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Pf POWER FACTOR

IN-HOUSE NEWS COMPILATION: MAY 2014

TRIPLE S ELECTRIC POWERS PVT.LTD

A SYNCHRONIZED SYNERGY SYNDICATE

Registered Office: No: 1059/3, Munusamy Salai, K.K. Nagar West, Chennai – 600078

Administrative Office: N.No 6,O.No.23/1,Yogambal Street, T.Nagar, Chennai - 600017

Tel: +91 44 2471 1193/Mobile: 7810888734/35/36/37/38

We mind your Power Business

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Energy

Exchange Price Index: May 2014

IEX

Year: 2014

Year | Month S2

2014 May 11011.34

Summary S2

Average (RTC) 11011.34

Peak 13862.26

Non Peak 9320.63

Day 11427.23

Night 7725.21

Morning 9208.45

PXIL:

Summary

May

Area Clearing Price (ACP)

Sub Region Min Max Avg

S2 1680.00 5000.00 3499.40

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News Contents

1. Capacity addition does the trick in Tamil Nadu: Hindu 2. Tamil Nadu to do away with load shedding from June 1: BL 3. We run ageing plant because of Tangedco demand: NLC CMD: Hindu 4. Ennore Port looking at setting up an SEZ:BL 5. Modi needs to reform electricity to power India recovery: Reuters 6. TN wind industry cold shoulders state-sponsored Expo: BL 7. India considers splitting power utilities to cut losses: Live Mint 8. Rupee hits 9-month high of 59.56 9. Tata Power launches thermal storage to cut peak demand: BL 10. Cops probe PEs in battle for power companies: TOI 11. CIL tweaks basis to determine security deposit for power companies:

BS 12. Punjab dependent on private power generation units: TOI 13. CIL modifies fuel supply agreement model for new power plants: ET 14. Solar gear importers likely to face steep dumping duty: ET 15. First Kudankulam reactor reaches 90 per cent of maximum capacity:

Hindu 16. Power tariff hiked in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat: BL 17. Power generation exceeds target by almost 6 per cent in April: Central

Electricity Authority: ET 18. India’s growth model is a disaster: BL 19. Private power companies want CIL to sell them unsold coal: ET 20. Edwards Highlights Role of Liquid Ring Pumps in Maximising Efficiency

of Steam Turbines: Business Wire 21. Now a power tussle between Kerala and Tamil Nadu?: IBN 22. BHEL commissions 160-MW power plant in Rajasthan: BL

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CHENNAI, May 29, 2014 Updated: May 29, 2014 01:53 IST

Capacity addition does the trick in Tamil Nadu

T. RAMAKRISHNAN B. ARAVIND KUMAR

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Installed capacity will jump from 12,500 MW to 16,500 MW by March 2015

About one-and-a-half-years ago, domestic consumers in different parts of the State, except Chennai, were reeling under severe load shedding that ranged from 12 to 14 hours.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s announcement that the State will be free of power cuts from June 1 marks a turnaround in the power supply situation, even if it is viewed with scepticism in some quarters, which believe that the government’s optimism is based on the expected wind generation that peaks during the months of June to September when the southwest monsoon is active.

The government’s confidence in tiding over the crisis in the immediate future stems from a combination of factors like capacity addition to the tune of 2,550 megawatt (MW), long-term power purchase agreements for 3,300 MW and the new projects in

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the pipeline with a generation capacity of 2,000 MW that will further ease the situation, say officials of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO).

In terms of capacity addition, the latest to be commissioned was a 600-MW unit at the North Chennai Thermal Power Station of the TANGEDCO early this month. There are now two units of 600 MW each at the station, which also has three units of 210 MW each.

Of the three units of 500 MW each in the joint venture between NTCP and TANGEDCO in Vallur, two have been commissioned. The third will be commissioned in a few months. Tamil Nadu’s share is 375 MW from each unit.

Apart from the 4x210 MW available capacity in Mettur, a 600-MW plant has also become operational, generating 400 MW. A month ago, hydrogen leak bothered the authorities but they are working to fix the problem.

When the southwest monsoon sets in next week, the State will have the benefit of higher quantum of wind power. As per a conservative estimate, the State will get, on an average, 3,000 MW during June-September. When the Kayathar-Sholinganallur wind corridor is commissioned by July, more power will be made available to the northern parts of the State, which are having greater demand than other regions.

Not just that. In 10 months, 2,000 MW more will be available for consumers. This will be through various projects, including joint venture projects being taken up by the Tangedco with NTPC and the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.

In addition, the State will get another 2,000 MW during the current financial year as the Corporation has signed long-term pacts with private suppliers for 15 years. The agreements have been entered into for 3,300 MW totally. However, even here, there are problems with the grid corridors that Tangedco officials expect to be sorted out by July. The remaining 1,300 MW will be available next year. Already, the State is receiving 500 MW through a five-year purchase agreement.

Owing to these measures, the State’s installed capacity will jump from the present 12,500 MW to 16,500 MW by March 2015. The installed capacity includes about 2,300 MW of hydro power, which is normally used to meet the peak-hour load.

“On Wednesday, the gap between demand and supply was 1000 MW. Wind power generation has not picked up. An active monsoon will improve both wind and hydel production in the months to come,” says a senior official. A close and periodical monitoring of the commissioned projects is essential to sustain the turnaround and ensure the State is not haunted by power cuts again, the official says.

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Tamil Nadu to do away with load shedding from June 1

PTI CHENNAI, MAY 27: The Tamil Nadu Government today announced it would do away with load shedding for domestic and industrial customers from June 1 after the power situation in the state started to look up.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa held a meeting of her senior cabinet colleagues and Government officials to review the prevailing power situation and later said in a statement that there was no power cut across the state in the last five days.

While her Government had taken steps to add 2500 MW to the installed capacity since it took over in 2011, mid-term agreements for purchase of 500 MW was also being implemented.

Further, the long-term agreement to purchase 3300 MW will be implemented in phases from August this year, she said.

New power projects had started generating power, providing the state sufficient electricity and therefore, there had been no power cut in the state for the last five days even as she pinned further hope on wind power which, the CM said, would pick up speed by next month.

The Chief Minister had asked officials to make maximum utilisation of wind power.

Considering this, she had asked power managers to completely withdraw the existing load shedding designs, including the two-three hour cut for domestic consumers.

Accordingly, 90 per cent cut in power for high pressure industrial and commercial consumers between 6-10 PM will be completely done away with from June 1, and so will be the case with the 20 per cent load-shedding for the same category in other times.

The said proposal would help boost industrial production and result in job-creation and help the state become power surplus, she added.

(This article was published on May 27, 2014)

NEYVELI, May 21, 2014

Updated: May 21, 2014 03:26 IST

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We run ageing plant because of Tangedco demand: NLC CMD

A. V. RAGUNATHAN

Main beneficiaries are Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

The over five-decade-old Thermal Power Station-I of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation, where an accident claimed the life of an engineer on Tuesday, is being run on the demand of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco), according to NLC Chairman-cum-Managing Director B. Surender Mohan.

Mr. Mohan told The Hindu that to tide over the power shortage in Tamil Nadu, TPS-I was being operated.

TPS-I has nine units — six units of 50 MW each and three units of 100 MW each.

The main beneficiaries of the power from these units are Tamil Nadu, and to a certain extent, the Union Territory of Puducherry. These units have been established with Russian expertise over eight years, from May 1962 to September 1970.

Ever since, electricity generated from the plant was being fed into the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (now Tangedco). In March 1992, the life extension programme was carried out in the plant at a cost of Rs. 315.23 crore. The work was completed in March 1999.

Mr. Mohan said the plant was expected to be in operation till 2017. Asked whether the age of the unit could have been the reason for the steam-pipe burst, Mr. Mohan said the real cause would be known only after a committee of NLC executives completed its study.

However, he underscored that a committee of experts had been periodically carrying on the residual life assessment of the plant and issuing guidelines for maintenance. Their suggestions were being scrupulously followed and implemented.

Asked whether the plant would be decommissioned in the aftermath of the accident and a new plant erected, Mr. Mohan said the NLC Board of Directors had approved the tapering down of power generation to 300 MW this year and a gradual shut-down of the remaining units.

Mr. Mohan said the Centre sanctioned 2x500 MW Neyveli New Thermal Plant (NNTP) in June 2011, and orders had been placed with the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. for fabrication of equipment. “The 1,000-MW NNTP plant would be in place by 2017 when the 600-MW TPS-I plant would be dismantled.”

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Ennore Port looking at setting up an SEZ

OUR BUREAU

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CHENNAI, MAY 19:

Kamarajar Port Ltd is exploring the possibility of setting up a Special Economic Zone or a Free Trade Zone on surplus land available with it, according to MA Bhaskarachar, Chairman and Managing Director, Kamarajar Port.

The port at Ennore, about 25 km north of Chennai, is considering various options to utilise over 650 acres land that is available with it. It has decided to appoint consultants to study the prospects of setting up a special economic zone (SEZ) or free trading zone (FTZ). It is also consulting with port users and has obtained five Expressions of Interest from some of the major users, he said.

Slashing vessel charges

The port is one of three major ports in Chennai, including the Chennai Port and a private port at Kattupalli near Ennore. Kamarajar Port is in the process of reducing port user charges to be competitive. It had slashed rates a couple of years back and with increasing volumes of cargo handled, it is passing on the benefit of economies of scale.

Last fiscal it handled about 27 million tonnes of cargo over 50 per cent higher than in the previous year, he said addressing an interaction between exporters and the officials of the Director General of Foreign Trade organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Dredging

The port has completed deepening of its channel to 20 m and the basin to 18 m. It can now handle 15 m draft vessels. This will now facilitate it to handle partially laden cape size vessels and fully laden panamax vessels.

Chettinad Builders which is handling the multi cargo berth has also asked for dredging which will be completed in about six months, he said.

Ennore Port is keen on strengthening its rail link. One of the long term plans is to get a rail link aligned along the Outer Ring Road which will enable it to link to the proposed Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, he said.

(This article was published on May 19, 2014)

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Modi needs to reform electricity to power India recovery: Clyde Russell

BY CLYDE RUSSELL

LAUNCESTON Australia Mon May 19, 2014 2:20pm IST

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(Reuters) - Narendra Modi's crushing election win has given rise to hopes for an

economic revival in India, but much will depend on whether he can replicate the

electricity success of his home state.

India's financial markets have been buoyed by Modi's victory, betting that the Hindu

nationalist politician can work the same economic wonders for the whole country that

he did while running the western state of Gujarat for 13 years.

The alliance led by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 336 of the 543 seats in

India's lower house of parliament when election results were announced last week,

giving India a majority government for the first time in a quarter of a century.

While Modi's authority will be bolstered by the massive win and his legislative

programme will be easier to implement given he doesn't need to negotiate with

coalition partners, the scale of the challenge facing him is enormous.

India is structurally short of electricity, and it's hard to see how the economy can be

ramped up significantly, especially in power-hungry sectors such as manufacturing,

without the provision of reliable power at prices high enough to ensure sustainable

supply, but not so high as to choke growth.

One of Modi's key accomplishments in Gujurat is said to be his reform of the power

sector, making the state the only one with a consistent power surplus.

What Modi's government did in Gujarat was less to do with building new power

plants and more to do with reforming how electricity was distributed and paid for.

His government re-negotiated purchase agreements with private power companies,

set up a police unit to stop thieving of electricity and ended unmetered supplies to

rural areas.

What Modi didn't do was have the state build more power plants, rather its share of

generation has gone down while that of the private sector has gone up.

Modi's accomplishment in Gujarat was to improve the reliability of supply at the cost

of higher prices, a bargain that has apparently been successful.

Whether this formula can be replicated across India is very much open to debate,

given that the central government has limited authority over state electricity boards.

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Politicians at state level have for years used power as a populist football, regulating

for cheap electricity that has meant losses for both private and public generators and

distributors.

A recent example of the chaos afflicting India's electricity sector is the Supreme

Court's intervention to order state-run power producer NTPC Ltd (NTPC.NS) to

supply distribution companies in the capital New Delhi in order to prevent blackouts.

The distributors claim that low tariffs mean they can't afford to pay the generator,

while the government of Delhi has threatened to cancel the distributors' licences and

examine their finances.

In some ways it doesn't matter who is right or wrong in the Delhi power dispute, what

matters is that any company contemplating investing in the region would have

serious concerns about the reliability of electricity supply.

Sorting out the disconnect between retail prices and the actual cost of producing and

distributing electricity is also just the tip of the iceberg in ensuring sufficient power for

economic growth.

RELIANCE ON COAL

India is reliant on coal for electricity, with the fuel providing about 70 percent of total

generation.

Given its cost advantage over other fossil fuels such as natural gas and its

abundance, it makes sense that India is looking to coal to power its future.

The defeated government's 12th five-year plan anticipated that about 76 gigawatts

(GW) of new power will be added by 2016-17, with about 63 GW being coal-fired.

Assuming this capacity is actually added, it would take total coal-fired generation to

around 175 GW, which would require about 842 million tonnes of coal a year.

In addition to coal for power generation, India has optimistic plans to expand steel

output, which could potentially use as much as 300 million tonnes of coking coal by

2016-17, taking the total coal need to around 1.1 billion tonnes.

Even if these demand forecasts prove too optimistic, the problem is that there is little

chance that India could get close to meeting its coal requirement from domestic

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resources, meaning imports will have to increase, putting pressure on the current

account deficit.

Domestic coal output was about 587 million tonnes for the fiscal year ended in

March, and imports were about 158.8 million tonnes.

Coal India, the state-controlled behemoth that produces about 80 percent of the

nation's output, says it can increase output by 300 million tonnes a year, if Indian

Railways moved faster in building new tracks.

Given Coal India has consistently disappointed on output growth, its claims have to

be treated with caution, but they do highlight the main issue for coal availability in

India.

There is ample domestic coal, but it can't be moved around the country due to major

bottlenecks on the rail system.

Building new mines and railways requires investors jump through multiple

bureaucratic hoops, and it's in this area that Modi's new government may be able to

speed things up.

But in the short term it appears likely that coal imports will have to rise if the new

government wants to improve the availability and reliability of electricity.

Power prices to consumers will also have increase in order to pay for imported coal

and improvements to distribution systems.

(Editing by Richard Pullin)

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TN wind industry cold shoulders state-sponsored Expo

M RAMESH

Unhappy over Government not giving priority for the sector

CHENNAI, MAY 13:

The wind power industry in Tamil Nadu is likely to give Renergy 2014, a major renewable energy exhibition-cum-conference sponsored by the Tamil Nadu government, a miss.

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The wind industry is miffed over the poor priority accorded to it in the State, which incidentally has the highest installed wind power capacity in the country—7,200 MW—about 40 per cent of India’s.

The state-owned electricity distribution utility, Tangedco, is often not buying power from the windmills, either because of the absence of transmission lines to evacuate the power or due to reasons of economics.

Due to this ‘back-down’, wind power producers in the State lost a huge amount of generation last year—2.5 billion units according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and 4.4 billion units going by the data provided by the Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (TASMA), many of whose members are also wind power producers.

Both the arms of the industry—those who produce the wind mills and those who buy the wind mills from them to generate electricity—are up in arms.

Representing the latter, TASMA has argued that both the federal and state electricity grid codes call for ‘must run status’ to the wind turbines, which means that the power the turbines produce must be purchased by the distribution utility, (since wind power is both green and cheap.)

The wind turbine manufacturers are now showing their displeasure by not participating in Renergy 2014. The Renergy show of the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) is a prestigious event, being organised since 2012.

Tamil Nadu, incidentally, is home to two of the top four wind turbine manufacturers in the country—Gamesa and Regen Powertech. The State also has two other smaller manufacturers, RRB and Leitner Shriram.

Asked about participation in Renergy 2014, the Chairman of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers’ Association, Mr Madhusudhan Khemka, vehemently denied any show of protest, but said that the industry saw no business prospects in the next 24 to 36 months in Tamil Nadu and hence was not keen on participating in the event.

Ministry concerned

Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has taken up the cause of the wind industry in the State. In a letter to the state’s Chief Secretary last week, the Secretary of the Ministry has said that MNRE understands the concerns of the state—that wind power is fickle and infirm and the unpredictability causes grid stability issues.

However, the letter noted that “to not repeat the losses of 2013” the industry has offered to set up a Wind Energy Integration Facility with equipment and software to predict wind flows, at its own cost.

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The Indian Wind Power Association has “not been able to convince the officials of Tangedco” MNRE Secretary Upendra Tripathy said in the letter, calling for the state Chief Secretary’s “personal intervention”.

(This article was published on May 13, 2014)

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India considers splitting power utilities to cut losses

Power secretary says the govt plans to separate the wire-network business from electricity

retail and privatize the latter

The proposal will need approval of the next government in New Delhi set to take

charge this month and would require a change in the law. Photo: Bloomberg

New Delhi: India is considering breaking up its power distribution utilities to stem

losses that have saddled the mostly state-controlled industry with more than $32

billion in debt.

The nation plans to separate the wire-network business from electricity retail and

privatize the latter, power secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha said in an interview. The

proposal will need approval of the next government in New Delhi set to take charge

this month and would require a change in the law.

“The plan is to gradually move to a regime where power tariffs are market-based and

the regulator only sets the ceiling,” said Sinha. Consumers will have an option to

choose their electricity supplier. Competition to woo consumers will lead to better

services and reduced distribution losses.

Record additions in generation capacity have failed to bring electricity to Indian

households, as retailers hamstrung by price controls struggle to purchase enough

power. The shortfall deprives citizens of health and education facilities, and crimps

economic growth by raising costs at factories. India’s electricity distributors run the

local wire network in their licensed areas as well as sell electricity to consumers.

On an average, 27% of the electricity distributors supply is unpaid for, because of

leakages from an archaic network, theft and slack billing. On the other hand,

increase in cost of coal for power generation has raised their purchase costs,

contributing to losses.

Five years

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“The separation could take as many as five years to implement,” said Sambitosh

Mahapatra, a Gurgaon, India-based partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, who

advised the power ministry on the plan.

The nation’s distribution utilities had accumulated losses of Rs.2.16 trillion ($36

billion) as of March 2012, a 41% increase from the year earlier, according to a report

by Power Finance Corp. Ltd, a state lender to power projects. Average cost of

supplying electricity rose 24% in the two years to March 2012, widening the revenue

deficit, according to the report.

The split may face opposition from some state governments that use power tariffs as

a tool to attract votes. In the current election season that ran from April to May, at

least four states, including Delhi, announced a reduction in electricity tariffs to woo

voters.

“Many states might be reluctant to unbundle the network and retail supply initially,”

said Mahapatra. “We believe some progressive states with the right governance

motives and infrastructure would consider it. When the benefits become apparent,

more states will follow.”

The unbundling plan draws from successes in the UK, Argentina and parts of

Australia.

“So far, the response from the states seems positive,” secretary Sinha said. “States

now realize that ailing distributors have become a burden on their own balance

sheets and that something needs to be done urgently to revive them.” Bloomberg

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Rupee hits 9-month high of 59.56

OUR BUREAU

MUMBAI, MAY 12:

The rupee was trading at a nine-month high of 59.56 per dollar at 9.48 a.m. local time on the back of strong inflows in the domestic equity market.

The rupee opened flat at at 60.03 against the previous close amid uncertainty over exit poll results.

The rupee is likely to remain range-bound as it tracks the equity market ahead of the upcoming election results and at the same time reports suggest that the RBI is trying to keep the rupee around 60 levels.

Call rates, bond yields

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The overnight call money rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from each other to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches) ended higher at 8.7 per cent from the previous close of 7.05 per cent on Thursday.

The yield on 10-year benchmark 8.83 per cent bond, maturing in 2023, softened a tad to 8.73 per cent from Friday's close 8.74 per cent. Bond prices rose to Rs 100.57 against Rs 100.53. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

deepa.nair@thehindu.co.in

(This article was published on May 12, 2014)

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Tata Power launches thermal storage to cut peak demand

OUR BUREAU

Promotes energy efficiency by shifting load from peak to off-peak hours

MUMBAI, MAY 8:

Tata Power has launched a ‘thermal energy storage incentive programme’ for consumers to lower peak demand of electricity on its Mumbai distribution network.

Thermal energy storage promotes energy efficiency by shifting load from peak hours to off-peak hours, using viable and proven technologies.

Under the storage system, the central air-conditioning plants used by large establishments such as hotels, malls and commercial buildings, run at night when the power load is low and convert water to ice. During daytime, the building is cooled by the energy stored in ice with the chillers of the air-conditioning plants switched off.

Load shift

Tata Power said it achieved a load shift of over 3.6 million units from peak to off-peak hours. The company has enrolled a thermal storage capacity of over 15,000 hours.

Consumers participating in the programme include Hotel Meluha and Supreme IT Park. They have installed the technology on their premises and optimised their electricity bills due to reduced charges. Tata Power also provides online metering systems for the consumer’s chiller plants and computes the load shift due to thermal storage.

Tariff changes according to category of consumers. While the base tariff is constant throughout the day, there is time of day (ToD) penalty and incentive structure. There is a penalty of ₹1 a unit for usage during peak hours and incentive of ₹0.75 for energy used in night or off-peak hours.

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Monetary benefit

S Padmanabhan, Executive Director, Operations, Tata Power, said, “Our ‘thermal energy storage incentive programme’ will not only support our consumers to bring down the peak power requirements, but will also offer monetary benefit on each unit of electricity shifted from peak hour to off-peak hour as an incentive.”

Mumbai’s peak power load (during the day) is over 3,400 MW in summer, while the off-peak load drops to almost one third. The shift also helps electricity distribution companies in power procurement, as the demand does not fluctuate drastically.

Tata Power has exchange programmes running on split air-conditioners and energy-efficient refrigerators for its consumers, who can avail themselves of these at a discounted price online.

(This article was published on May 8, 2014

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TIMES OF INDIA Cops probe PEs in battle for power companies Boby Kurian,TNN | May 9, 2014, 03.07 AM IST

The investor consortium and the promoters led by T V Vijaykumar have sought

arbitration in Singapore courts for management control

MUMBAI: A clutch of marquee global investors — Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs,

General Atlantic Partners and Everstone Capital — are facing a criminal

investigation by the Hyderabad police in a corporate takeover battle gone ugly. The

police have sought interrogation of the directors on the board of Asian Genco, a

power generation company with close links to Seemandhra political bigwigs.

Four years ago, the foreign investors pumped $425 million into the Singapore-

incorporated Asian Genco, which controlled energy plants in coastal Seemandhra,

Sikkim and with aggressive expansion plans in the Indian energy sector. It was the

largest private equity investment in the power sector and was touted as a defining

deal in India's infrastructure build-up post the Lehman Brothers collapse.

The investor consortium and the promoters led by T V Vijaykumar have sought

arbitration in Singapore courts for management control. Investors who had majority

shares but not the voting rights wanted complete management rights citing promoter

moves to alienate assets under the parent company. They also cited significant cost

overruns and inordinate delays in executing the projects, among other reasons, for

the takeover move.

But little known Hyderabad-based company Cobalt Power, an ally of the promoter,

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which invested Rs 200 crore in the Seemandhra thermal power project, recently

moved a magistrate court alleging that the foreign investors were wrongly taking

charge and appropriating third-party investments. The lower court allowed the

petition and directed the state police to start a probe.

Asian Genco VC Krishna V Tatineni said he would not comment on the dispute,

which he said "is an internal matter between the shareholders". When contacted,

some private equity investors that are part of the consortium declined to comment,

while others could not be reached immediately.

The police have sought interrogation of directors representing heavyweight foreign

investors at a time when India has struggled to rekindle global investor interest on

the back of slowing growth and poor corporate governance.

The investor consortium, which also included Ashmore and Norvest Venture

Partners, set off the takeover move after the promoter began inducting local

investors like Cobalt into specific projects. The foreign investors alleged such moves

diluted their ownership.

Investors were to hold 51% stake in each project by virtue of their majority shares in

the holding company Asian Genco Pte Ltd. But the entry of Cobalt, pushed through

by the promoters, reduced the foreign investors to a minority in East Coast Energy

Private Ltd, the upcoming thermal project in coastal Seemandhra. This development

is the latest and the most serious in a spate of recent flare-ups between private

equity investors and Indian promoters, which has seriously dented the confidence of

foreign risk capital providers who have put to work over $50 billion in growth

companies.

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CIL tweaks basis to determine security deposit for power companies

Company has so far signed 160 fuel supply agreements with power units

Press Trust of India | New Delhi

May 8, 2014 Last Updated at 15:52 IST

State-owned Coal India (CIL) has modified basis for determining security deposit

pertaining to the fuel agreements agreements (FSA) for the new power plants.

"Under the model FSA applicable for the power plants (including tapering models),

where multiple grades of coal are indicated under the schedule of grades/types of

coal to be supplied, presently the security deposit (SD) amount is determined based

on the base price of the highest grade of coal," the CIL said in a letter dated April 17

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to its subsidiaries.

"The basis for determining such SD amount has been modified and shall now be

based on simple average price of grades of coal as mentioned in the schedule," it

said.

Accordingly, the relevant FSA provision shall stand modified with immediate effect, it

said.

"This is for your taking necessary action in this regard," it added.

Security deposit is the sum of money which the power producer deposits before

signing fuel supply pacts with the coal PSU.

The maharatna firm had recently tweaked the fuel supply pact model for new private

power plants providing them an opportunity to amend/supplement the power

purchase agreement (PPA) more than once a year.

Amid continuous delays, CIL has so far signed 160 fuel supply agreements (FSA)

with power units.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) had earlier stated that the timelines for

signing of fuel supply pacts for power projects of 78,000 MW capacity should be met.

"As of now Coal India has signed 160 fuel supply agreements (FSAs). There are still

some more to be signed," a Coal India official had earlier said.

Power projects with 78,000 MW capacity have been approved for coal supplies by

the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"(Overall) 177 LoAs (Letter of Assurances) were issued by CIL and its subsidiaries

for power projects to be commissioned during the 11th and the 12th Five year Plan.

These LoAs cover a capacity of about 1,08,000 MW," according to a Coal Ministry

document.

Two deadlines set for the signing of FSAs by CIL with the power producers could not

be adhered to. The Coal Ministry had set the deadline of August 31, 2013 for signing

of the FSAs, which could not be met. The second deadline was set for September,

last year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIMES OF INDIA

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Punjab dependent on private power generation units TNN | May 8, 2014, 01.56 AM IST

CHANDIGARH: Punjab is falling prey to countrywide trend of overdependence on

private power generation units. Experts point out that it is imposition of financial

restructuring plan (FRP) on states that is forcing them to introduce privatization for

reduction of Aggregate, Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses with input based

distribution franchise.

Private sector companies have been successful in getting tariff revised from CERC

despite signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with state utilities for long-

term supply contracts. The concept of achieving low tariffs through competitive

bidding in Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) has been completely defeated by

changes in terms of reference after award of contract by giving various concessions

to successful bidders.

"With the thrust on capacity addition in private sector, several states are now in a

condition of surplus power during part or most of the year. This is resulting in a

situation whereby thermal power stations are ordered to be backed down or shut

down so as to enable these private sector thermal stations to operate at optimum or

full load," said V K Gupta, secretary finance, Northern India Power Engineers

Federation.

Central electricity authority, which played a major role in power development of the

country, has been completely sidelined. Now, there is no central agency to look after

coming of need-based generating station across the country. Thermal plants are

being constructed without looking in to geographical needs of the country, rue

exports of power generation.

A retired engineer from Punjab State Electricity Board said the plan to set up gas

power stations too hasn't worked due to high cost of natural gas. There is need for

priority allocation of gas to these stations and state gas power stations should be

ensured at economical rates.

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CIL modifies fuel supply agreement model for new power plants By PTI | 6 May, 2014, 02.48PM IST

NEW DELHI: State-owned Coal India has tweaked the fuel supply pact model for

new private power plants providing them an opportunity to amend or supplement the

power purchase agreement (PPA) more than once a year.

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PPA is a contract between two parties, one who generates electricity (the seller) and

one who is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer).

"Under the provision of Annual Contracted quantity (ACQ), it was provided that

whenever there is any change in percentage of (long term) PPA (s), corresponding

change in ACQ shall be effected through a side agreement.

"However, such change is permissible once in a year and becomes effective only

from the beginning of next quarter," Coal India said in a recent recent letter to its

subsidiaries.

"Considering that the above stipulation is coming in the way of power plants to revise

the ACQ more than once in a year even though they were able to procure additional

long term PPAs during the during the same year, the relevant provision has been

considered to be modified to provide scope to such power station to amend or

supplement the PPA once in a quarter," it said.

Amid continuous delays, CIL has so far signed 160 fuel supply agreements ( FSA)

with power units.

The Cabinet Committee on Investment (CCI) had earlier stated that the timelines for

signing of fuel supply pacts for power projects of 78,000 MW capacity should be

met.

"As of now Coal India has signed 160 fuel supply agreements (FSAs). There are still

some more to be signed," a Coal India official said.

Power projects with 78,000 MW capacity have been approved for coal supplies by

the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). For these projects FSAs would

be signed for 172 units covering 134 Letter of Assurances (LoAs).

"(Overall) 177 LoAs (Letter of Assurances) were issued by CIL and its subsidiaries

for power projects to be commissioned during the 11th and the 12th Five year Plan.

These LoAs cover a capacity of about 1,08,000 MW," according to a Coal Ministry

document.

Two deadlines set for the signing of FSAs by CIL with the power producers could not

be adhered to. The Coal Ministry had set the deadline of August 31, 2013 for signing

of the FSAs, which could not be met. The second deadline was set for September,

last year.

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Solar gear importers likely to face steep dumping duty By Shreya Jai, ET Bureau | 6 May, 2014, 04.00AM IST NEW DELHI: India is likely to impose a steep duty on importers of solar cells

following vociferous complaints from domestic manufacturers, threatening the

viability of about 4,000 Mw of recently tendered solar power projects across the

country.

Although the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) did not disclose the

numbers, the officials said on the condition of anonymity that the duty is likely to be

high given that the initial investigation has found the dumping rate to be about 80%.

Even a minimal amount of duty could escalate the cost of solar power production by

at least Rs 1.5 crore per Mw from the current Rs 7-8 crore, said an MNRE official.

"Solar projects under both solar mission and state projects will get stuck when the

prices go up if a dumping duty is imposed. The state governments have written to us

earlier saying that if the cost goes up, they might scrap their solar programmes," the

official said, adding that this could lead to a big contractual problem since it was not

possible to retract the power purchase agreement after signing it.

In a letter written to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), the executing body

of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), a group of solar power

producers said that power generation and transmission being a pass-through

activity, the increased cost of power production would be borne by the consumers.

"Any increase in cost of projects or cost of generation will directly result in increase

of power tariff to the consumers.

Therefore, keeping the objectives of the government of India into consideration, the

dumping duty must not be imposed on solar cells/modules," said the letter, which

was reviewed by ET. Under its flagship solar programme JNNSM, the government

has envisaged to make cost of solar power the same as conventional power by 2017

and have 20 Gw of solar capacity by 2022.

MNRE officials said the commerce department had not heeded their demand of

clamping a stay on the case and might forward their recommendation of high

antidumping duty anytime this week. "The directorate general of antidumping

(DGAD) will send its recommendation of high anti-dumping duty any day this week,

most likely by the middle of the month. The percentage of anti-dumping duty will be

proportional to the amount of import.

China, being the biggest importer, will face the maximum heat, " an official said.

Commerce ministry officials had earlier told ET that they were contemplating a

higher antidumping duty as the government sought to bolster manufacturing in the

22

country.

"We may incentivise foreign producers to come up and set up operations here and

create jobs, like it was done 30 years ago in the auto sector," a commerce ministry

official said.

The domestic manufacturers of solar cells had alleged in their application to DGAD

in 2012 that the US, China, Japan, European Union, Malaysia and Taiwan were

exporting solar equipment to India at "ridiculously low prices" due to which "the local

industry is bleeding".

Due to cheap imports flooding the Indian solar market, major domestic

manufacturers have either shut down their facilities or have reduced production by

more than half.

(With inputs from Dilasha Seth)

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TIRUNELVELI, May 6, 2014

Updated: May 6, 2014 02:00 IST

First Kudankulam reactor reaches 90 per cent of maximum capacity

P. SUDHAKAR

The unit is likely to attain maximum capacity before this week-end or next week

The first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) reached 90 per cent of its maximum capacity on Monday morning.

The 1,000-MWe VVER reactor, which attained criticality on July 13 last, generated 900 MWe, sparking jubilation among KKNPP technocrats.

As the reactor’s behaviour was on expected lines, it is likely to attain its maximum capacity before this week-end or next week.

Mandatory formalities

Highly placed sources in the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) told The Hindu that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was pleased with the results from a slew of compulsory tests which were conducted when generation was gradually increased; hence, it permitted raising the unit’s capacity to 90 per cent on May 1, from 750 MWe to 900 MWe.

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All mandatory formalities were completed in the early hours of Monday. The reactor behaved exceptionally well as its capacity increased. The reactor was stabilised at 880 MWe for a while and then its capacity increased to 900 MWe, the sources said.

Explaining the second unit’s progress towards criticality, the sources said preparations were under way for the mandatory hot conditioning tests, scheduled for June, and hence the reactor would be ready for fuel-loading in July or August. “If things move as fast as we’ve planned, the second reactor will attain criticality in November or December,” the sources said.

As for the third and fourth reactors, for which India and Russia recently signed an inter-governmental agreement, the sources said the work would begin once the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections was withdrawn.

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Power tariff hiked in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat

OUR BUREAU

Electricity consumers face additional burden of Rs 449 crore annually

AHMEDABAD, MAY 5:

A day after the polling to the Lok Sabha elections got over in Gujarat on April 30, the state electricity regulator, Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has allowed power tariff hike on the consumers in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat effective from May 1.

In its order on Monday, the GERC stated that it has allowed an increase of average 44 paise (Rs 0.44) per unit to the private power producer, Torrent Power Ltd. This will result in the annual burden of Rs 449 crore on the consumers in the three urban centres.

The tariff increase includes the increase in fixed charges and energy charges.

According to GERC statement, Torrent Power in its petition for truing up for FY-2012-13 had claimed consolidated revenue gap of Rs 1,221 crore and had asked for overall increase of Rs 1.22 per unit in retail tariff to recover the gap.

However, the commission arrived at a consolidated gap of Rs 461 crore and decided to address the said gap by increasing tariff by about 44 paisa per unit.

According to GERC sources, Torrent Power was faced with shortage of fuel for its gas-based power plants, part of which remained non-operational. “They had to purchase power from outside. This joined with the fixed costs of the power plants

24

resulted in the revenue gap for the company. Therefore, the commission allowed Rs 0.44 per unit of increase,” the source said.

Notably, tariff for BPL category consumers, agriculture consumers and residential consumers using electricity up to 50 units per month is not increased.

Meanwhile, there was no increase in tariff for the four state utilities.

The companies had filed petitions before the regulator for Mid-term review of business plan for fiscal 2014-15 and fiscal 2015-16 and petitions for truing-up of fiscal 2012-13 and for determination of tariff for fiscal 2013-14 along with Audited Accounts under the GERC Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) Regulations.

(This article was published on May 5, 2014)

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Power generation exceeds target by almost 6 per cent in April: Central Electricity Authority By PTI | 4 May, 2014, 10.57AM IST

NEW DELHI: Indian utilities generated 86,592 million units of electricity in April,

exceeding the target by almost 6 per cent, as power capacity in the country

increased.

Power generation climbed by 4,852 million units, or 5.94 per cent, over the planned

level of 81,740 million units, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority

(CEA), a government body tasked with facilitating overall development of the sector.

A year earlier, actual generation at 77,579 million units was a tad higher than the

target of 76,914 million units. "(This is) because of new capacity getting added," said

Debashish Mishra, Senior Director at Deloitte India.

The north eastern region -- Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland,

Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram -- performed the best by registering a jump of

about 27 per cent by producing 697 million units in April 2014 over the target of 549

million units. In the northern states, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh

and Rajasthan, power generation fell short of the goal by about 2.21 per cent, at

21,170 million units.

Import of power from neighbouring Bhutan was 78 million units, a drop of 62 per cent

from the targeted level of 207 million units. The generation target for 2014-15 is 1023

billion units, according to the CEA. The country's installed power generation capacity

25

was 2,43,028.95 megawatts (MW) at the end of March. One MW can produce 1,000

units of electricity in one hour.

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India’s growth model is a disaster

JINOY JOSE P

The country lacks the energy resources to sustain a consumption-oriented economic system, says author Sam Tranum

Sam Tranum wears many hats. He is a journalist, novelist and teacher. He is an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago and has spent time in India, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and many other parts of the globe teaching, working and researching on energy issues. His latest work,Powerless: India’s Energy Shortage and Its Impact (Sage Publications), paints a frightening picture of the country’s energy ecosystem. In a chat with Business Line, Tranum talks about the book, what’s wrong with India’s energy policies, and more. Edited excerpts:

How bad is the situation?

India has about 17 per cent of the world’s population, but only about 0.3 per cent of the world’s proved reserves of oil; 0.7 per cent of the world’s proved reserves of gas; 7 per cent of the world’s proved reserves of coal; 2 per cent of the world’s identified resources of uranium.

Clearly, there’s a huge mismatch between India’s energy resources and its population. Current renewable technologies and resources cannot bridge this gap: To meet its electricity needs, India plans to add about 208 GW generating capacity in the next 10 years, according to the Central Electricity Authority.

But it has “only” about 347 GW of renewable potential, including: 149 GW of large hydro, 100 GW of solar, 49 GW of wind , 17 GW of biomass, 15 GW of small hydro, 8 GW of tidal, 5 GW of bagasse, 4 GW of waste-to-energy.

Of this 347 GW, India is already using 62 GW. A thought experiment on how far the remaining renewable potential could go to meet India’s thirst for electricity: If the country stopped building coal-fired, gas-fired, and nuclear power plants and built only renewables it would end up using 73 per cent of its renewable potential in about 10 years. And then what?

Is the government not doing enough to address the problem?

These are massive, complicated, difficult issues. Even for a hypothetical perfect government they would be hard to address, much less solve. The amount of energy resources that India’s territory hosts is simply not sufficient to allow its citizens to live

26

in the manner to which they would like to become accustomed. To make things harder, there’s always a lack of resources, technology and manpower, and there’s always the evil of corruption.

Meanwhile, private companies are inherently interested only in their own gain (and/or their shareholders’ gain), and not in the national interest.

I don’t see the energy problems as the failure of any particular government or party. I see them as the natural consequences of a country pursuing a development model for which it lacks sufficient energy resources, paired with a system of governance that doesn’t offer incentives for leaders to make hard decisions.

You’re suggesting that India can opt out of this western-style energy consumption race. Is it that easy?

Pursuing Western-style industrial development puts India on a certain trajectory in terms of energy consumption. Given the available technology and India’s currently known energy resources, I would say that this trajectory is completely unsustainable.

I don’t think that India’s going to find large enough new energy resources to fundamentally change this. Therefore, the only solutions I see are technological advances that allow India to produce vastly more energy within its current territory, or a radical change of course, to a new development model.

However, there’s no country out there — developed or developing — that’s pursuing a new development model, which India could look to and emulate.

How important an alternative is renewable energy?

Renewables must be part of the solution. Not only is India’s energy hunger so great that it must draw on every known resources or starve, but the environmental benefits of renewables are critical.

However, renewables cannot meet India’s two main energy needs, electricity and transport fuel. Given the tiny number of electric vehicles now in service, renewable-generated electricity cannot even begin to meet the country’s thirst for transport fuel.

Hopefully, renewable energy technologies and our understanding of renewable energy resources will develop, and this picture will change, allowing India to meet a larger share of its energy needs with renewables. Technology in this area is developing fast.

So is it all doom?

India has good, forward-thinking, enlightened laws and policies on the books. The problem is the perpetual gap between the high-minded rhetoric in New Delhi and the State capitals, and its implementation on the ground. Good policy often translates into inaction, bungling, corruption and failure.

27

In my view, this is because of a lack of resources (budgetary resources and highly skilled, motivated staff), poor governance, and corruption; the latter two, of course, contribute to the lack of resources.

If I were put in charge of solving India’s energy shortage, I would almost forget about making new strategies, plans, policies or laws. I’d instead focus 99 per cent of my attention on improving implementation of existing good policies.

Having a more humane land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement law on the books is useless if no one follows it and families are still chased off their land by force, with no compensation and nowhere to go. That said, one policy I might change is encouraging (or allowing) OVL and other companies to spend billions buying into oil, gas, coal, and uranium resources overseas; it is terrible policy. This spending may never lead to production, only to the creation of jobs in other countries. Even if it does lead to production, that oil, gas, coal or uranium may never return to India to help fill the energy gaps.

(This article was published on May 4, 2014)

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Private power companies want CIL to sell them unsold coal By Mitul Thakkar, ET Bureau | 5 May, 2014, 05.24AM IST

NEW DELHI: Private power firms are seeking higher coal supplies as Coal India has

announced that state firms have cut fuel purchases due to their weak finances. They

say newer plants built by companies are more efficient and can better utilise the

scarce fuel to meet the country's demand.

CIL earlier said it had a pit-head stock of 40 million tonnes at the end of February as

offtake has been falling since last September, creating an ironical situation where

thousands of megawatts of capacity is stranded due to fuel shortage while the

monopoly producer is sitting on a growing heap of unsold coal.

Association of Power Producers (APPs) wrote to the ministry of coal saying that

attributing reduced offtake to sluggish demand does not convey the right picture.

"This gives an impression of reduced demand from all power generating utilities

leading to a surplus coal availability scenario.

However, our interaction with private generators clearly shows that in many cases

they have not been receiving adequate coal quantities as per the 65% level decided

by CCEA. In fact, some of the private generators have actually been receiving

progressively reducing supplies over the last few months," APP director general

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Ashok Khurana wrote to coal secretary SK Shrivastava.

Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA), which represents industrial

houses that are generating electricity for their captive requirements, has also sought

higher coal allocation and supplies. ICPPA secretary Rajiv Agrawal said that captive

power producers have been complaining of poor quality and unavailability of

adequate coal supplies besides CIL charging 30-35% more for its supplies to them.

"Higher coal supplies to captive power producers will give great relief to the industry

that is often dependent on imported coal. We have written to the authorities

concerned to allocate industry the unused coal," said Agrawal.

APP said that unused coal should be diverted to those plants that have not received

the approved level of 65% domestic coal from CIL. It requested the coal ministry to

initiate necessary action to ensure higher supplies to power producers in a situation

where (CIL) has adequate inventories.

Private power companies are struggling because CIL's output has not been able to

keep pace with growing demand. Many power plants are idling while others are

running at sub-optimal capacity because of the acute scarcity in the country, whose

reserves of coal are among the highest in the world.

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Edwards Highlights Role of Liquid Ring Pumps in Maximising Efficiency of Steam Turbines 02nd May 2014 11:38 IST

Crawley, England, United Kingdom (Business Wire)

Edwards Limited is highlighting the benefits liquid ring pumps can bring to the power industry at Power-Gen India, May 5 – 7, 2014 in New Delhi, India. Edwards is an approved supplier to major Indian customers, and is able to offer local applications expertise, full installation, service and site commissioning support locally. Edwards is now owned by Atlas Copco, and so will benefit from Atlas Copco’s larger footprint in India to further develop their local presence.

Power-Gen India and Central Asia is the region’s premier conference and exhibition for the power industry, and visitors to the Edwards booth will have the opportunity to chat withapplication experts about the right vacuum solutions for their power generation needs; liquid ring pumps provide the optimum solution for many applications in the power industry.

29

Edwards’ liquid ring vacuum pumps play a vital role in maximising the efficiency of steam turbines. Edwards condenser air extraction packages, based on two-stage liquid ring vacuum pumps, are designed to remove system air leakage in turbine generator steam condensers. Liquid ring pumps can help make significant contributions to the control of emissions when they are used on vacuum filters in flue gas desulphurisation systems. The ability to handle wet gases without any detrimental effect makes liquid ring pumps ideal for condenser waterbox priming applications, and their tolerance to ash carry over makes them suitable for fly ash handling applications.

“We have been partnering with the Indian power industry for over a decade now with several successful installations around the country. We are delighted to be at the Power-Gen India event again to demonstrate our solutions for the power generation industry”, said Vikrant Sanglikar, Country Head - South Asia for Edwards.

Edwards supplies full factory acceptance tests including saturated air test capability, and offers compliance with stringent global, regional and industry standards. Standard pump packages can be configured to suit specific client requirements.

Booth #1164A, hall 11

May 5 - 7 2014

Pragati Maidan New Delhi,

India

About Edwards

Edwards is a leading developer and manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum products, abatementsystems and related value-added services. These are integral to manufacturing processes for semiconductors, flat panel displays, LEDs and solar cells; are used within an increasingly diverse range of industrial processes including power, glass and other coating applications, steel and other metallurgy, pharmaceutical and chemical; and for both scientific instruments and a wide range of R&D applications.

30

Edwards has over 3,200 full-time employees and 500 temporary workers operating in approximately 20 countries worldwide engaged in the design, manufacture and support of high technology vacuum and exhaust management equipment.

Further information about Edwards can be found at www.edwardsvacuum.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now a power tussle between Kerala and Tamil Nadu? Even as the Mullaperiyar dam row refuses to die down, a power tussle is looming

large between Kerala and TN.

Refuting reports that Kerala did not want power from Kudankulam, Kerala CM

Ooomen Chandy has written to the prime minister requesting that the state be

allotted 500 MW of power from Kudankulam. Kerala's demand comes immediately

after Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa asked the Centre to allot the entire

2000 MW generated in the two units to the state.

Chandy's letter, dated May 3, cites the "a special power situation" in the State, and

asks for special consideration in power allocation from Koodankulam. According to

the letter, power produced from the hydel projects in Kerala is not enough to meet

the power requirements of the State.

Without mentioning anything about Tamil Nadu's demand, Mr Chandy told the Prime

Minister that Kerala had already been allotted 266 MW of power from the KKNPP.

This was under the Gadjil formula being followed for sharing power from Central

power generating stations among the States of the region.

Mr Chandy, in his letter, brought to the Prime Minister's notice the sacrifice Kerala

had been making all along by not constructing dams across many of its rivers with

potential to generate cheap electricity. Since the shelving of the plan for setting up a

hydroelectric project in the Silent Valley way back in the 1970s due to environmental

reasons, the State had received sanction for no hydroelectric projects.

Kerala had paid a huge "opportunity cost" for the sake of conservation and needs to

be suitably compensated for that. The opportunity to generate much more

hydroelectric power than at present existed in the State, but the State could not

utilise it because of the need to protect the forests of the country. The country as a

whole should recognise this sacrifice on the part of Kerala by ensuring for the State

sufficient allocation of power from Central power generating stations, according to

Chandy.

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The 1000 MW first unit of the KNPP is expected to attain criticality by this month end

and the second unit will become operational in another two months.

As far as Tamil Nadu is considered, it is undergoing a severe power shortage with a

peak hour deficit of 4000 MW. While Kerala says currently, the state's annual energy

consumption adds to around 3400 MW.A study by the Central Electricity Authority

foresees the demand IN Kerala to rise to 6000 MW by 2020-21, it cites a 10 per cent

annual hike when it comes to the state's energy requirements. At present, the state

can only generate 1600-1700 MW of electricity. For the rest, it depends on central

allocation (1367 MW) besides purchasing at a high cost ('16-17) from the power grid

and private parties. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How a Chinese plant cost AIADMK crucial votes

M RAMESH

THE HINDU

It took longer than the stipulated 3-1/2 years for completion

CHENNAI, MAY 1:

The 600-MW Mettur thermal power plant, which had gone kaput on March 10 with a hydrogen leak from its generator, is now back in operation — good news for the people of Tamil Nadu as it would make summer more bearable. The ruling AIADMK party is bound to be rueing the loss of the plant during the crucial election period, though.

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A 600-MW thermal plant, running to full capacity, can produce 1.5 crore units of electricity, enough to power 30 lakh households.

Produces 6 million units

On Wednesday, the plant, supplied by Dongfang of China, operated at a level of 380 MW and produced 6 million units.

The ruling party would have missed the generation from this plant in the last 45-odd days, given that the major issue against the State Government is, by far, power. The one-year-old plant going into disrepair is also bound to raise questions about sourcing critical equipment from the Chinese, say experts in the power industry.

In January 2008, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board gave a ₹3,100-crore contract to Chennai-based BGR Energy to build for it a 600-MW thermal power plant at Mettur in the State.

The plant took longer than the three years and three months it was supposed to be completed in, and for some time there was a lively blame-game between BGR and TNEB on who was responsible. The plant was finally declared commissioned in October 2012, but due to teething problems, which took some more time to stabilise to full capacity power generation.

Develops gas leak

But in early March, the plant developed a ‘hydrogen leak’ from the generator. Engineers have been trying to put it back in order - difficult task, they say, as the machine would have to be practically dismantled and put together back again.

It is not clear as to why the generation of the one-year-old plant could not be repaired earlier. Nor is it clear as to whose fault caused the snag - operator’s (TNEB’s subsidiary, Tangedco), or the equipment supplier’s (Dongfang). But one industry expert, who did not wish to be named, said Mettur’s experience is bound to raise once again the question of the suitability of Chinese power equipment to India.

In the past, several Chinese plants have gone kaput, such as Sagardighi in West Bengal (again of Dongfang make) and Balco’s. Business Line had earlier reported that the Aditya Birla group company, Hindalco, while placing an order on BHEL, had stipulated that no component shall be bought from the Chinese.

Kudankulam

To make matters worse for Tamil Nadu, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is yet to give the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project permission to raise the operating capacity to 90 per cent from the current 75 per cent. The permission was expected in early April.

(This article was published on May 1, 2014)

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BHEL commissions 160-MW power plant in Rajasthan

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 2:

State-owned BHEL today announced the commissioning of 160-MW combined cycle power plant in Rajasthan.

“The commissioning of the steam turbine has enabled the gas turbine, which was commissioned earlier, to operate in combined cycle mode,” BHEL said in a statement.

Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RRVUNL) had placed the order for setting up a gas turbine-based 160-MW CCPP as an expansion project of Ramgarh power plant in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

With the commissioning of this plant, the cumulative capacity of Ramgarh CCPP has now reached 273.8 MW, taking the gas based generating capacity of RRVUNL to 603.8 MW.

The main plant equipment of all these gas-based units has been supplied and commissioned by BHEL.

BHEL’s scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of the main plant and equipment for the gas-based power project comprising one gas turbine with generator, one heat recovery steam generator, one steam turbine generator and associated auxiliaries with controls and instrumentation system.

The equipment for the project was supplied by BHEL’s Hyderabad, Tiruchi and Bangalore plants, while BHEL’s Power Sector — Northern Region — undertook erection and commissioning of the equipment.

BHEL has commissioned 4,344 MW of thermal and gas-based plants in Rajasthan which amounts to 88 per cent of the utility’s thermal and gas generating capacity, the statement said.

(This article was published on May 2, 2014)