The proposal for smart prepaid metering across the country in three years, announced in the Union Budget, has been hailed by the power industry. But the initiative is not new. The power ministry has been planning it for the past two years, but with limited success. At the same time, many hurdles await the ambitious plan. 400,000 smart meters have been installed to date in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. These were by Energy Efficiency Services, which is mandated for smart meters tendering to private companies. Close to 5 mn were tendered in the first round. Responding to the announcement in the Budget, the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association said this is a positive step and the industry will fully cooperate with the government in meeting the target. A smart prepaid meter has a modem and a remote switch by which demand, supply, and billing can be monitored and controlled remotely. The data from the meter is collected in a cloud server. This reduces energy theft, improves billing and bill collection. It also helps discoms collect the data of consumer demand patterns, which, in turn, can be used to plan supply.
India’s EESL has announced the completion of installation of 1 mn smart meters across India under the Government of India’s Smart Meter National Programme. EESL has set the target to install 250 mn smart meters over the course of next few years. The budget allocated ₹220 bn for the power and renewable energy sector.
The Chandigarh administration has directed the electricity department to prepare a 10-year plan for improving power infrastructure in the city. The electricity department was asked to submit the plan at the earliest. The UT has also sought JERC’s nod for ₹8.42 bn for power purchase for next financial year 2020-21. Peak power demand is estimated to reach 404 MW in 2020-21. In 2021-2022, it will increase to 448 MW in Chandigarh. Given the high rate of population growth, the electricity department is already finding it difficult to provide uninterrupted power supply to city residents. The department also plans to improve its power infrastructure. According to official records, there are five 33 kV sub-stations and 13 66 kV sub-stations across the city. One sub-station has a life span of 25 years and six 66 kV sub-stations have exceeded their life-span. According to the plan, 12 new 66 kV grid sub-stations will be established and all existing 66 kV sub-stations will be upgraded in the coming years. The overhead transmission line of 2,037 km in the city will be converted into an underground line. Besides, funds are also required for installation of smart meters in the city. The electricity department have already started the work on installation of smart meters under its smart grid project. In the first phase, the electricity department has allotted work to a firm for replacing 30,000 existing power meters into smart meters in Sectors 29, 31, 47, 48, Industrial area phase 1 and 2, and villages Faida, Ram Darbar, Hallo Majra, Raipur Kalan, Makhan Majra and Daria. The work is likely to be completed within the next few months. For the project, the power department will also set up a control room in Sector 18, from where they will keep a tab on all consumers. Chandigarh’s electricity department’s ambitious project under the Smart City Mission of conversion of existing overhead lines to the underground system and replacement of infrastructure in Sector 8, finally see ray of hope as four companies have come forward. Already three years have passed, but the project failed to start in Chandigarh. The planning work on this project was started in January 2017 and the UT planned to carry out project after Chandigarh was selected as one of the fast-track cities under the Smart City Mission of the ministry of urban development, Government of India. The UT administration had finalised project of conversion of existing overhead lines to the underground system and replacement of infrastructure in Sector 8. The JERC has already accorded approval for capital expenditure of ₹178.9 mn for the project on pilot basis. The project was a part of the UT electricity department’s 20-year roadmap for improving power infrastructure in the city. As per the plan, a total of 12 new 66 kV grid sub-stations will be established while all the existing 66 kV sub-stations will be upgraded in the next 10 years. There is overhead transmission line of 2,037 km in the city, which will be converted into underground line. The department has set a deadline of 10 years for completion of the work. There is also a plan to install new 1,825 distribution transformers.
Working towards providing reliable power supply for its customers, the BSES discoms have started using drones to map distribution assets, detection of power theft, inspection of rooftop solar installations and for other similar purposes. Drones fitted with high definition camera for visual inspection and an infrared camera for thermal imaging for identification of the hot-spots are being used, BSES said. A programme has been drawn for using drones to monitor the health of the electricity network, including high voltage lines and grid sub-stations. In BSES Yamuna Power Ltd areas, inspections were undertaken over a 45-day period.
Assam government has directed the state power department to set up a central control room to monitor technical faults, in an effort to bring in efficiency and plug disruption in supply. A central control room needs to be established to quickly zero in on faults and take corrective steps for the restoration of power. The government asked the APDCL to put up transformers on high raised platforms especially in the flood-prone areas and to design innovative measures to save these from incessant rain-induced problems. Under ‘Mukhya Mantri Akashdeep Yojana’, distribution of LED bulbs to all the beneficiaries in the state is to be expedited.
The Andhra Pradesh discoms have decided to put a real-time monitoring system in place to gauge agriculture power consumption. The proposal was mooted by the discoms after the Union government directed to arrange metering system to measure energy supply from agriculture DTRs which helps in real-time monitoring of agriculture supply. The Union government has also directed the discoms to send monthly reports on metering status of DTRs, feeders and consumers to Central Electricity Authority. The energy department said that with the real time monitoring system, supply interruptions and overload of DTRs can be detected in real time so that necessary measures can be initiated instantaneously.
India’s electricity demand grew 7.5 percent in the first 18 days of February with early onset of summer in the South and West, offering some relief to the stressed thermal power sector which can now operate at higher capacities. Currently, thermal power projects are operating at 58 percent capacity. Power demand had grown 3.7 percent in January, turning around after five months of decline. Demand for electricity stood at 105,289 MW in January against 101,570 MW in December 2019. It was also 3.5 percent higher than the 101,713 MW in January 2019, data available with the CEA showed. In February so far, demand was 15–20 GW higher than peak-hour demand for the same period last year. Power demand for the April-January period of the current financial year was 10.7 percent higher than in the same period last fiscal year. The monthly data of power requirement for January, however, showed that demand contracted between December and January in Gujarat and Maharashtra, the two most industrialised states in the country, while it was higher in most other states. India’s power demand grew just 1.1 percent in 2019. In December, the country’s power demand fell 0.5 percent from the year-ago period, a fifth straight month of decline, compared with a 4.3 percent fall in November. The fall was the most in October, at 13 percent, led by a sharp reduction in demand from Gujarat and Maharashtra. Electricity demand in India rose in January for the first time in six months, government data showed, after declining since August as the economy slowed. Electricity demand, which rose 3.5 percent in January from a year earlier according to the data, is seen by economists as an important indicator of industrial output. January demand for electricity totalled 105.29 bn units, CEA data showed. However, the rise was from a low base, as electricity demand grew in January 2019 at the slowest pace in nearly two years, CEA data showed. Industry use accounts for more than two-fifths of India’s annual electricity consumption, according to government data, with households accounting for nearly a quarter and commercial establishments another 8.5 percent. In 2019, electricity demand in India grew at its slowest pace in six years, amid a broader economic slowdown that led to a drop in sales of everything from cars to food products and also has led to factories cutting jobs. India’s electricity supply rose 3.25 percent during the month of January after five straight months of decline, provisional government data showed, in a relief for power producers. Power supply rose to 106.36 bn units in January, up from 103.01 bn units last year, an analysis of daily load despatch data from POSOCO showed. The CEA is expected to release official data on power demand later this month. POSOCO releases provisional load despatch data every day. Higher electricity supply could mean a rise in power demand, as electricity deficit in India is marginal. Electricity demand is seen by economists as an important indicator of industrial output and a deceleration could point to a further slowdown. However, the potential rise would be from a low base, as electricity demand grew at the slowest pace in January 2019 in nearly two years, CEA data showed. India’s annual electricity demand in 2019 grew at its slowest pace in six years. Electricity supply fell 0.4 percent in December, 4.2 percent in November and 12.8 percent in October, according to the CEA. Annual consumption of electricity by industry accounts for more than two-fifths of India’s annual electricity consumption, according to government data, with residences accounting for nearly a quarter and commercial establishments for another 8.5 percent.
Average spot power price in January dipped 14 percent to ₹2.86 per unit as compared to the year-ago month on the IEX. The electricity market on the IEX recorded a total trade of 5,062 mn units in January. The market witnessed a significant 50 percent year-on-year jump in traded volumes and continued to be favourable for the buyers. The increase in traded volumes on the Exchange was largely due to a surge in demand by the distribution utilities as well as the open access consumers from almost all parts of the country, primarily southern, western and northern states. On an all-India basis, the peak demand at 171 GW in January 2020, rose 5 percent year-on-year over demand of 162 GW in January 2019. The energy met at 106 bn units in January saw an increase of 3 percent over 103 in January 2019.
Telangana set a new record in the last five years in power consumption with the demand soaring to 13,040 MW. TSTransco said thanks to the free 24×7 power supply to the agriculture sector, which began two years ago, the demand had been seeing an upward trend. In Greater Hyderabad, the demand soared to 2,537 MW, which was 200 MW more than the power consumed on the same day last year. Power demand in February is around 9,500 MW. It increases slowly in March with temperatures rising and touches peak demand in mid-summer with usage of air-conditioners going up. Thanks to mercury touching 34-37 degree Celsius in the third week of February this year, the power demand touched the highest 12,780 MW recently. While power consumption in 2017 summer was between 6,700 MW and 7,000 MW, it hit a high of 8,500 MW in March during peak agriculture season. The demand touched 10,284 MW in March 2018 with the government providing free power to farmers. In August 2019, the power demand soared to 11,703 MW. Six months later, in January 2020, it touched 11,359 MW. Meanwhile, the government has asked all the discoms to ensure uninterrupted supply both for domestic and agriculture purposes.
Tata Power, which runs one of the country’s largest power plants at Mundra in Gujarat, has threatened to stop supply from the plant to five states beginning March if they don’t agree to tariff increases. Tata Power has made it clear that it will not be able to run the power plant unless the pass-through of additional fuel cost to consumers is allowed. The Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, associated with the All India Kisan Sabha, petitioned the collector demanding free power to farmers. The government has not given connection to any farmer, who had applied for free power since 2000. Free power will truly be free only if it requires no advance payment or no one-time fee. Around 50 percent of the population of Delhi have had subsidised electricity bills in the current financial year, which is a record of sorts. Half the subsidised population received zero electricity bills during the past five months. This is the highest number receiving subsidy in the last five years. In 2014-15, the number of people availing of subsidy was close to 2.5 mn. In the current year, the number has doubled. In July this year, the DERC approved a new model of subsidy over and above the existing scheme. Under it, the fixed charge was cut by more than half. The fixed charge for up to 2 kilowatt was decreased to ₹20 from ₹125. For the more than 2 kW and less than 5 kW bracket, it was reduced to ₹50 from ₹140. The fixed charge for the more than 5 kW and less than 15 kW was reduced to ₹100 from ₹175. The DERC also gave 100 percent subsidy to the consumption bracket of 0-200 units. An electricity bill comes with two components — a fixed charge, which remains the same every month, and energy charge, which is calculated in accordance with consumption. In the 2019-20 Budget, the Delhi government set aside ₹17.2 bn for 50 percent subsidy in power bills. It passed a supplementary demand for grants, including ₹5.35 bn to cover the additional subsidy announced in July. Industry executives estimate the cost of subsidy to be around ₹22.5 bn, which is likely to increase as consumption goes up every year.
KSEB is facing serious challenges due to the open access regime and promotion of decentralized renewable energy generation. The economic review report said that the twin challenge was eroding the cream of its consumer base considerably and this could eventually lead to a steep tariff hike. However, cases of power theft and connected abnormalities were very low in the state due to strict enforcement of law and awareness in society. KSEB has an anti-power theft squad constituted to detect pilferage and misuse of electricity in all districts. Amid mounting criticism over electricity charges, Punjab said his government will renegotiate power purchase agreements with private players. Given the shortfall in production by state-owned power plants in Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar the government would work around the existing arrangements with the private players to make power affordable while ensuring that the peak demand of 13,000 MW was effectively met.
Power tariff in Assam may go up by 24 percent from April due to a rise in the cost of electricity the state is purchasing from outside to meet its requirements. The AERC said it has become virtually impossible for the state-run power companies to continue with the existing tariff as PSUs selling electricity have significantly increased the charges in recent times. While the power tariff may be hiked from the existing ₹7.25/kWh to ₹8.85/kWh in the domestic category, it may be increased to ₹9.45/kWh from ₹7.60/kWh in the commercial category of the same range. Once finalized, the increase in energy charge per kWh is going to be ₹1.60 and ₹1.85 for domestic and commercial category consumers respectively. The AERC said the “costly power” procured for distribution to the state’s consumers has compelled the APDCL to send a proposal to hike the power tariff. While the Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd is getting 380-390 MW power from Lakwa Thermal Power Station, Namrup Thermal Power Station, Karbi Langpi Hydro Electric Project and Myntriang Small Hydro Electric Project, it is buying over 1000 MW power from various PSUs. The demand for power in Assam is 1400 MW during peak hours. Last year, power generated from the state’s own projects accounted for less than 15 percent of Assam’s total power requirements. UP government said that the structure of power tariff in UP was totally different from Delhi and hence there was no question of any decrease in power tariff in the forthcoming financial year. The AAP government in Delhi had provisioned zero bill up to a consumption of 200 units, which has not been the case with UP where urban domestic consumers saw a raise of 15.29 percent in September last year. The average power tariff hike has been to the tune of around 12 percent. The UP state government gave an assistance of over ₹91 bn to the UP power sector in 2019-20.
Industrial associations in Aurangabad district have voiced their opposition to the proposed hike of electricity tariffs by state utility Mahadiscom from 1 April, saying that the increase in rates would be detrimental to the industry. Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture raised the concerns before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission. It said that although the Mahadiscom claims that the hike would be two to four percent, its impact in the five- year period would be around 15-20 percent. The fixed charges will increase by over 63 percent from the current ₹391 per unit to ₹638 till 2025, which is a burden to industries. Marathwada Industries of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture and some local companies also objected to the proposed tariff hike.
Rajasthan announced a ₹20 bn plan to reboot the power distribution network and enhance the capacity of the existing infrastructure to make day power a reality for farmers. A three-phase timeline with number of districts in each one and said by April 2023, 1.3 mn farmers in all the districts able to get day power. In the first phase that would be completed by 1 April 2021, 16 districts have been included in the plan. Five districts have been included in second phase that would be completed by April 2022, while third phase will have 13 districts. The government would need to spend more for giving peak hour power to farmers.
UP set 31 March deadline for senior officials to improve the functioning of department, ensuring adequate availability of electricity to consumers and creating a conducive atmosphere for investors. The collection of revenue and installation of smart meters should be intensified, while all pending applications for new connections should be disposed of.
AIPEF has hailed the stand of Bihar government that the power sector should remain in the state sector and the state government is not in favour of any kind of private participation in the energy sector. The experiment of giving franchise of power distribution in three districts of Gaya, Muzaffarpur, and Bhagalpur failed completely and even the position worsened. Bihar brought down transmission losses drastically from 60 percent to 29 percent. AIPEF said that electricity is a concurrent subject implying that both central and state governments can make laws.
Leading private power companies have pledged interest in discoms which could come their way under a new government policy, but added a few caveats: payment guarantee in terms of timely release of government subsidies and receipt of dues from public sector entities, performance incentives and long-term contracts that gel with the long-gestation nature of the power distribution business. The government is framing a new scheme for discoms to finance infrastructure upgrade. According to this scheme, discoms with more than 18 percent aggregate technical and commercial losses will have to involve private players in their operations. State government owning the discoms can choose between allowing full freedom to private players to run discoms under appropriate public private partnership model, or issue franchisee licences to non-government entities to execute specific, segregated operations.
The government will soon bring out schemes for discom revival, liquidation of discom dues and amend the Electricity Act to introduce hefty penalties on reneging of any kind of contract. The Power Finance Corp will set up an alternate investment fund to assist state discoms repay the over ₹835 bn dues to thermal power plants. The power ministry is working on a schedule for repayment of the discom dues from distribution companies to power plants over a period of six months. The quick amendment to Electricity Act would ensure that discoms and generators do not renege on contracts or payments in the future. According to the power ministry the expanded Kusum scheme to solarise agriculture pumps will make agriculture diesel free and reduce cost of irrigation to farmers to one-fourth or one-fifth of the present costs. The government will assist the discoms as long as they are adhering to the loss reduction trajectories. Also, the deviating distribution companies will not get any financing from Power Finance Corp and Rural Electrification Corp. The government will encourage inefficient state power utilities to seek privatization and other institutional reforms to turn around money-losing operations and ensure reliable supplies to consumers. States with electricity utilities that lose more than 15 percent of revenue due to archaic networks, power theft and sloppy billing and collections would be pushed to seek private participation in their distribution network as part of the country’s planned second wave of power reforms. India has been increasingly advocating privatization of ailing discoms as government efforts since 2015 to revive the utilities failed to turn around the firms. These utilities lose money by selling power below costs, often delaying payments to generators and depriving customers of reliable and affordable electricity. The state governments will also need to do their part to ensure the companies can succeed. States can draw upon examples of cities of Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, as well as some smaller towns, where private participation has led to reduction in revenue losses and more viable operations. In one of the most recent such moves, Tata Power Company. last year acquired one of the distribution utilities in the state of Odisha. The Central government is aiming to provide round the clock electricity supply to the Union territory of J&K. The J&K government was advised to request for further release of eligible funds under various schemes like Saubhagya, DDUGJY, IPDS, PMDP etc.
The government proposes to set up an electricity tribunal to resolve disputes over payment between state distribution companies and generating companies in a time-bound manner, keeping intact powers of the existing appellate tribunal and electricity regulators. The proposed tribunal will have original jurisdiction, meaning it will be able to take up original petitions. The government proposes to amend the Electricity Act, 2003 to provide for a dedicated mechanism for fast dispute resolution. The power ministry is likely to introduce the bill in this respect in the budget session itself. The amendment to the Electricity Act will allow imposition of stricter penalties to enforce sanctity of all power related contracts.
UPCL informed the high court that its employees, and those working for the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd and Power Transmission Corp of Uttarakhand Ltd will not be able to use more than 9,000 units of electricity at subsidised rates. In a compliance report, the UPCL informed the court that a decision had been taken to make the new cap applicable on all employees of the three corporations responsible for generation, management and distribution of electricity in the state. The UPCL informed the court that it had sustained losses of more than ₹830 mn in the last two financial years to make up for supplying electricity at highly subsidised rates to employees.
The Andhra Pradesh government released a sum of ₹29.84 bn to clear long- pending dues to solar and wind power generators, central generating stations and state generating stations. Of the total, ₹21.99 bn will go to CGS and SGS while solar and wind power generators will get the balance. With this, pending payments to renewable energy generators have been cleared up to December 2019. The amount has been released towards payment of 25 percent losses of discoms taken over for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19 under UDAY of the Government of India. The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently ordered that all pending payments to renewable energy companies be cleared even as the matter related to re-negotiation of power purchase agreements has been referred to the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission.
In UP 59 police stations in different districts have been set up to register crimes related to power theft. Execution of Mukhbir Yojana’ (whistle blower scheme) under which people could inform the government about the incident of power theft without revealing their names has also been opened.
JSW Energy will acquire GMR’s Kamalanga power project (1,050 MW) in Odisha for ₹53.21 bn. In a notice to exchanges, JSW said it had entered into a ‘share purchase agreement’ with GMR Energy for acquiring 100 percent shares in its subsidiary GMR Kamalanga Energy. Post-acquisition, the total installed power generation capacity of JSW Energy will increase to 5,609 MW. Kamalanga is one the 36 identified stressed power assets that was undergoing debt resolution. The project was commissioned in 2014 and ran into trouble because of lack of coal supply. The coal block allotted to the project was cancelled by a Supreme Court judgment in the same year. The project has power purchase deal with Haryana, Odisha and Bihar. GMR Group has been selling its assets to offload debt. It recently sold one of its power projects to Adani Power. Lenders to GMR Chhattisgarh Energy (1,370 MW) approved the bid by Adani Power for the project in a bidding outside the National Company Law Tribunal.
The Essel Group is in talks with Adani Transmission and Tata Power to sell its under-construction Warora-Kurnool transmission line in an attempt to lower debt. The Warora-Kurnool transmission line was the biggest inter-regional transmission project awarded under inter-state tariff-based competitive bidding in July 2016. The 765 kV project, which included laying of transmission lines in central India from Warora in Maharashtra and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, was supposed to facilitate distribution of power to the southern region. However, it has been hit by delays as the timeline for the scheduled commissioning of the project is past its November 2019 deadline. The transmission line covers the districts of Warora, Warangal, Hyderabad, Kurnool and Chilakaluripeta with a sub station at Warangal. The initial contract period for the project was 35 years post commissioning of the project. It is also unclear whether the delays in commissioning will lead to any changes in the contract.
The government urged industry players to join hands with the government for the proposed electric lane on ₹1.03 tn Delhi-Mumbai Expressway while promising to provide policy support to serious players.
South Africa is planning to create a new power generating company separate from struggling state-owned utility Eskom to boost energy security. Eskom, which generates more than 90 percent of the country’s electricity, is mired in financial crisis and suffers frequent breakdowns at its coal-fired power plants, forcing it to implement power cuts that have dented economic output. The industry may partner in this effort but it is not clear what that partnership would entail. It is also not clear which generating technologies it would employ. South Africa’s announcement that it will open up electricity generation to other players, effectively breaking Eskom’s monopoly, has been welcomed by many, especially the mining industry, a key sector in Africa’s most industrialised economy. The government outlined a raft of steps that will allow firms to generate electricity for their own use. The government admitted power cuts in recent months had had a debilitating effect on the economy and vowed to “rapidly and significantly” shore up electricity generation outside the debt-saddled Eskom. The state-owned utility currently produces more than 90 percent of the country’s electricity. The mining industry — one of the largest power consumers — has for years been clamouring for legislative changes to ease up licensing to let firms produce their own electricity. The mining industry said it will have a combined capacity to produce 1.5 GW of electricity in the next 36 months. Companies will be able to sell any excess power into the national grid. Zimbabwe’s state power transmission company said it would increase its electricity tariff by 19.02 percent, effective 1 March. The southern African nation, which is enduring daily power cuts lasting up to 18 hours, last increased the tariff by 320 percent in October, saying this would help increase supplies.
Improved energy efficiency and less reliance on heavy industry saw France’s electricity consumption fall to its lowest level in a decade last year, grid operator RTE reported. CO2 emissions from the electricity sector fell 6 percent, it said. Electricity consumption fell to 473 TWh and the profile of supply changed as gas-fired generation rose by 24 percent while coal-fired supply fell by 72 percent. Nuclear output, which covers around 75 percent of France’s electricity needs, fell 3.5 percent partly due to increased outages. Hydro power generation fell 12 percent due to prolonged dry weather. France plans to phase out its remaining coal-fired power plants by 2022. Power generation from wind rose 21.2 percent while solar production was up 7.8 percent, it said. France remained Europe’s leading net exporter of electricity despite a drop in output, it said, with exports of 84 TWh and imports of 28.3 TWh.
Greece will begin the sale of a minority stake in power distribution operator HEDNO in September after the EIB agreed to offer a new loan to upgrade it. Greece has said the buyer of the 49 percent stake in HEDNO, which is at present fully owned by PPC, will also have increased minority rights. PPC’s finances have weakened in recent years as the utility copes with more than €2.7 bn ($2.93 bn) of unpaid bills from customers who struggled to meet payments during the country’s economic crisis that broke out in 2009. The planned sale “a cash injection” for PPC and a way to modernise HEDNO. The EIB, which is the European Union’s lending arm, agreed to offer a 20-year loan facility of €100 mn to PPC, as part of an approved facility of €255 mn to help it modernise HEDNO and build more than 7,000 km of new medium and low voltage power lines in Greece.
Russia is eyeing an increased share of Mena multi-billion-dollar power sector with the showcasing of its cable, generator and transmission providers at a dedicated national pavilion at the upcoming Middle East Energy in Dubai, UAE. Furthermore, the pavilion will host the global launch of several Russian industry breakthroughs including the world’s first diagnostic connection for power transmission line repair. One of the Russian pavilion stars is FutureLab, a Ural Federal University start-up, that will use the show to unveil to the region CableWalker – the world’s first wire ‘drone’ diagnostics connection for power transmission line repair which is claimed to significantly help reduce health risks. Future Lab already has an agreement with Dubai Water & Electricity Authority for a pilot project for comprehensive data monitoring and analysis of its power lines, the creation of a Dubai digital power system and the opening of a local service company.
China’s industrial power demand in 2020 may decline by as much as 73 bn kWh according to IHS Markit, as the outbreak of the coronavirus has curtailed factory output and prevented some workers from returning to their jobs. The cut represents about 1.5 percent of industrial power consumption in China. But, as the country is the world’s biggest electricity consumer, the loss is equal to the power used in the whole of Chile and it illustrates the scope of the disruption caused by the outbreak. Last year, industrial users consumed 4.85 tn kWh electricity, accounting for 67 percent of the country’s total. In Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, the peak power load at the end of January was 21 percent less than planned, data from Wood Mackenzie showed. Industrial operating rates point to a firm reduction in power consumption in China.
Egypt spent nothing on electricity subsidies in the second half of 2019, down from 7.992 bn Egyptian pounds ($510.02 mn) the same period a year earlier, a finance ministry semi-annual report showed. The North African country has increased electricity prices for both households and industry by an average of about 15 percent over the 2019-2020 fiscal year that began in July. It said its goal is to cut electricity subsidy spending to four billion Egyptian pounds for the full fiscal year. The report showed Egypt also cut its spending on energy subsidies, excluding power, to 9.88 bn Egyptian pounds in the second half of 2019 from 30.17 bn in the second half of 2018.
| JERC: Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission, discoms: distribution companies, EESL: Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, UT: Union Territory, mn: million, bn: billion, tn: trillion, kW: kilowatt, MW: megawatt, GW: gigawatt, kV: kilovolt, APDCL: Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd, LED: light emitting diode, DTRs: Distribution Transformers, CEA: Central Electricity Authority, POSOCO: Power System Operation Corp Ltd, IEX: Indian Energy Exchange, DERC: Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, KSEB: Kerala State Electricity Board, AERC: Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission, PSUs: Public Sector Undertakings, kWh: kilowatt hour, UP: Uttar Pradesh, AAP: Aam Aadmi Party, AIPEF: All India Power Engineers Federation, J&K: Jammu and Kashmir, UPCL: Uttarakhand Power Corp Ltd, UDAY: Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana, CO2: carbon dioxide, TWh: terawatt hour, HEDNO: Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, EIB: European Investment Bank, PPC: Public Power Corp, UAE: United Arab Emirates |
QuIck CommentLow oil import bill is positive for India’s economy! Good! |
9 March. At least in the oil sector, the global health emergency posed by the spread of the novel Coronavirus and Saudi Arabia declaring a price war, is coming to India’s advantage. India oil import bill is expected to fall by a sharper 10 percent in FY20 as the increasing spread of Coronavirus and now the fallout of talks between OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and Russia has depressed the crude oil prices to about $30 a barrel now against a high of over $70 a barrel in September and again in January this year. For FY21, the import bill could slip to half of current levels at $64 bn witnessed in FY16 when crude had fallen to $26 a barrel for some time. According to oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), country’s oil imports is projected to fall to 225 million tonnes (mt) in FY20 against 227 mt in FY19 while the import bill would reduce 6 percent to $105 bn from $112 bn worth of imports in previous fiscal. However, this calculation is based on average crude price of $64 a barrel for April-December of current fiscal while the January-March import has been worked on the basis of crude price of $66 a barrel. It is worth noting that crude oil prices slipped to below $60 and now around $30 a barrel from highs witnessed in first week of January. Analysts said that this would bring big savings on oil imports that generally surge in the later part of the financial year. Crude production in India has stagnated around 35 mt for past decade. In FY19, domestic crude production has dropped to 34.2 mt from 35.7 mt in the previous year.
Source: The Economic Times
5 March. Petrol and diesel in Karnataka will cost more from 1 April, as the state budget for fiscal 2020-21 has proposed 3 percent increase in VAT (Value Added Tax) on both the most consumed fuels, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said. The budget proposes to increase VAT on petrol to 35 percent from 32 percent and on diesel to 24 percent from 21 percent.
Source: The Economic Times
QuIck CommentIncrease of taxes on retail prices will reduce passthrough of low oil prices to customer! Bad! |
4 March. India’s GSPC (Gujarat State Petroleum Corp) is seeking 6 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery over March to November through two separate tenders. It is seeking one cargo for delivery over 23 to 31 March on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis, in a tender that closed on 3 March and valid until 4 March. It is also seeking five cargoes for delivery over April to November, also on a DES basis, in a separate tender that closes on 4 March and valid until 5 March.
Source: Reuters
4 March. The viability of India’s ₹500 bn capital expenditure plan for city gas distribution (CGD) over the next four years has improved with the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) expected to be subdued during the period. LNG accounts for nearly half of CGD consumption volume and a lower price augurs well for both volumes and operating margins of distributors, and project returns. Spot prices of LNG have more than halved on-year to a decadal low of less than $3 per million metric British thermal units (mmBtu) in February 2020 because of oversupply and the Coronavirus outbreak. The domestic administered price mechanism-based gas, which accounts for the balance half of CGD volume, is also expected to benefit from low international benchmark natural gas prices. Typically, CGD companies pass on lower inputs costs to their compressed natural gas (CNG) and retail customers, and in return, they get a volume fillip owing to better price competitiveness. The subdued outlook for LNG prices improves the viability of ₹500 bn of CGD capex relating to the ninth and tenth rounds of auctions by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). It also improves the prospects for 44 new geographical areas set to be awarded in the upcoming 11th round of auctions.
Source: The Economic Times
7 March. The Maharashtra Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) for Goods and Service Tax has passed an order to exclude the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Energy from paying GST on steam coal and said that the Group’s flagship steel manufacturing arm, JSW Steel will bear the cost while procuring the coal, in what is seen as a significant clarification as it avoids the spectre of double taxation for the group companies. The Sajjan Jindal-led companies JSW Steel and JSW Energy are two separate legal entities that had entered into a job work contract. Where the steel arm was to supply coal to the energy company and the resultant electricity is used in the manufacturing of steel. In this transaction, GST was levied first on JSW Steel and then when the coal is supplied to the energy company there was another GST payment levied on JSW Energy.
Source: The Economic Times
9 March. In an attempt to make power consumers pay their electricity bills on time, the power department has set a target of cracking down on at least 25 defaulters every day to recover the dues. According to the information from the power department, there are 1.82 lakh consumers in urban areas and 1.12 lakh in rural areas in Bareilly district. Thousands of these consumers have outstanding bills, the power department said. Now, Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (MVVNL), superintending engineer (rural) Tariq Jalil said, for recovering power dues, linesmen deputed on feeders will be entrusted with the task of recovering electricity dues from at least 25 power consumers every day in urban and rural areas. Disconnection of supply to consumers who have run up bills up to ₹10,000 or more was initiated earlier, Jalil said. The limit has now been reduced to ₹3,000.
Source: The Economic Times
6 March. UP (Uttar Pradesh) Power Minister Shrikant Sharma said the power transmission capacity of the state grew by 8000MW in the past three years of Yogi government. Sharma said the transmission capacity jumped from 16,500 MW in 2016-17 to 24,500 MW at present. Sharma said the high transmission capacity will allow the government to bear the peak demand electricity load of upto 24,500 MW. The high transmission capacity would be a great boost to UP where high load often results in prolonged power outages. Also, the total transmission capacity — indicative of power import load from outside the state — has been increased from 8,700 MW to 13,400 MW. In the wake of the upcoming summer season, the department has ordered completion of 20 under construction transmission sub-stations by March end, Sharma said. In order to fix responsibility of the regional officers of the UPPCL (UP Power Corp Ltd) for bringing down the alarming transmission and distribution losses in the state and for correct billing, will also tour all over the state from 11 March. Sharma said that to ensure the 31 March deadline for drastic improvement in every department of the UPPCL, mainly the implementation of phase II of the Saubhagya scheme, lodging of criminal cases against tainted contractors and faulty billing agencies, he would hold meetings at the divisional headquarters. The first divisional level meeting will be held at Meerut.
Source: The Economic Times
6 March. At a time when the installed capacity of generating electricity in Maharashtra is the highest in the country, the distribution losses of all power utility firms in the state has dipped over three years, states the state economic survey report. It adds that distribution losses dipped for MSEDCL (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd) from 14.7 percent in 2016-17 to 12.2 percent in 2019-20. The losses were also low for the BEST undertaking in Mumbai, which recorded a distribution loss of 4.3 percent in 2019-20.
Source: The Economic Times
4 March. The volume of power traded at Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), the country’s largest online electricity platform, jumped 57 percent to 4,516 mn units in February this year. IEX said the increase in trade volume was mainly due to distribution utilities opting for replacement of their costlier power with exchange-based procurement. The day-ahead market traded 4,289 mn units during the month with the average market clearing price at ₹2.91 per unit, registering a 6 percent decline over the price of ₹3.08 per unit in the corresponding period. Apart from this, the volumes in the term-ahead market (TAM) grew 168 percent on a year-on-year basis to 226 mn units indicating the increasing preference of TAM contracts by the distribution utilities for meeting their intra-day to weekly requirements.
Source: The Economic Times
9 March. Ocean-based tidal projects of Gujarat and in the Gangetic delta of Sundarbans in West Bengal have been cancelled by the respective state governments due to high capital costs, Power and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said. India has a long coastline of 7,500 km with immense potential for ocean energy. According to a study by IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Chennai and CRISIL in December 2014, the tidal power potential of the country is estimated at about 12,455 MW. According to the study, the Gulf of Kambhat and Gulf of Kutch near Gujarat have an estimated potential of 7,000 MW and 1,200 MW, respectively, with Sundarbans having a potential of 100 MW. Tidal energy is a form of hydropower energy that exercises energy of the oceanic tides to generate electricity. India had shown its inclination towards tidal energy in 2011 when the 50 MW tidal energy plant was conceptualised in Gujarat. Globally, tidal energy plants are limited with only 500 MW capacity in operation with South Korea leading the actual and planned investments.
Source: The Economic Times
8 March. Assam to come up with 140 MW solar power project at Dima Hasao district and at Amguri in Sivasagar district. Assam Chief Minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal administered the agreement signing for two solar power projects of 70 MW each at Dima Hasao district and at Amguri in Sivasagar district. He said that this historic signing of agreements would herald a new dawn in clean power generation sector in the state and Assam government had achieved considerable success in fulfilling the aim to provide to 68 lakh families of the state. Three agreements were signed – power sale agreement between Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) and NC Hills Autonomous Council for 70 MW Solar Power Project to be installed at Dima Hasao, power purchase agreement between APDCL and Jackson Power Private Ltd and land lease and implementation support agreement between APDCL and Jackson Power Private Limited for the 70 MW Solar Power Project at Amguri Solar Park in Sivasagar.
Source: The Economic Times
QuIck CommentCoal mining companies investing in solar will compromise on their core competence! Ugly! |
5 March. Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) is planning to install solar power plants of 300 MW capacity over 2-3 years to reduce its carbon footprints. The other state-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL), which alone accounts for 80 percent of the country’s domestic coal output, is also focusing on reduction of carbon footprint by technology upgradation in mining, exploring alternative source of energy and installation of LEDs and solar lights. The company has implemented roof top solar of 2.74 MW in Eastern Coalfields Ltd, Western Coalfields Ltd, Central Coalfields Ltd, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute, CIL (Headquarters) and a ground mounted solar of 2 MW in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. SCCL produced 64.40 million tonnes (mt) of coal last financial year and its net revenue stood at ₹206.93 bn. The miner operates a 1,200 MW thermal power plant and has chalked out a plan for adding solar capacity. It announced the synchronisation of a 5 MW solar power plant in January, located in Telangana. The solar plants, when operationalised, would make SCCL the first government-owned coal company generating solar power for captive use. The company is currently operating 48 mines. Of these, 19 opencast and 29 underground mines are located in 6 districts of Telangana. The firm contributes 9.4 percent of India’s total domestic coal production.
Source: The Economic Times
10 March. Saudi Arabia said it would boost its oil supplies to a record high in April, raising the stakes in a standoff with Russia and effectively rebuffing Moscow’s suggestion for new talks. The clash of oil titans Saudi Arabia and Russia sparked a 25 percent slump in crude prices, triggering panic selling on Wall Street and other equity markets that have already been badly hit by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. US (United States) President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a call to discuss global energy markets, the White House said. Trump is seeking re-election this year and will benefit from lower gasoline prices at the pump. But the US government will also be concerned by the potential for bankruptcies in the US shale industry, which plays an increasingly important economic role.
Source: Reuters
10 March. With oil erasing over a third of its value this week after a messy breakup of the OPEC+ alliance, OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) members were bleeding over half a billion dollars a day in lost revenue. For the most part, oil is a top income source for members of the OPEC and such a dramatic fall in prices will put strain on their economies, some of which such as Iran and Venezuela, are already on the brink. OPEC had been pushing for expanding the existing cuts with its allies, known as OPEC+, by an additional 1.5 mn barrels per day (bpd) to over 3 mn bpd until the end of the year. For some nations, including one the group’s richest members Saudi Arabia, fiscal budget break-even oil prices were already much higher than the oil price before the most recent collapse.
Source: Reuters
9 March. Indonesia state oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to import more crude oil as global price tumble, Ego Syahrial, acting director of oil and gas, said. Indonesia’s energy ministry has given Pertamina a crude import quota of 50 mn barrels this year, around 30 mn barrels lower than requested. Pertamina imported 87 mn barrels of crude last year, company data showed. Pertamina plans to spend $7.8 bn in investment this year, up 84 percent from a year earlier, to boost upstream output.
Source: Reuters
9 March. The Canadian government is deeply concerned by the crashing price of oil – one of the country’s major exports – and is monitoring the situation, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said. He said Ottawa would work closely with the energy-producing province of Alberta.
Source: Reuters
9 March. Saudi Arabia, which holds the presidency of the G20 economic powers this year, must coordinate on oil prices to avoid economic disruption for other countries, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. Le Maire said that oil companies should pass on the price cut “immediately to consumers at the pump”. The sharp drop in oil prices has added to stress in the financial markets, which were already in correction territory as investors re-evaluate profit and growth perspectives in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
Source: Reuters
6 March. Sales of petroleum products are slumping in Japan as the coronavirus outbreak worsens in the world’s fourth-biggest importer of crude, but the country’s biggest refiners say they are not planning to cut production. Oil product sales, including gasoline and jet fuel, slumped more than a quarter, the most recent period for which figures are available. Jet fuel sales sunk nearly 80 percent as Japanese and global airlines cancelled flights to China and other destinations. Japan’s refinery run rate was at 82.2 percent, compared with 84.3 percent the previous week. Still, oil traders said that Idemitsu and other Japanese refiners were cutting runs due to lower demand and margins.
Source: Reuters
4 March. Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the oil market was facing a surplus and needed to be balanced. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are due to meet in Vienna to discuss new oil output cuts to support oil prices. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members are seeking to win support from Russia for the output cuts. Russia will resist against a cut in production “until the last moment”, Zanganeh said. Iran’s crude oil exports were reduced by more than 80 percent after US (United States) President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.
Source: Reuters
6 March. Austria’s OMV said it had agreed with Russia’s Gazprom that they would give each other more time for negotiations before sealing the planned purchase of Siberian gas assets. The Austrian group had agreed in summer to pay €905 mn ($1 bn) for 24.98 percent of Gazprom’s Achimov IV and V phase development at the Urengoy gas fields as part of its strategy to increase gas in its upstream business as an alternative to oil. Back then, OMV said the closing of the deal was planned for end-2019 and production at the Achimov blocks would start this year. The two companies plan to continue negotiations until June 2022, OMV said. OMV and Gazprom have been cooperating for decades, and OMV also has a stake in Gazprom’s Yuzhno Russkoye field. The new agreement could give both companies the chance to renegotiate the price and OMV, which is also focussing on its business in the Middle East, more time before it has to pay and before it starts operating the fields. The Achimov blocks are expected to contribute more than 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to OMV’s 600,000 boepd output target in 2026, according to OMV.
Source: Reuters
6 March. The European Commission said it had accepted the commitments of Romanian gas pipeline operator Transgaz to boost natural gas exports particularly to Hungary and Bulgaria. The European Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 27 member European Union (EU), opened a probe in June 2017 into concerns Transgaz may be hindering gas exports by underinvesting in infrastructure or through tariffs. Romania is the third largest natural gas producer in the bloc, behind the Netherlands and Britain.
Source: Reuters
6 March. Kazakh natural gas exporter Kaztransgas is discussing further gas supplies with PetroChina after it issued a force majeure notice citing the coronavirus outbreak, the Kazakh firm said. Kaztransgas said gas exports to China continued “in the agreed volumes” for now. The Central Asian nation planned to ship 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of its own gas to China this year, in addition to transhipping even larger volumes from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. PetroChina has suspended some natural gas imports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and on gas imported via pipelines, as a seasonal plunge in demand added to the impact on consumption from the coronavirus outbreak.
Source: Reuters
4 March. Nigeria will issue a sovereign guarantee to back the bulk of a gas pipeline that is a core part of the government’s energy strategy, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said. The Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano natural gas pipeline aims to enable Nigeria to develop gas resources that are often burned at the well due to the focus on crude oil. The sovereign guarantee will back 85 percent of the $2.59 bn pipeline cost, funded in turn by a loan facility from Chinese lender Sinosure. NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corp) will cover the remaining 15 percent of the project’s cost. The government plans to develop gas-fired power plants along the pipeline, and also to use it to encourage companies to capture and sell gas rather than flaring it, which environmentalists say creates a health hazard and contributes to global warming.
Source: Reuters
5 March. The Indonesian government set its coal benchmark price (HBA) for March at $67.08 per tonne, higher than $66.89 in February, the energy ministry said. The benchmark price COAL-HBA-ID rose slightly as coal mine operations in China were affected by the coronavirus epidemic, the ministry said
Source: Reuters
4 March. Coal production in Colombia, the fifth-largest coal exporter in the world, fell 2 percent to 82.2 million tonnes (mt) in 2019 after output at one of the principle mines declined and operations were interrupted by droughts, the government said. In 2018, the South American country recorded coal production of more than 84.2 mt. A judicial ruling prevented the extension of mining operations at Cerrejon, a coal mine in the La Guajira province which is jointly owned by BHP Group, Anglo American and Glencore. As well as the Cerrejon mine, the Colombian coal industry is dominated by Drummond and Prodeco, which is a unit of Glencore.
Source: Reuters
10 March. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed for the release of $200 mn (about N61.2 bn) to Nigeria for the expansion of the country’s power transmission infrastructure. It was gathered in Abuja that the fund signed by the bank’s management would be used under the Nigeria’s Transmission Expansion Programme. Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, said the bank had offered to provide additional support to the country’s power sector.
Source: The Punch
10 March. Italy’s Terna will spend a record €7.3 bn ($8.3 bn) on its power grid over the next five years to beef up connections and deal with the growing shift toward green energy and decarbonisation. Terna, one of the world’s biggest power grid players, said it would be spending €4 bn to streamline its domestic network and strengthen cross-border connections with a view to making Italy an energy hub for the Mediterranean. Terna, which expects its regulated asset base to grow 5 percent a year to €19.7 bn, makes most of its money from returns set by the regulator to help it improve its high-voltage transmission grid. It said the main focus in the plan would remain the domestic grid but said it would continue operating power assets in Brazil, Uruguay and Peru while also looking for selected growth opportunities elsewhere.
Source: Reuters
9 March. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €250 mn ($284 mn) loan agreement with TenneT Holding IPO-TTH.AS to help finance a new high-voltage transmission line in the Netherlands, the German-Dutch grid company said. The loan will be used to help finance the construction of a 380 kilovolt (kV) transmission line to enable the transfer of offshore wind energy to users in the Netherlands and elsewhere. The new connection will help avoid congestion on the high voltage grid once the wind farms are in operation and will help transfer electricity from them.
Source: Reuters
5 March. Uzbekistan has signed more than $2 bn worth of strategic agreements with Saudi developer ACWA Power to boost electricity generation and develop technical expertise, its energy ministry said. The deals include a 25-year power purchase agreement worth $1.2 bn which will see ACWA build and operate a gas-turbine power plant in the country, the ministry said. The project, on which Tashkent invited bids, will boost Uzbekistan’s total capacity by 12 percent.
Source: Reuters
10 March. Anglo American has signed a 15-year contract in Brazil to buy 70 MW of solar power from Atlas Renewable Energy as of 2022 for its operation in Minas Gerais, the mining company said. Atlas will invest 881 mn reais ($190 mn) in a solar farm in Minas Gerais state to cover the Anglo American contract, the mining company said. Anglo aims to be using 100 percent renewable energy by 2022.
Source: Reuters
10 March. Spanish forestry and energy group Greenalia SA has opened the Curtis-Teixeiro biomass-fired power plant with 50 MW of capacity and started selling the electricity on 1 March. Located in Spain’s northern region of Galicia, the Curtis-Teixeiro project involved an investment of €135 mn ($153.3 mn) and 19 months of construction, which was completed ahead of schedule, the company said. The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition has recently updated the remuneration parameters for certain renewable power generation facilities, allowing for payments for operations to increase to 7,500 from 6,500 hours annually.
Source: Renewables Now
10 March. The European Union (EU) will review state aid rules and launch a project to produce clean hydrogen to replace fossil fuels to help European firms to maintain a competitive edge in global markets as they embark on large-scale emissions cuts. The EU industrial strategy, unveiled by the executive European Commission, lays out a long-term vision to steer industry towards the bloc’s goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The Commission will propose a public-private “alliance” to produce clean hydrogen, following the model of an €8.3 bn ($9.4 bn) battery project involving seven EU countries and 17 companies. Using hydrogen as an alternative fuel source to coal or gas could slash emissions in hard-to-decarbonise sectors like steel, but the technology remains prohibitively expensive. Other EU alliances will follow for low-carbon industries, cloud data and raw materials. Companies will require huge amounts of clean electricity to support technologies such as hydrogen production.
Source: Reuters
10 March. China will modify the environmental supervision of companies to help the resumption of production disrupted by the coronavirus epidemic, giving firms more time to rectify environmental problems, but stressed it was not relaxing standards. The environmental inspectors will not punish firms who make a small mistake but are able to correct it in time and not cause any environmental damage. The deadline for firms to meet environmental standards will also be extended at discretion. But Cao Liping, director of Ecological and Environmental Enforcement bureau at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), said that changes to supervision did not mean relaxing environmental rules or supervision. The environmental ministry will use the coronavirus outbreak as a chance to improve the supervision efficiency, by adopting more high-tech means and reducing on-site checks, Cao said.
Source: Reuters
9 March. Denmark should sharply increase its carbon tax to help meet the cost of reaching its 2030 target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent from 1990 levels, the Danish Council on Climate Change said. Denmark, which has pioneered wind power, is broadly seen as a leader in efforts to tackle climate change and many of its peers are closely following what the small Nordic state is doing to achieve its targets. Peter Mollgaard, chair of the council, said the most important tool would be an increase in carbon taxes, and recommended an increase to 1,500 crowns per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, from just 170 crowns currently. Using existing technology, Denmark could achieve a 60 percent reduction emissions by 2030, the council said, but the remaining 10 percent would come from new technological advances.
Source: Reuters
9 March. Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the power sector fell by 2 percent last year, the biggest fall since at least 1990, owing to reduced coal usage in Europe and the United States, a study showed. Coal-fired power generation fell by 3 percent globally, also the largest fall since 1990, research by independent climate think tank Ember showed. The drop in Europe was 24 percent, driven by a switch to renewables, while US coal-fired generation was down 16 percent because of more competitive gas. However, China bucked the trend with a rise as it became responsible for half of global coal-fired power generation. Overall, the decline in coal use last year and shift toward renewables was helped by factors such as cheap gas, nuclear plant restarts in Japan and South Korea and slowing electricity demand, the report said. The International Energy Agency said that global CO2 emissions from power production flattened last year as growth of renewable energy and fuel switching from coal to natural gas led to lower emissions from advanced economies.
Source: Reuters
7 March. The Virginia Legislature passed a bill that puts the state on a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2045 as part of the commonwealth’s effort to reduce its impact on climate change. Virginia Senate Bill 851 requires the state to get all its electricity from carbon free sources like renewables and nuclear. The legislation would also allow fossil plants to operate if they install carbon capture and storage technologies. The bill commits Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 10 US (United States) Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Source: Reuters
6 March. Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic aims to add 1,000 MW of renewable energy sources by 2029 at a cost of 11.5 bn Bosnian marka ($6.7 bn) to smooth its transition from coal, the energy ministry said. The largest portion of projects, targeting solar, wind and hydro sources, will be carried out by the majority state-run power utility ERS.
Source: The Economic Times
4 March. The Dutch government said it would double the amount of money available under its renewable energy subsidy program to €4 bn ($4.45 bn) in 2020, from a previously planned €2 bn. The Netherlands is scrambling to meet its obligations under the Kyoto protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by the end of this year. Economic Affairs Minister Eric Wiebes said the extra money was intended to help the country meet its promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Source: Reuters
4 March. Poland will have to spend 60 bn zlotys ($15.56 bn) on its planned nuclear power plants over the next 20 years, the Polish Minister responsible for energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski said. Poland generates most of its electricity from carbon-intensive coal and is the only EU (European Union) state that has not pledged to achieve climate neutrality in 2050.
Source: Reuters
|
Date/ Financial Year (ending) |
Installed Capacity (MW) (As on Date) |
Electricity Generation (MU) (as per Financial year) |
| 31.03.1990 | 63618 | 245432 |
| 31.03.1992 | 69033 | 286990 |
| 31.03.1997 | 84893 | 395013 |
| 31.03.2002 | 103388 | 515354 |
| 31.03.2007 | 124568 | 660794 |
| 31.03.2008 | 131936 | 697416 |
| 31.03.2009 | 134723 | 713307 |
| 31.03.2010 | 143877 | 762903 |
| 31.03.2011 | 155171 | 803696 |
| 31.03.2012 | 175374 | 876887 |
| 31.03.2013 | 195802 | 911652 |
| 31.03.2014 | 213566 | 973425 |
| 31.03.2015 | 235945 | 1055065 |
| 31.03.2016 | 259239 | 1101803 |
| 31.03.2017 | 269588 | 1153846 |
| 31.03.2018 | 274980 | 1201616 |
| 31.03.2019 | 278458 | 1245017 |
| 31.10.2019 | 281581 | 757946 |
Trends in All India (Conventional & Renewables) Installed Capacity by Sector
|
This 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 2019 is the sixteenth continuous year of publication of the newsletter. The newsletter is registered with the Registrar of News Paper for India under No. DELENG / 2004 / 13485. Disclaimer: Information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and has been compiled, adapted and edited from reliable sources. ORF does not accept any liability for errors therein. News material belongs to respective owners and is provided here for wider dissemination only. Opinions are those of the authors (ORF Energy Team). Publisher: Baljit Kapoor Editorial Adviser: Lydia Powell Editor: Akhilesh Sati Content Development: Vinod Kumar |
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