE, should “carry out contingency planning for a ‘no deal’ scenario”, a government paper said. In the event of no deal on Britain’s EU exit, European energy law will no longer apply to the UK electricity market. Britain has issued a series of papers outlining the implications of a no-deal Brexit for a range of sectors. The British government wants to increase power supply options, such as new interconnectors, as old domestic coal and nuclear plants close from the mid-2020s. However, Norway’s state-owned grid operator Statnett warned earlier this year that Brexit could hamper new projects, including two planned links with Norway.
Iran’s nominal capacity to produce electricity has reached nearly 80,000 MW following the connection of a number of power plants to the country’s national grid over the past weeks. Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (21 March), Iran’s overall nominal capacity to generate electricity has increased by 1,005 MW. With the coming into service of several new power plants, the capacity reached 79,665 MW in the month of Mehr (23 September – 22 October). The Islamic Republic is the top producer of electricity in the Middle East. Iran’s capabilities in the area of power generation have developed over the past four decades so much that the country has become the top producer of electricity in the region.
A Bosnian regional government will help to keep aluminium smelter Aluminij Mostar running, after heavy debt brought it to the brink of closure. Management at Bosnia’s sole aluminium smelter had called for the Bosniak-Croat Federation to intervene after the business was hit by rising alumina and electricity prices. The company sounded the alarm when the country’s power regulator threatened to cut it off the grid because of unpaid bills. The Federation ministries of industry and finance will consider providing guarantees for bank loans that Aluminij could take to purchase the electricity and raw materials necessary for production. The government will also work on renegotiating the electricity debts once Aluminij has started a financial review and operations audit.
Siemens may have to share a multi-billion dollar deal with US rival GE to improve Iraq’s energy supply system following an intervention by President Donald Trump’s administration. The US government intervened in favour of GE and put pressure on the Baghdad government. Although no decision has been made, Siemens had been the favourite to win the contract to supply 11 GW of power generation equipment to Iraq in a deal reported to be worth around $15 billion. GE, which has been battling a severe downturn in its power division, is now expected to take a substantial part of the sale, which could be included in its figures when it reports its third-quarter earnings on 30 October.
The Swiss government proposed complete liberalisation of the electricity market as it moves to decentralise production and promote renewable energy. Opening a period of public comment that runs through January, the cabinet said that while five-sixths of power purchases took place on open markets, more than 99 percent of retail and business consumers remain bound to regulated suppliers. These consumers should in future be allowed to choose where to buy their electricity, the government said. Retail consumers should also be able to draw power exclusively from Swiss producers, of they so choose, of which part would have to be from renewable sources. Switzerland has 20 GW of installed power capacity, which ensures demand is covered even after nuclear power plants go offline, reducing capacity to 16.5 GW, it said.
Electricity grid operator TenneT said it had cancelled a contract for the construction of electrical towers in the Netherlands, delaying the building of a new high tension transport line in the south of the country. TenneT said builders Heijmans and Europoles had failed to deliver electricity masts of the right quality on time, breaching the €250 million ($290 million) contract for the building of two high tension power lines in the north and south of the Netherlands, granted last year. The new power lines are needed to deal with the expected increase in electricity in the coming years, a large part coming from future wind farms on the Dutch part of the North Sea. The cancellation will delay the construction of a 48 kilometres (29.8 miles) long power line in the southern province of Zeeland, originally planned to be ready in 2020, the Dutch government-owned operator of electrical grids in the Netherlands and Germany said.
The Polish government is looking to reduce the impact of surging electricity prices on households, either by helping suppliers or giving tax relief for consumers. Such a move would be the latest costly proposal from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party ahead of municipal elections this month. Electricity prices on the Polish power exchange have leapt 60-70 percent in the year to September, on the back of higher coal prices and the rising cost of carbon emissions permits. Poland has liberalized power prices for companies but still regulates them for households. While the head of the energy market regulator said earlier this year the higher price would have to be reflected in households bills, the energy minister has said prices will remain unchanged. The current electricity tariff expires at the end of this year.
Poland’s largest refiner PKN Orlen and utility Tauron are mulling possible construction of a combined heat and power plant in the Czech Republic, the companies said. The companies will look into terms of providing premises by PKN Orlen to Tauron for a possible construction of a plant in Neratovice, the Czech Republic, they said. The plant would serve PKN Orlen’s unit Spolana, one of the biggest chemical firm in the Czech Republic, as well as produce electricity intended for Czech or Polish markets.
A power sector strike reduced electricity generation at three French nuclear reactors and two coal-fired generators by 2.8 GW, data by French power grid operator RTE showed. The 24-hour strike by the energy branch of the hardline CGT trade union is part of a nationwide protest by several unions against President Emmanuel Macron’s reforms. RTE’s data showed that power generation was reduced at EDF operated St. Laurent 1, Cruas 2 and Chinon 4 nuclear reactors, while output was at zero at the Cordemais 4 and 5 coal power plants.
The TCN has disclosed plan to invest about $170 million on the construction of five new transmission sub-stations in the FCT, Abuja. TCN explained the project would come under the first phase of TCN’s Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Plan and financed by the French development agency – Agence Française de Developpment (AFD). This would also be complemented by the construction of a new electricity transmission route from Lafia in Nasarawa State to Abuja, to give the FCT an added power supply advantage. Besides the construction of the five new sub-stations and transmission routes to stabilise electricity supply to Abuja. TCN would send a complaint letter to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, to ask for a special regulatory cover for its transmission facilities especially heavy-duty transformers across the country which he claimed are frequently impacted by electricity accidents from the various distribution facilities of electricity distribution companies.
The United Arab Emirates and other countries of the GCC have entered into talks with Iraq to link up to its electric grid. Iraq and its southern province of Basra have endured power cuts for years as public services deteriorate. The GCC could export its electricity surplus. The GCC produces 100 GW annually, of which only 30 percent is consumed in winter. The GCC is also considering an electric link with the Horn of Africa and the Indian peninsula.
Nepal and China have agreed to facilitate joint investment in the power sector, according to a joint statement issued by both sides after a meeting. According to the joint statement, both sides introduced their power systems, investment prospects, power markets, future plans among others to make both sides familiar with each other's power system. The joint statement said that during the meeting, possible energy collaboration and the possibility of developing cross-border interconnection were also discussed. Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the two sides agreed to prepare a power system cooperation plan once the Nepali and Chinese authorities give the go-ahead.
| FY: Financial Year, kWh: kilowatt hour, IEX: Indian Energy Exchange, MW: megawatt, GW: gigawatt, TANGEDCO: Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp, PSPCL: Punjab State Power Corp Ltd, MUs: million units, PGCIL: Power Grid Corp of India Ltd, NCT: National Committee on Transmission, discoms: distribution companies, PPAs: power purchase agreements, LED: light emitting diode, PSUs: Public Sector Undertakings, MoU: Memorandum of Understanding, NNPC: NTPC-Nalco Power Company, CSCL: Chennai Smart City Ltd, BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party, UPPCL: Uttar Pradesh Power Corp Ltd, DERC: Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, kW: kilowatt, KERC Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, FAC: fuel cost adjustment charges, EU: European Union, UK: United Kingdom, GE: General Electric, US: United States, TCN: Transmission Company of Nigeria, FCT: Federal Capital Territory, GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council |
6 November. India aims to sign an initial agreement with Iran this month to settle all their oil trade in rupees through UCO Bank. India, which got a waiver from the latest tougher US (United States) sanctions against Tehran, used a similar mechanism in the previous round of sanctions but settled only 45 percent of the payments in rupees. Paying for Iranian oil in rupees will also strengthen the Indian currency against the US dollar. Indian refiners will make payments in rupees for purchases of Iranian oil made since September. Iran grants a 60 day credit period to Indian refiners. The US wants India to restrict its monthly purchases of Iranian oil to 1.25 million tonnes, or 9 million barrels, during the waiver period from November. Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) placed an order with National Iranian Oil Co to buy a total of 9 million barrels of oil in December. IOC would buy 6 million barrels of Iranian oil, while MRPL would import 3 million barrels.
Source: Reuters
4 November. Satellite based broadband services firm Hughes India has bagged an order to the tune of ₹ 200 crore for a five-year period from oil marketing firms Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to upgrade connectivity across their 19,000 retail points. Under separate contracts, IOC, BPCL and HPCL will each use the Jupiter system to upgrade network connectivity across 19,000 locations collectively to increase speed of transactions, eliminate manual interference, and deliver accurate, real-time data across the retail operations.
Source: Business Standard
3 November. Fuel prices continue to witness a downfall, with petrol and diesel being sold at ₹ 78.99 and ₹ 73.53 per litre respectively in the national capital. Petrol and diesel prices witnessed a decrease of 19 and 11 paise respectively in Delhi. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, petrol and diesel are retailed at ₹ 84.49 per litre (decrease by 19 paise) and ₹ 77.06 per litre (decrease by 12 paise) respectively. Fuel prices had earlier witnessed a relentless hike in the country, burning a hole in the common commuter's pocket. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a reduction of ₹ 2.50 per litre on both petrol and diesel prices after curbing excise duty on the commodity by ₹ 1.50 per litre and urged respective state governments to slash the same amount at their end.
Source: The Economic Times
3 November. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) reported a 61 percent jump in its September quarter net profit as higher prices offset a dip in oil production. Its net profit was ₹ 82.65 billion in July-September as compared to ₹ 51.31 billion in the same period last year, the company said. The company got $73.07 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the second quarter, up 48 percent from $49.43 per barrel realisation a year ago. Because of the depreciation in rupee, ONGC's realisation soared 61 percent to ₹ 5,117 per barrel. ONGC bills its customers in US dollars. In WO-16 Cluster, all the 15 wells have been completed, which will be put on production once the Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) for oil production is commissioned, it said.
Source: Business Standard
2 November. LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), both non-subsidised and subsidised, turned the costliest in Kolkata among the four Metros. While in the non-subsidised category, an LPG cylinder weighing 14.2 kilogram (kg) came for ₹ 969.50, the price of that of a subsidised cylinders was ₹ 508.7, the highest in the past three years. This means, an average household will now have to shell out ₹ 208.5 more for every cylinder than what they did at the beginning of the year. Kolkata witnessed a similar price surge in 2014, when a non-subsidised LPG cylinder cost as high as ₹ 1,270 in January. Data available with the Indian Oil Corp (IOC) website indicates that in 2014, the average price of non-subsidised LPG cylinders were ₹ 1,008.37. IOC said that India imported a huge quantity of LPG at international contracted prices. When compared to the price surge in 2014, a family did pay less than what it will have to now, but back then, the fuel prices were far less. In 2014, the average prices of petrol in Kolkata was ₹ 77.6 a litre and that of diesel ₹ 60.43 a litre. Currently, a household with a car will have to pay ₹ 969.50 for a non-subsidized cylinder and ₹ 81.43 for a litre of petrol. The average price of diesel is ₹ 75.63 a litre.
Source: The Economic Times
31 October. The price of non-subsidised LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cooking gas will go up by ₹ 60 per cylinder in New Delhi and that of subsidised one by a marginal ₹ 2.94, effective 1 November. According to the Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the increase in prices of non-subsidised LPG cylinder is mainly due to changes in international prices and foreign exchange fluctuations. Consumers have to buy non-subsidised LPG cylinders after exhausting their yearly quota of 12 subsidised ones. In terms of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders, the rise has been attributed mainly to the GST levied on the revised price of domestic non-subsidised LPG. Effectively, the price on subsidised cylinder will increase to ₹ 505.34 from 1 November from ₹ 502.40 per cylinder in October.
Source: Business Standard
6 November. GAIL (India) Ltd said it will commission the first phase of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) project before January, taking natural gas to cities in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. The 2,655 kilometre (km) long gas pipeline worth ₹ 129.4 billion from Jagdishpur in UP to Haldia in West Bengal, with branch lines to Bokaro in Jharkhand and Dhamra in Odisha, will for the first time take clean environment-friendly gas to the east to fuel its industrial revolution. The project will not just supply CNG (compressed natural gas) to automobiles and cooking gas to household kitchens in cities along the route, but also to industries to meet their feedstock or fuel requirement. Phase-1 of the project involves laying the pipeline to Dobhi, Patna and Barauni in Bihar, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) B C Tripathi said. The pipeline will be extended from Barauni to Guwahati in Assam, orders for which have been placed. The 750 km pipeline up to Guwahati will cost ₹ 37-40 billion. The project will usher in industrial development in the eastern part of India by supplying environmentally clean natural gas to fertiliser and power plants, refineries, steel plants, and other industries. The city gas network activities in Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack has already commenced, he said. He said GAIL in the July-September quarter saw its net profit rise 50 percent to ₹ 19.63 billion on the back of higher natural gas volumes being sold. He said the better performance of natural gas transmission segment was supported by an upward revision of tariff by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) of some of the pipeline network. GAIL earned ₹ 1.94 billion from upward tariff revision for Dahej-Uran-Dabhol-Panvel pipeline, Dukli Maharajganj, Agartala Regional Network and Gujarat Regional Network and a one-time take or pay settlement of ₹ 1.33 billion with one of the natural gas customers.
Source: Business Standard
5 November. Adani Group announced it has listed natural gas distribution arm Adani Gas on the exchanges. The move is expected to help Adani gas, which has plans to invest ₹ 8,000 crore over five years, the largest city gas distribution (CGD) company in the country. As part of the listing process, Adani Gas has allotted equity shares to existing shareholders of Adani Enterprises in 1:1 ratio. Following the listing, Adani Group owners will hold 74.92 percent stake in Adani Gas while retail and institutional investors will hold 3.36 percent and 21.72 percent, respectively. India’s current CGD consumption is about 15-18 percent of domestic gas production and even at peak demand, consumption will be around 25-30 percent. Adani Gas had reported a turnover of ₹ 1,395 crore last financial year over a 17 percent rise in volumes to 479 million metric standard cubic metres (mmscm). The group currently runs CGD networks in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Faridabad and Khurja. It has won rights to set up CGD networks in 13 cities.
Source: The Economic Times
2 November. India’s Petronet LNG and ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) are jointly in talks about buying a stake in Tellurian Inc’s proposed Driftwood project in Louisiana, Petronet’s Managing Director Prabhat Singh said. India is expanding its pipeline network and building new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals to boost use of the cleaner fuel in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in India’s overall energy mix to 15 percent in the next few years from about 6.5 percent at present. Petronet is India’s top gas importer with no experience of the upstream business, which is why it is tying up with OVL, the overseas investment arm of Indian oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Singh said that Petronet was also in talks with several other players about buying a stake in assets ning from drilling to dispensing, saying it was a bold step for the firm.
Source: Reuters
5 November. Coal India Ltd (CIL) has relaxed the norms for "mine-specific coal supply" policy, which would ease availability of the dry fuel to consumers having less than one million tonne of requirement per annum. The move would benefit a large number of the mining major's linked small consumers, the company said. The policy was conceived in 2011 to enable the consumer to benefit from assured supply from a preferred source, and gain from reduction in logistic costs. However, the old policy was applicable to consumers having a minimum requirement of one million tonne of coal per annum. Further, the mine from which the coal was sourced had to have a capacity of 2.5 million tonne per annum. The relaxed norms brings down the eligibility from 2.5 million tonne per annum production capacity to one million tonne per annum.
Source: Business Standard
3 November. The West Bengal government is keen on entering commercial coal mining and intends to sell 25% to 30% of its output in the open market from the world’s second largest block allotted to the state earlier this year. Commercial sale is expected to provide economies of scale to the operation bringing down costs which, otherwise, are expected to be high due to difficult geological build of the block. During June this year, the Centre allotted Deocha Pachami to Bengal’s power generation company West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (WBPDCL) as a captive block. Preliminary estimates suggests it is may hold 2.1 billion tonnes of reserves. Operations of the block will be undertaken by Bengal Birbhum Coalfields, a special purpose vehicle floated for purpose. The Centre had earlier planned to allot the block to a number of states jointly but none, other than West Bengal, showed interest as preliminary production cost estimates turned out to be very high. The Centre finally awarded the block to West Bengal.
Source: The Economic Times
2 November. Coal India Ltd (CIL) said it produced 306.24 million tonne (mt) of coal in the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal, registering an increase of 10 percent as compared to the year-ago period. In the April-October period of 2017-18, the company's coal production was 278.03 mt, CIL said. CIL supplied 22.2 mt more coal to the power sector during the period under review as compared to the corresponding year-ago seven months, it said. Rake loading to power sector grew 8.2 percent during April-October 2018. The company as whole liquidated 34.57 mt of its pit-head stock during the first seven months, as the stock pile stood at around 21 mt by October-end. Overall offtake during the reported period was 340.81 mt, clocking 7.4 percent growth as compared to 317.28 mt in the year-ago seven months, it said. CIL accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.
Source: The Economic Times
6 November. Even as state government promises to provide round the clock power supply, the Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd (LPGCL) has raised a concern over operation-ability of its 1980 MW power plant following non-payment of dues to the tune of over ₹ 1600 crores by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corp Ltd (UPPCL). In a letter, sent to the UPPCL, the LPGCL has said that because of the massive outstanding it is not in a position to keep up with its coal stocks and meet the operational and maintenance (O&M) requirement. When contacted, principal secretary (energy) and UPPCL chairman Alok Kumar said that the state government policy was to pay power plants providing cheaper power. The LPGCL, which was set up under the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) route during the previous Akhilesh Yadav regime, has been providing power at the rate of nearly ₹ 7 per unit to the UPPCL. After the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) came to power, it curtailed purchase of power from power plants providing expensive power. In fact, the company had to close down two of its 660 MW units because of fund crunch and subsequent non-availability of coal.
Source: The Economic Times
6 November. The West Bengal government has directed the State Electricity Regulatory Commission not to pass any order on any matter till mid-November on a row between the regulator and Kolkata-based power utility CESC Ltd. The commission has been directed “not to proceed with issuance/publication of any draft regulation/final regulation/amendment to existing regulation and/ or any other order for a period of 60 days” under section 108 of the Electricity Act 2003, according to the cease-and-desist order dated 17 September passed by the department of power of the West Bengal government. The use of section 108 of the Electricity Act to pass such a directive is “highly questionable”. After the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved CESC’s application to split itself into four firms, the commission refused to allow the power utility to split its generation and distribution arms—the two it will continue to regulate even after the restructuring. NCLT said the two separate arms should conclude a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) and get it approved by the commission for the proposed demerger to become effective.
Source: Livemint
5 November. India’s witnessed the highest monthly trade of electricity in the spot market in October with companies buying and selling a record 7,125 million units (MUs) in the Day-Ahead and Term-Ahead markets combined. This was 63 percent higher than the volume recorded in the same month last year and 22 percent increase over September 2018, fresh data sourced from Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) showed. The Day-Ahead market traded 6,505 MUs in October 2018, the highest achieved so far in any month, registering an increase of 14 percent on month-on-month basis and increase of 59 percent on year-on- year basis. On a daily average basis, about 210 MUs were traded at IEX in October, the highest during any month. Also, the average Market Clearing Price (MCP) at ₹ 5.94 per unit registered 26 percent increase over ₹ 4.69 per unit in September 2018 and 46 percent increase over ₹ 4.08 per unit in same month last year. October 2018 witnessed relatively higher prices in all the time periods – ₹ 5.61 per unit in morning, ₹ 5.79 per unit during the day, ₹ 7.30 per unit in the evening peak and Rs 5.10 per unit during the night time. Similarly, the Term-Ahead market traded 620 MUs in October 2018, registering a five times jump in volume over September 2018 and 1.2 times increase over October 2017.
Source: The Economic Times
< style="color: #ffffff">Quick Comment< style="color: #ffffff">Compensatory tariff awarded to power producers has compromised sanctity of contracts! < style="color: #ffffff">Ugly! |
4 November. Following a recent verdict by the apex court allowing the Adani and Tata groups to get ‘compensatory tariff ’ due to increase in the prices of imported coal, the cost of power is all set to escalate in all partner states, including Punjab and Haryana. Both Punjab and Haryana buy power from independent power producers. Pronouncing the final verdict in the case, the Supreme Court has allowed both the Adani and Tata to approach the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for changing the clauses in the original contracts that were signed in 2010 to allow them to charge a ‘compensatory tariff ’due to increased prices of imported coal. Tata Power has a PPA (power purchase agreement) with Punjab for 475 MW and with Haryana for 380 MW, while the Adani Power had signed the PPA with Haryana for 1,424 MW. Punjab gets 4,161 million units and Haryana gets 15,803 million units in a year. In case a bare minimum tariff increase of 1 paise per unit is allowed by CERC, it would result in a ₹ 416 crore annual impact for Punjab and ₹ 1,580 crore for Haryana. The tariff revision would be done retrospectively for the power supplied by these companies and all the financial liabilities of states would be passed on to the consumers.
Source: The Economic Times
4 November. Power firm Adani Transmission has signed an agreement to buy entire stake in KEC International's Rajasthan-based power transmission arm at an enterprise value of ₹ 227.5 crore. Adani Transmission said cost of acquisition of KBSTPL shares is at an enterprise value of ₹ 227.5 crore subject to customary adjustments at closing. The acquisition will enhance cumulative network of the company to around 12,923 circuit (ckt) kilometers, out of which approximate 10,357 ckt kilometers are under operation and 2,566 ckt kilometres under various stages of construction. The sale is expected subject to approval of Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited and according to note of KEC International is expected to close by end of this year.
Source: Business Standard
2 November. The per capita power consumption in Telangana State has shot up by 59.3 percent to 1,727 units as against 1,084 units during 2013-14. The new State, which was reeling under severe power shortage during the year when the State was bifurcated in June 2014 has seen robust growth in the sector as also power consumption which has shot up to about 11,000 MW due to surge in demand from the agriculture sector as well, which is provided round the clock power. As per the Central Electricity Agency findings, Telangana has emerged No 1 in power front with 13.62% growth in power consumption. By recording 13.62% annual growth rate in power consumption, Telangana stands first in the country followed by Uttar Pradesh which registered 11.92 percent growth and Andhra Pradesh with 7.43% growth respectively. Maharashtra stands fourth with 7.4% growth. In 2016-17 in Telangana State the power consumption was 53,017 million units and this has gone up to 60,237 million units in 2017-18, as against the country’s average growth rate of 6.11%. Telangana is
< style="color: #ffffff">Quick Comment< style="color: #ffffff">Investment in power sector could balance surplus and shortage! < style="color: #ffffff">Good! |
offering round the clock, 24 hour free power supply to the agriculture sector and various other consumer categories, including industries.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
< style="color: #ffffff">Quick Comment< style="color: #ffffff">DBT for agricultural consumption may undermine goal of irrigation! < style="color: #ffffff">Bad! |
2 November. The government is considering paying a part of the agriculture power subsidy directly to farmers, instead of free or cheap electricity, as part of a move to rationalise farm sector subsidies. Coming ahead of general elections next year, the proposal, if it goes through, is expected to put more money into the hands of farmers, enabling more investments in the industry and higher consumption to boost the overall economy. A high-level committee, chaired by NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, has recommended that more than half-a-dozen subsidies to agriculture, amounting to over ₹ 2.2 lakh crore, or ₹ 11,340 crore per hectare, should be reconsidered to ensure that there is no over utilisation or wastage of subsidised power and urea. One of the key recommendations of the committee is to let farmers pay for the power used as per metre and this subsidy will be reimbursed under direct benefit transfer (DBT). The government has already rolled out fertiliser subsidy to companies under DBT. DBT route likely for agriculture power subsidy, farmers to pay by meter Currently, the total subsidy to the sector is equally shared between Centre and the states.
Source: The Economic Times
1 November. The country's power sector is poised to attract investments worth ₹ 11.56 trillion between 2017 and 2022. Investments are expected to flow into thermal, hydro, nuclear and renewables segments. Between April 2000 and June 2018, FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows in the power sector reached $14.18 billion, accounting for 3.64 percent of the total FDIs drawn by the country. A report by the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) attributed the foreign investments into power sector to the 100 percent FDI allowed in the sector under the automatic route. India is the third largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world with its installed power capacity reaching 344.72 GW by September 2018. The government has targeted capacity addition of 100 GW from 2017 to 2022. Expansion in industrial activity together with growing population and increasing electrification is set to provide impetus to demand. Power consumption is estimated to rise from 1160.1 terawatt hour in 2016 to 1894.7 terawatt hour in 2022. Coal-fired power generation is forecast to record 6.5 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2017-18 and 2022-23. In parallel, the government aims to reach 175 GW of installed capacity in renewables by 2021-22. Although the country's power generation has jumped by 100 times since independence, growth in demand has been even higher due to accelerating economic activity.
Source: Business Standard
6 November. A Mumbai-based social enterprise recently launched first-of-its-kind solar diyas in the market. The ‘Solar Magic Diya’ by Kitetech Enterprises, consists of a clay diya, a solar panel to absorb sunlight and a battery to store the energy. Rashmi Bothra, the founder of Kitetech Enterprises, said the diyas take around four to five hours to charge. After charging, they work for up to six hours. There are 20 varieties of solar diyas in different designs made of clay and glass. Bothra said around 10,000 pieces of solar diyas have been manufactured this year and 80% of them have already been sold. The solar diyas cost ₹ 300 per piece.
Source: The Economic Times
5 November. Delhi's pollution level sharply spiked as a thick haze engulfed the national capital ahead of Diwali due to high impact of stubble burning and pushed the air quality in the 'very poor' category, authorities said. The Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said despite moderate wind speed, the pollution in Delhi rose due to stubble burning from the neighbouring states. A thick haze also engulfed the national capital which reduced the visibility drastically, authorities said. The overall air quality index of Delhi was registered at 345 which falls in the 'very poor' category. The air quality was registered at 171, which falls in moderate category, the lowest of three weeks, according to data of the Central Pollution Control Board. Delhi authorities have stepped up efforts to combat pollution which includes measures like halting construction activities and regulating traffic. Civil construction has also been suspended in Delhi and other NCR districts, besides closure of all stone crushers and hot mix plants generating dust pollution. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has also directed the Transport Department and the Traffic Police to intensify checking of polluting vehicles and control travel congestion in the region during 1-10 November. An aggressive 10-day-long 'Clean Air Campaign' from 1-10 November has also been launched to monitor and report polluting activities as well as to ensure quick action. Under the campaign, a fine of over ₹ 1 crore has been imposed in the last three days on people violating the norms causing pollution. But despite that the air quality deteriorated to 'very poor' category due to increase in the contribution of stubble burning from the surrounding states of Punjab and Haryana, the authorities said. The deterioration of air quality comes ahead of Diwali when a further spike in pollution is expected to hit the city.
Source: Business Standard
5 November. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has decided to use solar energy to power 56 of its reservoirs (10 ml and above) in the city. The board has entrusted Telangana State Renewable Energy Corp to conduct a feasibility study on solar energy utilization and aims to run reservoirs on solar energy by next June. The board wants to reduce power consumption. The board is incurring ₹ 80 to 100 crore bill every month from Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd to distribute water from the Godavari and the Krishna to city and GHMC periphery. The board has open spaces on reservoir premises to set up solar units and will require 3 MW to run reservoirs. In Phase-1, solar energy will be used in 56 reservoirs and the remaining would be covered in phase-II.
Source: The Economic Times
5 November. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath inaugurated 1230 kW solar power plant. The CM extended his greetings on the festival of Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi and appealed everyone to light a diya in the name of Lord Ram on 6 and 7 November and celebrate Lord Ram's arrival in Ayodhya with enthusiasm.
Source: Business Standard
3 November. The Nashik urban division of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corp Ltd (MSEDCL) has proposed setting up of solar power plants generating 31.67 MW electricity in rural areas under the Chief Minister Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme in which farmers will get power during the day for their agriculture needs. Currently, first two of the projects providing solar power needs have been raised in MSEDCL’s space and they are generating and supplying power. The number of such solar-powered agriculture feeders is set to go up multi-fold.
Source: The Economic Times
3 November. India announced that it would extend a $310 million loan to Zimbabwe to finance a rehabilitation project for a thermal power plant that would entail upgrading the station and extending its life. Hwange is Zimbabwe's second biggest power plant with an installed capacity of 920 MW. India will also extend additional funds of $23 million for the Bulawayo thermal power plant and $19.5 million for the Deka pumping and water intake system in Zimbabwe.
Source: Business Standard
2 November. The Indian Green Building Council has come out with Net Zero Energy Buildings rating system in collaboration with the World Green Building Council and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The rating system, launched during the 16th Green building Congress 2018 here, seeks to complement the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and the National Solar Mission. IGBC plans to promote the concept of ‘Net Zero’ in India. Under this initiative, the focus is reducing the annual energy consumption by 40-50 percent with respect to national baseline and cut down energy cost by about 30 percent. On 31 October, IGBC launched ‘Green Building Rating System for Hill Habitas.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
31 October. SB Energy, a domestic arm of the Japanese investment powerhouse Softbank Group, has signed up with the Essel group to jointly develop a 500 MW solar park in the country. The agreement will enable the Masayoshi Son-run Softbank Group to expand its portfolio further in country and is part of aggressive growth strategy adopted. Essel Infraprojects, which is part of the Essel group, is into developing large infrastructure projects across multiple sectors and has been focusing on development of solar assets and enabling infrastructure and has planned multiple similar solar assets across the country. In May this year, SoftBank Group had partnered with the now crippled infrastructure conglomerate IL&FS to develop over 20 GW solar capacity in the country by 2025. SB Energy has already won bids for setting up 1400 MW of projects in the country, including 300 MW in the Bhadla III Solar Park being developed by Saurya Urja Company of Rajasthan, a joint venture of IL&FS Energy and Rajasthan. The Japanese group had earlier this year tied-up with China's GCL System Integration Technology in a 60:40 joint venture for an Indian solar power venture worth $930 million, that would work on loping photovoltaic technology used in solar panels. SoftBank had in 2015 made a commitment to invest up to $20 billion along with Foxconn Technology and Bharti Enterprises in solar projects in the country. The government had set a goal of generating 100 GW solar power by 2022.
Source: Business Standard
6 November. A US (United States) waiver to sanctions on Iran allows China to buy 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from the Islamic Republic for 180 days. The waiver includes conditions, including requiring the disclosure of counter-parties and settlement methods. China purchased an average of 655,000 bpd from Iran during the January-September period, according to Chinese customs data.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Sudan will hold a bidding round for oil exploration next year but is also in direct talks with companies to invest in the sector, its Oil Minister Azhari Abdalla said. Sudan, which has endured decades of conflict and sanctions, is currently producing only about 75,000 barrels of oil per day.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Japanese buyers of Iranian crude oil are expected to prepare to resume imports from the Middle Eastern nation after Tokyo was granted a waiver from US (United States) sanctions that kicked, Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko said. Exemptions have been granted to Iran’s biggest oil clients - Japan, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Greece and Turkey - which allow them to import at least some oil for another 180 days. Iran’s oil exports have fallen sharply since US President Donald Trump said at mid-year he would re-impose sanctions on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program, but with waivers in hand, the Middle Eastern nation’s major buyers could scale up orders as soon as next month. Japan joined South Korea in temporarily halting Iranian oil loading around mid-September. It imported about 172,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude last year, down 24.2 percent from 2016, trade ministry data showed. That accounted for 5.3 percent of total crude imports. Japan has cut Iranian imports significantly from nearly 315,000 bpd in 2011, the year before the previous international sanctions were imposed on Iran.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Venezuela’s crude production was in “free-fall” and could soon fall below 1 million barrels per day (bpd), the International Energy Agency’s Executive Director Fatih Birol said. Birol said that he hoped oil prices would not rise above current levels this year because it would be bad for the “fragile” global economy. OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) member Venezuela last year produced more than 2 million bpd, but a deep economic and social crisis has seen output plummet as millions flee the South American country. Asked whether the current oil price of around $73 per barrel was sustainable, Birol said he hoped there would be no further increases this year.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Global oil markets are currently stable, Kuwait’s Oil Minister Bakhit al-Rashidi said. He expects such stability to continue until the end of the year. Rashidi said that the upcoming OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting next month will look at whether the oil market needs more crude and if there is a build up in inventories. OPEC and its allies are set to meet in Vienna on 6-7 December to decide their oil supply policy and agree a long-term mechanism to manage the market beyond 2018.
Source: Reuters
5 November. An oil export pipeline in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has been upgraded to a capacity of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from 700,000 bpd, the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government)’s natural resources ministry said. The pipeline carries crude across Iraqi Kurdistan and connects to a metering station in Fish-Khabur near the Turkish and Syrian borders, before feeding another pipeline that takes the crude to the Turkish Mediterranean coast for export. The KRG currently exports over 400,000 bpd of crude oil, it said. Exports from oilfields in Kirkuk have been on hold since Iraqi government forces took control of them from the Kurds last year in retaliation for a Kurdish referendum on independence which was widely opposed by Turkey, Iran and Western powers. Kurdistan has built the pipeline for Kirkuk exports to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan after the old Kirkuk pipeline belonging to the federal government had been damaged by Islamic State militants.
Source: Reuters
5 November. Algeria’s Sonatrach awarded a contract worth $248.5 million to Italy’s Maire Tecnimont Spa to build a fourth liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) train at the Hassi Messaoud gas field, Sonatrach’s CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said. The train will have a capacity of 8 million cubic metres per day, CEO said. The project was expected to come on line in 30 months.
Source: Reuters
2 November. The Russian government and oil companies have agreed to cut wholesale domestic fuel prices as a temporary measure aimed at stemming an unwanted increase in the cost of petrol and diesel, a politically sensitive issue for voters. Petrol has become more expensive as a global deal to curb oil production led to a rise in the price of crude. Imminent US (United States) sanctions against Iran, a large oil producer and exporter, have also lent upward pressure. The government and the largest oil producers hammered out a temporary deal to keep prices down, avoiding tougher measures such as prohibitive oil export duties. According to the Russian central bank, the cost of gasoline has remained the main factor affecting inflation expectations, followed by the weaker rouble and food prices.
Source: Reuters
1 November. Royal Dutch Shell Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jessica Uhl said wages and services costs in the oil and gas industry around the world have started rising following a deep downturn since 2014. Service costs around the world plunged following the 2014 oil price crash and have been slow to recover despite crude prices surging to four-year high last month.
Source: Reuters
1 November. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it would work on resuming oil production and exports from new fields “in the coming days”, without specifying the quantity expected. The announcement came after the first cabinet meeting held by the newly appointed Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed. Yemen is a small producer with proven oil reserves of around 3 billion barrels, according to the United States Energy Information Administration.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Lebanon is expected to start gas exploration by the end of 2019, which will take three to four years, through a consortium led by French oil giant Total, Saad Andary, second vice-governor of Lebanon’s central bank, said. In May, Lebanese authorities approved an exploration plan submitted by a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
Source: Reuters
6 November. PetroChina said it has signed a five-year natural gas contract with Kazakhstan’s KazTransGas. KazTransGas was already supplying natural gas to PetroChina and the previous deal expired on 14 October. The two companies started negotiations on the five-year deal at the end of July. The new deal will help relieve tight supplies of natural gas in winter and spring time in China.
Source: Reuters
5 November. Pakistan LNG, a subsidiary of state-owned Government Holdings, said it was seeking three liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery in January and February, with bids due by 5 December. The delivery windows are for 21-22 January, 3-4 February and 21-22 February, it said in a tender document. Pakistan LNG has not issued a tender for LNG since late June, when it sought five cargoes for September and October deliveries. It also cancelled a tender for six cargoes for July-August deliveries due to high offers. The tender was launched as Pakistan’s new government slammed the owner of one terminal, Engro, for charging the previous government too much for its construction and operation.
Source: Reuters
5 November. Russian energy producer Gazprom will deliver more gas to its Austrian partner OMV, the two companies said. Deliveries to Austria will be increased by 1 billion cubic metres per year, they said.
Source: Reuters
5 November. French energy group Total and Sempra Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the north American liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, which could see Total acquire a further stake in the sector. The deal could see Total take a contract for approximately up to 9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG offtake across Sempra Energy’s LNG export development projects on the US Gulf Coast and West Coast of North America, specifically the Cameron LNG Phase 2 and Energia Costa Azul LNG projects. Total, the second-largest player in the global LNG market, said the relationship with Sempra Energy, will boost its goal to build a diverse portfolio of LNG supply options.
Source: Reuters
4 November. Israel will tender off 19 new offshore blocks to oil and gas (O&G) companies, its energy ministry said, hoping to rebound from a disappointing bidding round a year ago. Israel discovered in 2009 that it had large reserves of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast. Last year’s auction elicited bids from only two groups of companies, and the ministry said it expects more to compete this time as conditions have improved. The 19 blocks have been divvied up into four sectors that benefit from more comprehensive geological studies than last time, he said. Israel has also signed major export deals with Jordan and Egypt over the past two years, opening new markets to companies looking to sell gas from Israel. The exploration licenses will be for three years, with options to extend up to four more years, should terms be met.
Source: Reuters
2 November. Cuadrilla extracted its first shale gas from its site in northwest England, it said, after it began fracking operations. Cuadrilla said the gas flows were small but coming at such an early stage of the project were evidence of the potential of the site. Cuadrilla said it plans to fully test flow rates from the current two exploration wells towards the end of 2018 and into the New Year to determine whether full-scale gas extraction would be viable. Fracking is opposed by environmentalists and green groups who say extracting more fossil fuel is at odds with Britain’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But Britain’s government is supportive of the industry and is keen to reduce the country’s reliance on imports of natural gas, which is used to heat around 80 percent of Britain’s homes. The British Geological Survey estimates shale gas resources in northern England alone could contain 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas, 10 percent of which could meet the country’s demand for almost 40 years.
Source: Reuters
2 November. Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would speed up its plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal as Europe’s largest economy seeks to diversify its energy supply. Merkel said that Ukraine would remain an important gas transit country once the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is built.
Source: Reuters
2 November. An expansion of LNG Canada has a cost advantage over its rivals in the race to build more liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, but a go-ahead decision on phase two is likely still a few years away, Shell Canada President Michael Crothers said. The first phase of the C$41 billion ($31.3 billion) Royal Dutch Shell-led project was given the go-ahead last month, firing up a race among companies eager to be the next to tap into booming Asian demand for the gas that is supercooled into liquid form for export by tanker. LNG demand has risen sharply in recent years, led by China, gobbling up an anticipated surplus and fanning fears of a shortage by mid-next decade. This has projects around the world scrambling to secure the long-term deals they need to finance multi-billion dollar builds. Gas prices are so low that Shell has stopped drilling new wells at its massive Groundbirch field in northern British Columbia and will only resume in 2020 to ready for LNG Canada shipments. Crothers sees a first-mover advantage domestically on labor costs, noting that a construction slowdown in Alberta’s oil sands is allowing LNG Canada good access to skilled workers.
Source: Reuters
1 November. China’s Zhenhua Oil purchased its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from Chevron Corp to supply a South China-receiving terminal that it won access to in a recent auction. The 100 million cubic metre cargo was purchased at about $0.30 per million British thermal unit discount to Japan Korea Marker quotes on a delivered basis. The cargo, discharged at CNOOC’s Yuedong terminal in Shenzhen, was sourced from the Australian Gorgon project operated by Chevron. Zhenhua and its local partner Longkou agreed in September to pay $26.5 million for the access to use the CNOOC facility, in the first such auction as the world’s second-largest LNG buyer pushes to open up its LNG import business dominated by top three state oil majors.
Source: Reuters
31 October. Japan’s Osaka Gas is considering expanding its Southeast Asia operations, tapping a region where natural gas demand is booming but domestic reserves are dwindling fast. Osaka Gas, one of the world’s biggest gas utilities and importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), is increasingly turning abroad as it faces faltering demand at home due to a mature market and shrinking population. Vietnam does not currently import any LNG, but is planning to start in coming years, like other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that Southeast Asia is at the heart of future LNG demand growth, which it expects to increase by a third globally to 500 billion cubic meters (370 million tonnes) by 2023. While Osaka Gas reviews Vietnam as a potential market, it will also look into expanding its current operations in the region.
Source: Reuters
5 November. Poland’s hard coal output in September fell to a record monthly low of 4.89 million tonnes (mt), data from the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) showed. Monthly coal production has remained above 5 mt throughout 2018, and September’s output was down from 5.42 mt the previous month. However, Poland’s coal output has been shrinking for months because of the closure of some loss-making mines and reduced investment in an effort to reduce costs. The country has increased coal imports, mostly from Russia, to cover any shortfalls, though government policy is to reduce reliance on Russian supplies. Data showed that Poland’s 2018 coal imports from Russia are on track to be the highest ever.
Source: Reuters
2 November. The World Bank told Kosovo it would no longer support a planned 500 MW coal-fired power plant. Other Balkan countries rely on coal to produce power, with Serbia and Bosnia generating 70 percent and 60 percent respectively in ailing coal-fired plants, and both are in the process of adding new coal capacities. The two old power plants Kosova A and Kosova B are among Europe’s worst polluters. The government said the new plant, to replace Kosova A, would burn 40 percent less coal and release 20 times less emissions.
Source: Reuters
2 November. Greek power utility Public Power Corp (PPC) will receive binding bids for three coal-fired plants and a license for a new one by the middle of next month, the country’s Energy Minister George Stathakis said. PPC, which is 51 percent state-owned, is selling the plants in northern and southern Greece after a European court ruled it had abused its dominant position in the coal market. The utility has shortlisted all six investors interested in the plants.
Source: Reuters
31 October. Recent mine acquisitions have helped Glencore Plc achieve 50 percent more cost savings in its coal business than it had targeted, the world’s biggest exporter of coal for power plants said. Glencore had expected to achieve annual cash savings of more than $300 million in its coal business by the end of 2018 in a two-year cost-cutting drive, but said it now expects savings of more than $450 million by year-end.
Source: Reuters
6 November. South African engineering firm Group Five said that construction on its Ghanaian Kpone power plant had been delayed once again due to fuel contamination. The project has been a drag on the company which incurred 1.3 billion rand ($91.57 million) in losses for the financial year ended June 2018.
Source: Reuters
5 November. National energy company Ukrenergo in January-September 2018 reduced transmission of electricity through trunk networks by 2.6%, or 2.182 billion kWh (kilowatt hour), compared to the same period last year, to 82.098 billion kWh. According to the company, the cost of electricity transmission services for the nine months ending 30 September 2018, decreased by 34.5% (UAH 2.07 billion), to UAH 3.928 billion. Ukrenergo in January-September 2018 raised capital investment by 25.8% (UAH 608.814 million), to UAH 2.969 billion. Ukrenergo in 2017 increased power transmission through backbone networks by 2.4% (2.616 billion kWh) compared to 2016, to 113.837 billion kWh. As of 1 January 2018, the company's averaged tariff was reduced by the regulator by 29.4%, from 6.933 kopecks per kWh to 4.894 kopecks per kWh. The company originally proposed that the tariff be reduced by 10% to 6.24 kopecks per kWh.
Source: Interfax-Ukraine
5 November. Golar LNG said it was in talks with Nigerian authorities about setting up a power project that could use one of its vessels to import liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company wants to expand beyond its core LNG shipping and terminals business and owns half of the $1.7 billion Sergipe power plant project in Brazil, in which it will also provide a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to take delivery of LNG. Nigeria is a massive oil and gas producer, with a large LNG export terminal, but still needs to import fuels for vehicles and suffers power shortages due to poor infrastructure and chaotic governance of its energy sector. On the Sergipe project, Golar owns 50 percent of the company operating a 1,500 MW power plant and associated infrastructure and will provide an FSRU. It said the project is on track to start operations in January 2020.
Source: Reuters
1 November. Egypt signed a deal with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power to build a power plant in southern Egypt involving investment of $2.3 billion, the Egyptian electricity ministry said. The plant, which will have capacity of 2,250 MW, would be built in Luxor province in southern Egypt, the ministry said.
Source: Reuters
31 October. Kenya’s energy watchdog has cut retail electricity prices for some domestic customers and small businesses following complaints about a tariff introduced in July. Although the previous tariff reduced the cost of electricity for Kenya’s 3.6 million low income consumers, it almost doubled the monthly bill for higher income households, triggering complaints, including from President Uhuru Kenyatta who ordered the Energy Minister to review prices within a month. The new prices will apply to approximately 5.7 million customers who use below 100 kilowatt units per month. The amendment effective from 1 November to July 2019 lowers the retail price to 10 shillings ($0.098) per kilowatt hour from 15.80 shillings per kilowatt hour, Energy Regulatory Commission said. Kenya, which has more than 6.5 million customers connected to the power grid, says it has installed generation capacity of 2,359 MW with peak demand of 1,802 MW. The new prices will not apply to commercial and industrial customers such as manufacturers operating in Special Economic Zones who got an average reduction of 4 percent in July in addition to a previous 50 percent cut in their night time electricity tariff.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Britain’s renewable electricity capacity has overtaken that of fossil fuel generators such as gas and coal for the first time. Britain aims to increase its renewable output and close its coal-fired power plants by 2025 as part of efforts to meet climate targets. Available capacity of renewable electricity generation such as wind, solar and biomass hit 42 GW in Britain this year. This year Britain’s renewable capacity has been boosted by the addition of several offshore wind projects including the Walney Extension which at 660 MW is the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Britain has a target to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2050 and has asked its climate change experts to advise on whether it should set a date to meet a net zero emissions target.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a project to build the first nuclear research reactor in the kingdom. Crown Prince launched seven strategic projects in the fields of renewable energy, atomic energy, water desalination, genetic medicine and the aircraft industry during his visit to King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The two most significant projects launched include a nuclear research reactor and a center for the development of aircraft structures.
Source: Reuters
6 November. Israeli construction firm Shikun & Binui said it inaugurated six photovoltaic solar power plants in southern Israel that together would produce 60 MW of electricity. Shikun said it had invested 220 million shekels ($60 million) in the projects, which took eight months to construct.
Source: Reuters
6 November. South Korea will cap operations of some coal and oil-fired power plants at 80 percent for the first time as most cities including its capital Seoul issued an air pollution advisory, its energy ministry said. Seven coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 820 MW and four oil-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 280 MW will lower their operations, the ministry said. The South Korean government has introduced the cap on a trial basis since October and plans to fully introduce it from 2019. South Korea, Asia’s fourth largest economy, has been grappling with worsening air quality. The government halted operations of five old coal-fired power plants from March to June to reduce air pollution. Coal power generates about 40 percent of the country’s total electricity, followed by nuclear and gas. Last year, South Korea unveiled its power supply plan, with an aim to boost the share of renewable energy for power generation to 20 percent by 2030, while scaling back dependence on coal power.
Source: Reuters
2 November. Southeast Asia is a potential hotspot for renewable energy, yet the region has not met expectations because it lacks policy frameworks that would encourage investment, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said. In Southeast Asia, though, barring some exceptions such as in Thailand, support for renewables has been smaller, and the region lags far behind others in renewable output despite its potential, especially for solar, geothermal and wind power. One of the factors holding back renewables is the region’s abundance of thermal coal, of which Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter. Global renewable capacity, excluding hydro, has soared from under 100,000 MW in 2000 to more than 1 million MW in 2017, according to IRENA data.
Source: Reuters
2 November. Germany is on track to produce enough green power to cover nearly 38 percent of its electricity consumption this year, up from about 36 percent in 2017, energy industry group BDEW and research institute ZSW said. The share of green energy, which also includes biomass and hydropower, reached 36.1 percent of consumption last year, BDEW data shows. In terms of production, green power output in the first three quarters totalled 169 billion kilowatt hours, representing 35 percent of the total, up from 32 percent in the same period last year. Renewable production as a single category has been nearing or overtaking the contribution of fossil fuels, but this is only possible if there are high wind speeds and enough sunshine. BDEW said that the renewables target of 65 percent by 2030, demanded by policymakers, requires further efforts on power links to transport green power and favourable conditions for storage facilities.
Source: Reuters
31 October. Indonesia has enforced mandatory use of diesel containing 20 percent locally produced biofuel amid steps to rein in its fuel bill and cushion the impact on its economy of a currency crisis and higher oil prices. Deputy Energy Minister Arcandra Tahar said Jakarta in September made use of the fuel, known as B20, mandatory in all diesel machinery in the country in a move to curb gasoil imports. Tahar said he expected Indonesia’s use of B20 fuel in the farming sector to increase to 6 million kilolitres next year, from the current nearly 4 million kilolitres.
Source: Reuters
31 October. Hyundai Motor Company and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp are planning to launch a solar charging technology for some Hyundai vehicles to meet global emission regulation targets, the South Korean automakers said. Solar panels will be mounted on the roof or hood of the vehicles, the companies said. The companies are launching three solar charging systems for several types of vehicles, including hybrid and battery electric. Several countries have in recent years set ambitious goals to cut carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, bringing carmakers and truckmakers under greater scrutiny. Hyundai is set to launch the first generation of the technology for its vehicles after 2019.
Source: Reuters
Million Units
| Year | Total Generation from Nuclear | Generation from PHWRs | % Share |
| 2014-15 | 37835 | 31491 | 83.2 |
| 2015-16 | 37456 | 33909 | 90.5 |
| 2016-17 | 40001 | 29278 | 73.2 |
Installed Capacity of Nuclear Power
Source: Compiled from Rajya Sabha QuestionsThis is a weekly publication of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). It covers current national and international information on energy categorised systematically to add value. The year 2018 is the fifteenth continuous year of publication of the newsletter. The newsletter is registered with the Registrar of News Paper for India under No. DELENG / 2004 / 13485.
Publisher: Baljit Kapoor
Editorial Adviser: Lydia Powell
Editor: Akhilesh Sati
Content Development: Vinod Kumar
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
