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INERGY-PULSE

ABOUT INERGY-PULSE

THIS IS A MONTHLY UPDATE SERIES PUBLISHED BY

INERGYSTAT. IT CONTAINS MONTHLY NEWS, COV-

ERING VARIOUS VERTICALS OF POWER SECTOR. IT

ALSO PRESENTS ARTICLES ON SOME TOPICS FOR

THE MONTH. IT GIVES UPDATE ON REGULATORY

MATTERS RELATED TO POWER SECTOR AND UP-

COMING EVENTS.

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FOCUS AREA

Payment Security Mechanism for Power

Discoms is missing...

National Discom: Implications on Power

Sector

EV moving on solar way

VOL. 1| ISSUE– XIII August 2019

August 2019 ―Inergy-Pulse‖ a monthly Update Series on India Energy Sector

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Inside this issue:

Power Generation 3

Power Transmission 14

Power Distribution 17

Power Trading 29

Coal Sector 30

Renewable Sector 37

Solar 46

Non Solar 58

Miscellaneous 64

Focus Area: Payment Security Mechanism for Power Discoms is

missing...

70

Focus Area: National Discom: Implications on Power Sector 74

Focus Area: EV moving on solar way 77

Company Update 82

Updates from Web 86

Regulatory Updates 87

Upcoming Events 88


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POWER GENERATION

APGCL produces only 260 MW of power: Minister Assam is heavily dependent on power procured from external agencies to meet its demand as it has very lim-ited power generation capacity of its own. The power demand during the peak hour (1700 hours to 2200 hours) is about 1,850 MW, against which the Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL) produces 260 MW on its own. APGCL is implementing various projects to enhance its own power generating capacity like the 1x100 MW Namrup Replacement Power Project, 70 MW Amguri Solar Power Project, 15 MW Namrup Solar Project and 120 MW Lower Kopili Power Project. The various projects under APDCL are 100 MW (4x25) solar power projects at Udalguri, Kamrup(rural), Na-gaon and Cachar districts. Tender process for setting up of a project for additional 100 MW generation has also been started.

Power capacity addition - Where we stand So far this year, capacity addition in power sector is just 2.5% of the target as power plants continue to operate around 60% of their installed capacity. Last year, 73% of the 8,100MW capacity addition target was met despite the 2018-19 target being 40% lower than the previous year. Govt introduces bill on dam safety, says 293 of them over 100 years old Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat dur-ing introducing a bill on dam safety stated that as many as 293 big dams in the country are more than 100 years old. The bill seeks to set up the National Dam Safety Au-thority for proper surveillance, inspection and mainte-nance of specified dams as well as address unresolved

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issues between states. Besides the National Dam Safety Authority, the govern-ment has proposed setting up a National Committee on Dam Safety in order to prevent dam failure-related dis-asters. He further stated that there are 5,344 big dams in the country and out of them, around 293 are more than 100 years old. About 1,041 dams or 20 per cent are 50 to 100 years old. He further added that nearly 92 per cent of the dams in the country are built over inter-state rivers. Government Prohibits Private Entities from Mining Atomic Minerals As per a gazette notification, the government has pro-hibited mining of atomic minerals by private entities and will grant operating rights to only state-run compa-nies to ―safeguard‖ strategic interest of the country. Atomic minerals zirconium, monazite and thorium are found in abundance along several beaches of the coun-try. NCLT approves NHPC Rs 907 cr bid for Lanco Teesta Hydro Power project The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ap-proved state-run hydro giant NHPC's Rs 907 crore bid for the debt-ridden Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd. As per the resolution plan, NHPC would pay Rs 877.74 crore to the financial creditors and Rs 11.12 crore would go to the operational creditors of Lanco Teesta Hydro Power. The government had said that the project will be imple-mented at an estimated cost of Rs 5,748.04 crore (at July 2018 price level), which includes a bid amount of Rs 907 crore for acquisition and estimated cost of balance work of Rs 3,863.95 crore, which includes interest during con-struction (IDC) and foreign component of Rs 977.09 crore. Centre plans national panel to select members of all state electricity commissions The government is planning a national-level selection committee for appointing chairpersons and members in all state electricity regulatory commissions to set the bodies free from political intervention, helping them take correct decisions. Industry experts have over the years questioned the said independence of power regulatory commissions for not allowing tariff hikes and not taking action against discoms for not filing timely petitions. Regula-tors have also been creating regulatory assets (deferred tariff hikes) in favour of distribution companies, which are piling up. The ministry of power has recently writ-ten to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity to exercise powers to address the situation at state regulators level.

Gujarat Govt to slash electricity duty on power gener-ated by industrial units for captive consumption Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat announced reduction in the electricity duty on power generated by industrial units for captive consumption. The decision was taken after representatives of a num-ber of industries requested for reduction, after consid-ering the request, electricity duty on power generated by industrial units for captive consumption reduced to 60 paise per unit from 70 paise per unit. NTPC produces 4.54 Cr fly ash bricks As per company‘s annual report, during the year 2018-19, NTPC Limited generated 610.32 lakh tonnes of ash and 63.71 % viz. 388.81 lakh tonnes of ash had been utilised for various productive purposes. About 4.54 crore fly ash bricks produced by fly ash brick plants managed by its stations, which are being utilised in construction of areas of plant, ash dyke and of township. State-owned gencos out of payment security mecha-nism: Power Ministry State-owned power generating plants would not be covered under the new payment security mechanism which mandates offering a letter of credit by distribu-tion companies to generators, the Union Power Minis-try stated. The ministry issued the statement after some states sought clarification on the payment mechanism under the power purchase agreements approved by the Centre last month. Crucial contribution by India in ITER hope for energy freedom Former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, Anil Kakodka expressed that the upcoming $25 billion plasma-based fusion reactor ITER, in which In-dia is a partner, is the hope to energy freedom and also a solution to the world that is gripped with a threat to survival primarily by the use of fossil energy and fast depleting conventional energy resources. He further stated that ITER is a unique global techno-logical effort of an unprecedented magnitude. It is thus the way to new energy paradigm that the humanity is desperately looking for. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant and environmentally-responsible energy source. ITER is now 65 per cent ready. The project aims to com-plete through first plasma in 2025, a key milestone to-ward full fusion power by 2035. ITER is a global collaboration. Europe will contribute almost half of the cost of its construction, while the other six members of this joint international venture (China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the US) will















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contribute equally to the rest. BHEL and NTPC to set up most efficient and environ-mental friendly coal fired power plant Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and NTPC Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for forming a Joint Venture company, to set up a 800 MW Technology Demonstration Plant (TDP) at NTPC‘s existing power plant in Sipat, Chhattisgarh. The demonstration plant shall be based on the Ad-vanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) technology which marks a significant improvement in operational pa-rameters over contemporary supercritical technology. The plant shall be the most efficient power plant in the world, once it becomes operational, resulting in reduc-tion of carbon-di-oxide emission by about 20% as com-pared to the conventional sub-critical technology. A consortium of BHEL, NTPC and IGCAR (Indira Gan-dhi Centre of Atomic Research) was formed in 2010, under the aegis of the office of the PSA which has been working on the development of the AUSC technology. The demonstration of the R&D technology developed by the consortium is being planned by BHEL and NTPC as the next phase of the overall technology de-velopment programme. Chhattisgarh to shut down its first power plant over viability issues The first power station in Chhattisgarh is set to become history as the state government has decided to close down the units after examining its viability. Four units each of 50-MW were set up in Korba East Thermal Power Station—the first power plant in the region back in 1966. About two years ago, operations at the four units were suspended. Major boost for power generators: Payment security and coal cost pass-through Two latest developments on the policy and regulatory side have significantly boosted the prospects for power generating companies. This includes the centre‘s directive mandating the opening and maintenance of adequate Letter of Credit (LC) as payment security mechanism by discoms under power purchase agree-ments (PPAs) beginning 1 August, 2019. In another key development, the regulators have issued favourable orders in the recent past for thermal IPPs allowing pass-through of higher cost of imported coal in lieu of shortfall in supply from domestic linkage sources. Girishkumar Kadam, sector head & vice-president, ICRA Ratings stated that the LC mechanism is a major positive for power firms which is following the continued delays in making payments by the dis-

coms to generation companies, leading to liquidity con-straints for the power generation companies. Kadam further added that the implementation of these provisions remains to be seen, given the challenges in securing the large quantum of LCs by the power dis-coms, in view of the loss-making operations of the dis-coms in most states. Vedanta aims to achieve fly ash utilisation of 80% by 2020 Vedanta Ltd is aiming to achieve fly ash utilisation of 80% by 2020. Company recently informed recently that it will adopt third-party review of tailings/ash dyke management system and development of site specific improvement plan in its India operations. The current rate of fly ash utilisation of Vedanta is 111%. BHEL bags Rs 486 crore order from NPCIL Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has secured Rs 486 crore order from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for erection work of reactor side equipment of 2x1000 MWe (Units 3&4) Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu being set up with Russia. BHEL had earlier secured an order for the same project for erection work of turbine generator (TG) island. The company is also currently executing turbine generator packages for four units of 700 MWe, 2 units each at Kakrapar and Rawatbhata. Thermax wins Rs471cr order for two Flue Gas Desul-phurisation (FGD) systems Thermax got an order of Rs 471 cr from an Indian gov-ernment power company to set up two flue gas desul-phurisation (FGD) systems at their thermal power plant in the state of Jharkhand. The scope of supply includes design, engineering, manufacturing, civil work, construction and commis-sioning of the FGD systems. The delivery of the project is scheduled for over 30 months. Umiam Dam lifespan reduced by 5 years due to pollu-tion The lifespan of Meghalaya's Umiam Dam, one of the oldest hydroelectric power generation structures in the region, has been reduced and is going to end in next five years due to pollution and siltation. It is expected to end by 2024. Constructed before the creation of Meghalaya in the early 1960s, the Umiam Dam stores water for hydroe-lectric power generation. Meghalaya Assembly Committee on Environment Chairman S.K. Sun stated that the lifespan of the dam was designed for 100 years, the MeECL (Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited) officials told us that the















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life of the dam will end in the next five years by 2024 due to heavy siltation and pollution. Studies related to assessment of siltation of the Umiam Dam was conducted in 1990 by Water and Power Con-sultancy Services (Wapcos) and Tojo Vikas Interna-tional Private Limited, New Delhi in 2004. India about to get its largest hydropower plant, but en-vironment concerns loom large Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Rs 1600 crore expenditure on pre-investment activities and various clearances for 2,880 MW Dibang Hydro-power Project in Arunachal Pradesh with the estimated total cost of the project as Rs 28080.35 crore and the pro-ject is estimated to be completed in nine years time from the receipt of government sanction. The project is located in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh located on the river Dibang. The project will give 12% free power from the project to the government of Arunachal Pradesh and one percent of free power will be given to Local Area Development FUND (LADF). The project is seen as a storage-based hydro-electric project with flood moderation as the main objective. The project will prevent the sizeable downstream area from floods. Appellate Tribunal for Electricity issues notice to Adani Power (Mundra) The Appellate Tribunal for Electricity has issued a no-tice to Adani Power (Mundra) on the appeal challeng-ing the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's (CERC) order approving the supplementary power purchase agreement (SPPA) between the company and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. The development comes after the Tribunal accepted an appeal by All India Power Engineers Federation against the SPPA. In its appeal, the federation said the SPPA will raise power charges, while the original tariff was based on competitive bidding. The Appellate Tribunal has fixed August 1, 2019, as the next date of hearing. Advisor Sharma for sustained efforts to tap hydro-electric resources of State of J&K Advisor to Governor KK Sharma called for making sus-tained efforts to fully tap the hydro-electric and other power generating sources to make the State self-sufficient in power generation. During a threadbare discussion about works pro-gramme of new and ongoing power projects, the Advi-sor emphasized to scientifically and professionally manage fund flows of the Corporation. The progress and pace of implementation of ongoing projects includ-ing Parnai HEP, Dah HEP, Hanu HEP and power

evacuation system for Dah and Hanu HEPs was re-viewed and the Advisor directed to accelerate the pace of implementation of these projects. Works for renova-tion, modernization and updating and stabilization of projects namely Chenani-I HEP, LJHEP, Ganderbal, USHP-II Kangan, USHP-I Sumbal etc. are also pro-posed under the works programme. It was also stressed that various projects to be taken up under PMDP should be implemented in time-bound manner. Gen-eration from 900MW Baglihar HEP and maintenance work was also discussed. ADB to give Rs 1,540 cr for Tripura power projects The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide Rs 1,540 crore for upgradation of power generation, trans-mission and distribution projects in Tripura. Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) CMD, stated that the ADB would provide 80 per cent of the Rs 1,925 crore ($275 million) Tripura power genera-tion upgradation and distribution reliability improve-ment projects and the rest (Rs 385 crore) would be con-tributed by the state government. Under the ADB-funded projects, electricity generation at the Rokhia gas-based power plant in western Tripura would be increased from 63 MW to 120 MW at an esti-mated cost of Rs 700 crore. Around Rs 1,226 crore would be spent for upgradation of transmission, distribution, improvement and mod-ernisation of infrastructure and renovation and up-grade of the Gumti Hydro Electric Project in southern Tripura. Cabinet approves 2880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Pro-ject in Arunachal Pradesh The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has ap-proved the expenditure on pre-investment activities and various clearances for Dibang Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh for an amount of Rs. 1600 crore. The estimated total cost of Project is Rs. 28080.35 in-cluding IDC & FC of Rs 3974.95 crore at Jun'18 price level. The estimated completion period for the project shall be nine years from receipt of Government sanc-tion. The project shall generate 2880MW (12x240MW) power to produce 11223MU of energy in a 90% dependable year. This is the largest ever Hydro Electric Projects to be constructed in India. The dam is 278 metres high and will be the highest dam in India once completed. On completion, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh will get 12% free power from the project i.e. 1346.76 MU. 1% free power (i.e. 112 MUs will be given in Local Area Development Fund (LADF). The total value of benefit to Arunachal Pradesh from Free power and con-tribution to LADF will be Rs 26785 crore over the pro-











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ject life of forty years. Dibang Multipurpose Project (Dibang MPP) is envis-aged as a storage based hydro-electric project with flood moderation as the key objective. Naomagar Power Plant Starts Production The much-awaited Nabinagars uper thermal power project in Aurangabad district started production of 660MW electricity form its first unit on July 17, 19. Alto-gether three units, each having a capacity 660MW, are being constructed. The total power generation capacity of the project will be 1980MW. After the commission of the first unit, two other units will also start production at an interval of six months. The total expenditure on the project will be around INR 17,000 crore. Once all its three units start functioning, Bihar will not only become self-reliant in power sector. TS Transco wants double rail line to transport coal Transco and Genco CMD requested the South central Railway to lay a 200-km double line from Kothagudem to Dornakal and Motamari to Vishnupuram for trans-porting coal from Singareni Collieries Company Lim-ited (SCCL) to Damaracherla mega power plant coming up in Nalgonda district. The Damaracherla power plant requires 50,000 tonnes coal every day, for which 14 rakes are needed for trans-portation of coal. For this, 14 goods trains with 59 bo-gies each should travel either way on this single line. Prabhakar Rao requested the SCR to upgrade the 100-km Kothagudem-Dornakal single line and add another 100 km line from Motamari to Vishnupuram. SCCL proposal on 800 MW thermal power plant in Pegadapalli deferred The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, constituted for Environmental Impact Assessment, has deferred the hearing of proposal on the installation of SCCL‘s 800 MW thermal plant in Pegadapalli, for want of more reports. Min for relaxing norms for Koradi fly-ash cluster Upset over lack of response to Mahagenco Ash Man-agement Services‘ (Mahagams) Koradi fly-ash cluster, energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has asked officials to relax the norms for potential industries. The cluster was supposed to start functioning from Decem-ber 2017 but is yet to take off. Summer, elections raise plant load factors of private power players in Q1 Buoyed by surge in power demand, electricity pro-duced by conventional power plants in Q1FY20 reached 339 billion units (BUs) a rise of 6.3% year-on-

year (y-o-y) increasing the plant load factors (PLF) of private generation units by 471 basis points to 59.8%. Hydro power plants produced 39.5 BUs in the quarter, 25% more than Q1FY19. Experts have attributed the surge in power demand to poll-related activities in the scorching summer. Since electricity cannot be stored, generation is the most robust indicator of consumption trends. Rising utiliza-tion rates is good news for private power players after a dismal FY19, when their average PLF remained muted at 54.9%, undermining their debt-servicing capabilities. Setback for thermal units as UP energy watchdog bans new PPAs till Dec 2022 In a major setback to coal-fired thermal power plants, energy watchdog Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Authority (UPERC) has prohibited state power utilities from signing any long-term power purchase agree-ments (PPA) till December 2022. In its order, the UPERC has observed UP Power Corpo-ration Limited (UPPCL) and state distribution compa-nies (discoms) had already contracted for ―sufficient‖ thermal power with coal-fired power plants to meet projected demand till 2026-27. The Commission said it would review the energy ca-pacity, energy demand and availability status in De-cember 2022 to reassess the need for any long term PPAs with coal based thermal power plant keeping in view 54 months‘ gestation period required for such pro-jects. In the meantime, the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) and discoms have been given liberty to pro-cure short-term seasonal peak power from energy ex-changes, Centre or through bilateral banking arrange-ment with discoms in other states. Over 92% under-construction private power units face uncertainty Out of the 23,730 MW of private thermal power plants currently under construction, only projects with 1,825 MW have announced the commissioning date, while others are listed as ―uncertain‖. Power minister RK Singh also informed that 20,420 MW and 20,186 MW of thermal power plants are under construction by the central and the state sectors, respectively. According to research firm India Ratings, 85% of under-construction private plants are stressed, and are not receiving any incremental credit from banks and equity markets. The agency expects annual coal-based capac-ity addition to remain subdued at 5GW-6GW till FY21. The possible decline was attributed to yearly decom-missioning of nearly 2 GW of old plants, unavailability of fresh funds, inadequate coal availability and lack of new PPAs. The country added only 3,600 MW of coal power plants in FY19.













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The National Electricity Plan published by the Central Electricity Authority estimates that under-construction power plants would be put to use only after FY22, with additional coal-based capacity requirements jumping up to 46,420 MW for the FY22-27 period. However, to accommodate high quantum of renewable energy sources, thermal plants are likely to run at low PLFs in future. As per government estimates, if 130 GW of re-newable capacity is added by 2022, the PLFs of coal plants during peak solar months could drop to 35-40%. PLF of thermal plants has decreased from 78.9 % in FY08 to 61% in FY19. Installing FGD technology across all units: NTPC NTPC stated that they are installing sulphur dioxide-reducing technology flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) at all its plants across the country. State-owned NTPC commissioned the country's first-ever FGD technology at the 500-megawatt (MW) unit number 13 (stage V) unit at its 4,760-MW Vindhyachal power plantin 2017 at a cost of Rs 210 crore. NTPC mentioned that with an aim to embrace sustain-able practices to produce power with minimum emis-sions, NTPC Ltd is implementing this technology across its power plants. At present, the adoption of this tech-nology is currently at various stages of implementation for 65.35 GW of group capacity in 38 locations which also includes upcoming projects. Once installed across NTPC's power plants, the FGD unit will facilitate 100 per cent flue-gas treatment, thereby limiting the sulphur content to a maximum of 0.49 per cent and achieve 90.6 per cent of SOx (sulphur oxide) removal efficiency. NTPC said it is also installing de-nitrogen oxide (NOx) systems based on the emission levels, in compliance with NOx control in coal-fired plants. Reliance Power recasts Rs 2,430-crore loan for Samalkot project Reliance Power stated that the Rs 2,430-crore loan for its Samalkot project has been restructured and its maturity has been extended to June 2022. Reliance Power is in advance stages of development of Bangladesh project and relocating Samalkot modules in Andhra Pradesh to Bangladesh, according to the state-ment. Thermal capacity addition to remain subdued over FY20-FY21: Ind-Ra India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) stated that they expects coal-based capacity addition in the Indian power sector, which fell to a low of 3.6 GW in 2018-19, to remain subdued at five to six GW per year in this fiscal year and next. This likely decline in thermal capacity addition is attrib-uted to decommissioning of nearly two GW annually as

the plants complete their useful life; stress in nearly 85 per cent of the private under-construction capacity given the issues with regards to availability of funds, coal, power purchase agreements and evacuation; and decline in fresh project starts across the central, state and private sectors. Between 2012-13 to 2016-17, excess capacity in the ther-mal power sector had increased to an average of 42 per cent on account of a significant increase in capacity and lower-than-expected growth in power demand. The excess capacity touched a peak of 45 per cent in FY16, and then declined subsequently to around 42 per cent at FYE19. Fresh project starts for thermal projects declined steeply to a mere 1.6 GW in FY19 from an average of 10 GW per year over FY15-FY18. The private sector's contribution to fresh projects was nil during FY19, signaling the pri-vate players' lack of interest in the thermal sector. MP govt plans to set up coal power plants amid stress in sector The Madhya Pradesh government is planning to set up 2640MW of greenfield coal-fired power plants, and will invite private power producers to bid for the right to build these assets and the power will be sold exclu-sively to the state, he said. The committee has proposed procuring 2640MW through competitive bidding (2 plants of 1320MW each) while another 1320MW of capacity will be added to the state by MP Power Generating Co Ltd plants at two lo-cations, 660MW at Satpura and Amarkantak each. The target for the additional capacity to come on stream is FY2024-25. In fact, the Central Electricity Authority has predicted a shortfall of 5GW by 2026-27. Madhya Pradesh needs to add 600-700MW every year, through thermal and renewable power. PSPCL proposes an increase of 4160 MW in generation capacity The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has proposed to add 4,100 MW to its existing generation capacity in the coming years to stay ahead of the ever growing electricity demand in the state. The power de-mand of the state is increasing by 10% to 12% every year. The power corporation during the current summer sea-son met the highest ever demand of 13,700 MW re-cently. According to PSPCL sources, this is the highest demand that can be met in Punjab given the existing infrastructure. As per the proposal, the corporation wants to set up with five supercritical thermal power plants of 800 MW at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant at Ropar at an estimated cost of Rs 24,801 crore. The plant at present has four units each of 210 MW capacity. Meanwhile, the proposal to set up a 100 MW solar











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power plant on the premises of the now shut down Bathinda thermal power plant is also under considera-tion of the state government. SAC reviews Hydro, Solar Power projects; PDD asked to complete tendering by Dec 31 The State Administrative Council (SAC) which met un-der the chairmanship of Governor, Satya Pal Malik took note of the status report submitted by the Power Devel-opment Department (PDD) regarding development of Hydroelectric and Solar Power Projects in the State. 13 Small HEPs of 2MW to 10MW capacity with an ag-gregate capacity of 112.5 MW had been identified by JAKEDA for implementation through EPC mode under PMDP-2015. These projects are at various stages of bid-ding process. JKSPDC has initiated 20 Small Hydro projects in 2016-17 including 10 under PMDP-Phase-I, 10 under PMDP-Phase-II. These projects with aggregate capacity of 371.10 MW are at various stages of DPR preparation/tendering. SAC also took note of the status of HEPs being imple-mented under the State Sector (9 projects of aggregate capacity 3584.5 MWs), Joint Venture (4 projects of ag-gregate capacity 3014 MWs) and IPP (12 projects of ag-gregate capacity 160.5 MWs). SAC directed the PDD to complete the tendering proc-ess for all projects with capacity above 10 MW by 31.12.2019. SAC also directed the PDD to complete the tendering process for 13 Projects in the range of 2-10 MW, whose DPRs have been prepared by 31.12.2019. States seek help to make power plants meet emission norms State governments have asked the Centre for money for equipment to help power plants meet new emission norms. States have an installed capacity of 72.85 GW, which would require equipment worth at least Rs 36,000 crore, but state utilities are financially unviable because of inefficiency, power theft, technical losses and failure to get payments from all customers. States want money either from the Power System De-velopment Fund (PSDF) or from the Clean Coal Cess to be able to upgrade plants. Sobhandeb points finger at Centre for failing to make Katwa power project operational West Bengal Power minister Sobhandeb Chat-topadhyay stated that the Centre has failed to make the Katwa power project operational despite the state gov-ernment providing land for the same. He further stated that it could not be made operational due to failure of the Centre's policy. Chief Minister had taken initiative to arrange land for the 1,320 MW Katwa

power project, but the National Thermal Power Corpo-ration (NTPC) is yet to take any major step in this re-gard. CIL and Railways advised to prioritize fuel supply to pithead plants The government advised Coal India Limited (CIL) and the railways to prioritize fuel supply to pithead power plants irrespective of their quota or contracted quantity to help them run at full capacity and meet peak de-mand. CIL normally supplies a maximum of 90% of the re-quirement for running a plant at 85% capacity. In peak season, higher demand for coal congests the railways, making it easier to stock up pithead plants. Not all coal-fields have enough production to meet the demand of a pithead plant while some mines also cater to other cus-tomers. Seventeen plants are located near coal mines. They have a total capacity of 33.18 GW comprising 21% of the total thermal capacity. Chennai to get two thermal power plants using natural gas Tamil Nadu chief minister announced that two thermal units based on natural gas with a capacity of 730 MW will be set up in North Chennai at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. He further stated that the government would allocate Rs 3,000 crore towards replacing equipment at thermal plants owned by Tangedco with better equipment to prevent pollution efficiently. New sub-stations with a capacity of 230kV will be set up in Tiruvannamalai, Namakkal and Tirunelveli dis-tricts. They will be set up at a cost of Rs 510 crore. Six sub-stations with a capacity of 110kV each will be set up in Chennai, Thanjavur, Villupuram, Perambalur, Coimbatore and Salem districts at a total cost of Rs 135 crore, the chief minister said. In cyclone Gaja-hit Nagapattinam district, 100km of overhead lines will be replaced with underground ca-bles at a cost of Rs 300 crore. Rules for captive power plants to be amended to pre-vent misuse The power ministry will rework amendments to the rules for captive plants to prevent their misuse and abolish undue charges on free electricity trade to pro-vide cheaper energy alternative to industries. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, stated that the Centre will work with states to remove barriers such as cross-subsidy surcharges, un-desirable duties on open access sales or captive genera-tion for industrial and other bulk power consumers. Indian Captive Power Producers Association secretary general Rajiv Agrawal stated that the government














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should also address coal availability issues. He further stated that, it is visionary on part of the finance minis-ter... It is time for the government to remove other dis-criminations and impediments to global competitive-ness too, namely charging captive power generators 20-140% higher coal costs, vis-à-vis other power produc-ers. The ministry had, last year, proposed getting rid of loopholes in norms relating to captive and group cap-tive generating power plants following complaints against dummy projects being created to avoid sur-charges. The changes could lead to correction in equity and shareholding in over 5,000-mw existing captive power projects. The government proposed to change the definition of 'ownership' for captive power plants that should now be in terms of value of capital along with the voting rights and not in terms of number of shares only. CPCB directs TPP to install cooling towers The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued directions to the Kothagudem Thermal Power Plant (TPP) run by TSGENCO to install cooling towers at its units I to IV. The CPCB gave time to the power plant till 2022 for installation of towers, as according to the Cen-tral Electricity Authority it takes just 36 hours for its installation. Arunachal: Subansiri among highest cost overrun stalled hydel projects Power Minister R K Singh stated that the Lower Suban-siri hydropower project of Arunachal Pradesh is one among the 13 cost overrun projects that have been stalled in the country. The 4706 MW hydropower project amounting over Rs 13000 crore had to be stalled as many organizations protested against the continuation of the project fearing that huge devastation might occur in the downstream areas of the dam. As per reports, Sikkim had five stalled cost overrun hydropower projects. Govt to sign 5 MoUs for hydro power projects with SJVN: CM Thakur Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur as-serted to make best possible efforts for boosting invest-ment in hydro power sector in the state and stated that five MoUs will be signed with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. as this sector is not only engine of growth but also has immense potential to provide employment. Nuclear power programme poised for rapid expansion in India The Government has taken several steps to increase the nuclear power capacity and to provide adequate quan-tity of fuel. These include:

Resolution of issues related to Civil Liability for Nu-clear Damage (CLND) Act & Creation of Indian Nu-clear Insurance Pool (INIP). Accord of administrative approval and financial sanc-tion of – ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & two (02) units of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up in cooperation with Russian Federation. Amendment of the Atomic Energy Act to enable Joint Ventures of Public Sector Companies to set up nuclear power projects. Entering into enabling agreements with foreign coun-tries for nuclear power cooperation including supply of fuel. Nuclear share has remained around 3% of the total elec-tricity generation in the country and the share of atomic energy in the overall electricity generation in the coun-try was about 2.93% in the year 2017-18.The main rea-son for low share has been the low installed capacity base. The reasons for low capacity base are: Technology development and international embargo regime that persisted from 1974 to 2008. As a result, all the technologies for nuclear power including the fuel cycle technologies had to be developed within the country, thus took time. Another constraint faced during the first two decades was availability of financial resources, as it had to solely depend on budgetary support. However, the ear-lier constraints have now been overcome and nuclear power programme is poised for rapid expansion. Himachal Pradesh Sets Tariff for Kinnaur 300 MW Hy-dro Project The Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commis-sion (HPERC) has set the tariff for sale of power from BASPA II, which is a 300 MW hydropower project lo-cated on river Baspa (a tributary of river Satluj), located in district Kinnaur. The power will be sold to Himachal Pradesh State Elec-tricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL) from FY 2019-20 to 2023-24. The HPERC has set the following tariffs: ₹1.70/kWh for FY2019-2020, ₹2.17/kWh as the tariff for FY 2020-2021, ₹2.19/kWh for FY 2021-2022, ₹2.21/kWh as the tariff for FY 2022-2023 and ₹2.23/kWh for FY 2023-2024. Budget: Rs 16,925 crore BE for Department of Atomic Energy The Union Budget 2019-20 proposed customs duty re-ductions on certain raw materials and capital goods needed for nuclear power plants. The customs duty reduction will be applicable for the following nuclear power plants:

Mahi Banswara Atomic Power project- 1 to 4,

Kaiga Atomic Power project – 5 & 6,

Gorakhpur Atomic Power project- 3 & 4,













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Chutka Atomic Power project- 1 & 2 With regard to Budget Estimates for Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Rs 16,925 crore has been pro-vided for FY 2019-20. Economic Survey: Fossil fuels, coal to remain an impor-tant source of energy As per Economic Survey 2018-2019, India would con-tinue its reliance on fossil fuels, especially, coal in the coming future for meeting its energy requirements. This comes after India making huge strides in ramping up renewable energy capacity and improving energy efficiency through various policy initiatives. The Economic Survey added that it may not be advis-able to completely abandon coal-based power plants without complete utilisation of their lifetimes, as it would lead to stranded assets that can have adverse impact on the banking sector. Survey further pointed that, considering the intermit-tency of renewable power supply, unless sufficient technological breakthrough in energy storage happens in the near future, it is unlikely that thermal power can be easily replaced as the main source of energy for a growing economy such as India. The Survey maintained that base load power would still have to be provided by thermal power plants, how-ever, keeping in mind the sustainable energy objectives of the country there is a need of building capacity for cleaner and more efficient coal technologies. GMR sells Chhatisgarh plant to Adani Power in order to pare debt GMR Infrastructure has entered into an agreement with Adani Power to sell its entire stake of 47.62% in its Chattisgarh power plant. The deal will help the group further deleverage its balance sheet. Lenders to GMR Chhattisgarh Energy last week ap-proved the bid by Adani Power and the Axis Bank-led consortium of lenders issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to the bidder. The power plant subsidiary ran into finan-cial trouble owing to absence of a long-term power pur-chase agreement. Gujarat: Hikes in duty on captive power, stamp duty Industrial units will have to cough up more for power as the state government proposed to increase the elec-tricity duty (ED) on power generated by industrial units for captive consumption. Minister stated that most industrial units procure elec-tricity from distribution companies and pay ED at 15% (around Rs 1.05 per unit), while ED paid by industrial units on captive consumption is 55 paisa per unit which now proposed to be 70 paise/ unit. Power Ministry 5-Year Plan Calls for Fair Share of Re-newables and More Washed Coal

The Ministry of Power has issued a vision document which charts the way forward for India‘s power sector. The document points out the problem areas and sets the timeline for every aspect of power generation, evacuation, and distribution. The document, called ―Vision 2024‖, aims at develop-ing a sustainable, viable, efficient, and competitive power sector to facilitate economic and social develop-ment. The report points out that the generation capacity in India has increased drastically in the past decade, but the sector is beset with falling plant load factor (PLF) and stressed assets. While the country‘s overall generation has been on the rise, especially with the growth in solar and wind pro-jects, an adequate transmission has always been a chal-lenge leading to grid congestion and curtailment. The lack of transmission capacity has been a growing con-cern for solar and wind companies. With a plethora of mega solar tenders announced in the solar sector, in-cluding interstate transmission system (ISTS) connected projects, the availability of the required evacuation in-frastructure has been one of the biggest challenges. The vision document states that capacity allocation of transmission infrastructure needs to be aligned with the growth in renewable energy projects. It mentions that transmission planning needs to be done one to two years ahead as the gestation period for renewable en-ergy projects is lesser when compared to transmission projects. 12 nuclear power plants to be built in India During the last three years and the current year, the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of twelve (12) nu-clear power reactors - ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pres-surized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & two (02) units of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up in cooperation with Russian Fed-eration to enhance nuclear power capacity in the coun-try. Presently, two public sector companies of the Depart-ment of Atomic Energy, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) are involved in nu-clear power generation. Government targets at adding 1,190MW of hydropower capacity in 2019 India aims at adding 1,190 MW of hydropower capacity in the current year, which will take the total capacity to more than 50,000 MW. India has 45,399 MW of large hydel plants and 4,594 MW of small ones. Last year, the government had targeted hydel capacity addition of 840 MW but it managed to achieve only 140 MW. This year, central sector NEEPCO aims at adding the












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highest capacity of 600 MW at Kameng Hydel Power project in Arunachal Pradesh. The government of Hi-machal Pradesh will be adding another 211 MW in the state. These would include three units of 33.33 MW by state government-owned BVPCL and three units of 37 MW by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. Three private sector companies are also scheduled to add around 379 MW. These are GMR‘s Bajoli Holi pro-ject in Himachal Pradesh with a total capacity of 3x60 MW, L&T‘s Singoli Bhatwari project in Uttarakhand with a total capacity of 2x33 MW and Sorang hydel pro-ject with a proposed capacity of 2x50 MW at Uttara-khand. At present, the largest hydel generation capacity is in north India at 19.7 GW followed by south at 11.77 GW. West India has a total installed capacity of around 7.55 GW followed by east at 4.94 GW. Will a Centre-state panel help cut red tape in India power sector? The power ministry has proposed a ―power sector council" comprising the political executive as well as the energy bureaucracy to tackle issues between the Union and state governments as part of the ministry‘s 100-day action plan for the second term of the Naren-dra Modi government. With power being on the concurrent list of the Consti-tution, many sectoral issues face hurdles due to differ-ences between the Union and state governments. The council will help the Centre and states work on a com-mon agenda and ensure round-the-clock power to all. As per information, such a council can be formed through an executive order and ―the council would work in the spirit of collaborative and cooperative fed-eralism, whereby various federal and state entities in the Indian power sector can work on common narra-tives of energy sector growth on a common agenda, while retaining the concurrent nature of power sector as enshrined in the Constitution of India". Payment security mechanism for power generators can be a double-edge sword Amid mounting receivables, the Union power ministry made it mandatory for electricity distribution licensees to open letters of credit as a payment security mecha-nism under the power purchase agreements. If implemented in spirit, the proposal will infuse disci-pline in the sector. The threat of encashing a letter of credit will deter power-distribution companies (discoms) from inordinately delaying payments. They will be compelled to improve realizations through ra-tionalising tariffs or reducing transmission and distri-bution losses or through billing recoveries. For consumers and producers, this will eliminate un-necessary costs. Producers will no longer need to bank-roll receivables. For consumers, the improvement in the

payment mechanism at the discom level can weed out unnecessary costs. Power generators right now are al-lowed to recover costs associated with payment delays from discoms, which in turn is realised from consum-ers. But, as good as the proposal sounds, it can have unin-tended consequences for electricity generators. The mechanism can crimp demand, at least till discoms get their act together. Discoms, after all, do not have unlim-ited access to financial resources. JSW sweetens offer to surge past Vedanta in race for Ind Barath unit JSW Energy, part of the Sajjan Jindal controlled JSW Group, has stolen a march over Vedanta Ltd in the bid to acquire insolvent firm Ind Barath Energy Utkal Ltd (IBEUL), 700 Mw coal-fired pit-head power plant near Jharsuguda (Odisha). As per reports, JSW Energy has offered Rs 845 crore against Vedanta's Rs 700 crore. The ailing power assets, fired by coal and natural gas, add up to 34 with an installed capacity of over 40,000 Mw and are saddled with debt mounting to Rs 1.74 tril-lion, according to a report by a Parliamentary standing committee. GE Power India bags orders worth Rs 2,311 crore from NTPC GE Power India announced that they have bagged or-ders worth Rs 2,311 crore (USD 335 million) from state-owned NTPC. The orders are for supply and installa-tion of wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems at three coal-based power plants. The three power plants are IGSTPP Jhajjar (3×500 MW) of Aravali Power Company Private Ltd (APCPL); Sim-hadri Super Thermal Power Station Stage I & Stage II of NTPC and Sipat Super Thermal Power Station Stage I (3×660 MW)of NTPC. With these three wet FGD projects together, GE will help NTPC to treat 35 million cubic meters per hour of flue gas and will remove up to 1,08,400 tonne per year of sulphur dioxide which will be converted into gyp-sum by-product for use in the construction industry. GE Power India arm GE Steam Power will supply wet FGD systems for the three NTPC coal plants. Power ministry proposes reverse e-auction for gas-run plants The power ministry proposes to conduct reverse e-auction to select gas fired stations that will be offered subsidised imported fuel under a bailout package for 24,000-MW stressed projects. The power plants are proposed to be run on imported LNG to be made affordable through haircuts by central, state governments, power companies and gas trans-porters. The proposal, for three years starting this fiscal, is an












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extension of the previous rounds of subsidised gas auc-tion schemes to power plants. The difference this time, however, is a plan to aggregate power from these plants through reverse online auction and a proposal to do away with subsidy component. Under the proposed scheme, a tariff-based electronic reverse will be conducted among gas-run power plants based on prevailing gas price at sea. Contracts will be signed with the lowest bidders. A gas aggregator will be assigned and the subsidy component will arise only if the imported fuel prices increase. Against a requirement of 117 million metric gas to run these plants at 90% capacity, average domestic gas sup-ply was about 31mmscmd. The allocation to these plants is 94 mmscmd.

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POWER TRANSMISSION

Uttar Pradesh to invest Rs 20,000 cr in improving power transmission infra The Uttar Pradesh government plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore in five years for improving power trans-mission, seeking to provide uninterrupted electricity to industries as it aims to become a $1-trillion economy. It's estimated that the peak hour energy demand in the state will increase by more than 35 per cent from 22,000 MW at present to nearly 30,000 MW by 2024. According to UP energy minister Shrikant Sharma, the government had already increased power transmission capacity 60% from 15,000 MVA in 2017 to the current level of 24,000 MVA. SAM, Khaitan lead on CLP India acquisition of 3 trans-mission assets of Kalpataru Power Hong Kong-based CLP India Pvt Ltd (CPL) has ac-quired three transmission assets of Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd including Kalpataru Satpura Transco Private Limited (KSTPL), Alipurduar Transmission Limited (ATL) and Kohima-Mariani Transmission Lim-ited (KMTL).

The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately USD 478 million. NEC sanctioned Rs 12.7 Cr for power sector in Tripura The North Eastern Council (NEC) has sanctioned Rs 12.7 crore to upgrade and extend power transmission network between Ambassa and Gandacherra of Dhalai district of North Tripura. The state government has been persuading the Central government for the improvement of power supply in-frastructure in the state to reduce the transmission loss and ensure quality power to the subscribers. Despite having sufficient supply of power even after export to Bangladesh and Nepal, Tripura is self-reliant to meet the daily demand but due to fault in transmis-sion line power tripping, load shedding and repeated disruption in supply network is a daily affair in the state. Recently Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also agreed to loan of Rs1925 Cr for development of power sector in Tripura, which will bring about a major change in the state.







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Power players seek policy changes to cut transmission logjam With the power sector undergoing major transitions, the private transmission industry wants the government to initiate a number of policy changes which would give them more flexibility in network planning. The private sector accounted for 41% of total Rs 1.03 lakh crore in-vested in transmission asset creation since 2011. Industry leaders stated that the mandatory government design and technology often do not leave enough scope of adopting new relevant technologies, which in most cases unduly increase capex, thereby increasing power tariff. According to a white paper recently launched by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the average time taken from the notification of a transmission project to the start of its construction is as many as 760 days. One of the eight suggestions advocated by the white paper was reducing this time by 40% by modifying the proce-dure of getting forest clearances and easing the bidding process. Soon, safety guidelines to be framed for laying high-tension power lines An Expert Appraisal Committee of Union Environment Ministry has concluded there is no need for obtaining environment clearance (EC) for erecting High Tension (HT) lines. However, it directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to frame guidelines for human safety and their health. The committee also mentioned that transmission lines are linear projects and as per ex-istent guidelines, the project does not attract EIA Notifi-cation. Overhead cables, not seabed ones, to transmit power from TN to Lanka State power minister P Thangamani stated that power supply from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka would happen only through overhead cables and not through cables laid along the seabed. He further stated that the technical committee of the project had opined that it was not feasible to have cables laid along the seabed, because for doing that, a cable factory should be set up at Rameswaram and the cables should be taken across the seas by ship. It was not possi-ble and hence only overhead cables would be laid. An initial report prepared by the Power Grid Corpora-tion of India had pegged the cost of laying cables along sea bed at Rs 2,292 crore and it was to be completed in 42 months. Power was to be transmitted from Madurai in Tamil Nadu to Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. CII pitches for independent central transmission utility Industry body CII called for creating an independent central transmission utility (CTU) to ensure a transpar-

ent planning and operation process and encourage pri-vate investments. Currently, state-run Power Grid Corporation is the CTU as well as a major player in power transmission in the country. India will be consuming 1.8 trillion units by 2025 as In-dia‘s growth trajectory accelerates, and this requires large investments in the transmission sector, particularly at the state level. The transmission sector has seen a fall in the invest-ments to below 1.8 lakh crore in the last five years but this will need to see a significant jump as 500 GW of re-newable energy is added to the grid by 2030. The report also urged the government to auction all power transmission projects under tariff based competi-tive bidding regime to encourage investors to exploit Rs 5-6 lakh crore investment potential in next 5 years. The major recommendations include urgent need to up-grade capacities within existing infrastructure, clearly distinguishing the role of the CTU from the functions of the developer. The CII also recommended redefining the scope of plan-ning for the centre which should be based on the capac-ity of the transmission line instead of the geography where the same is located, and finally the need to bring in competition and move away from the cost-plus ap-proach or regulated tariff mechanisms. Power Minister approves proposal for early regulatory approval of transmission schemes identified for 66.5 GW Renewable Energy projects In a major decision to fast track the deployment of Re-newable Energy (RE) in India, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) Shri RK Singh has approved a proposal for early regulatory ap-proval by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for transmission schemes identified for 66.5 GW National Renewable Energy Mission projects. MNRE in consultation with CEA and Central Transmis-sion Utility (CTU) has identified transmission schemes for around 66.5 GW of RE generation, comprising around 28 GW under Phase-I and around 38.5 GW un-der Phase-II as part of National Renewable Energy Mis-sion of setting up of 175GW of RE capacity. India Grid Trust acquires two transmission assets from Sterlite Power India Grid Trust announced the closure of the acquisi-tion of two power transmission assets, NRSS XXIX Transmission (NTL) and Odisha Generation Phase II Transmission (OGPTL), from Sterlite Power for an enter-prise value of Rs 5,025 crore. IndiGrid had signed defini-tive documents to acquire the two assets in April 2019. Following the acquisition, IndiGrid's AUM has in-creased from Rs 5,220 crore to Rs 10,660 crore. The InvIT currently manages a portfolio of eight power transmis-











file:///D:\557

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sion assets with a total network of 18 power transmis-sion lines that span more than 4,900 circuit kilometers across 11 Indian states. These acquisitions of assets will significantly expand IndiGrid's portfolio and better en-able it to deliver stable and growing yield. CM Raghubar Das sets July deadline to fix Ranchi power transmission glitches Chief minister Raghubar Das directed officers of the state energy department that heads will roll if uninter-rupted power supply is not ensured for Ranchi as well as for Jharkhand by September.

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POWER DISTRIBUTION

Southern states gear up for Letter of Credit system for power purchases from Aug 1 Power utilities of the southern States and a Union Terri-tory are getting ready with the Letter of Credit system for power purchases from August 1 as mandated by the Centre. Expressing serious concern over the Power Ministry's proposed LC system, the SRPC, comprising power utilities from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Puducherry, had re-quested the ministry to defer the implementation date. SRPC member states that there may be some hiccups initially, but it will get adjusted over a period of time. Uttar Pradesh lost Rs 19 crores due to flawed deal with Torrent Power: CAG CAG report mentioned that Uttar Pradesh failed to re-alise Rs 19.38 crore as it had signed an agreement with

Torrent Power, which contravened an act of the leg-islature. Uttar Pradesh state-owned discom Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam had signed an agreement with Torrent Power in May 2009, making it an distribu-tion franchise in the Agra urban area for 20 years. The CAG said contrary to the Uttar Pradesh Electric-ity (Duty) Act, 1952, the agreement permitted Tor-rent Power to pay electricity duty after realisation from customers and not at the time of sale. Accord-ingly, Torrent Power has deposited Rs 273 crore as electricity duty between April 2010 and March 2017, against the payable amount of Rs 285.42 crore. The state also lost an interest of Rs 6.97 crore on the fore-gone amount in that period. Inergystat Exclusive- EESL shows the benefit of smart meters

UDAY Update

Particular 1-Aug

All India AT&C loss (%)

18.21

ACS-ARR Gap (INR/Unit)

0.26

Bond Issued (%) 86.29%

Smart Meter

Phase-I: Above 500 kWh/month

In % 3.91%

Progress 224217

Total Nos.

5733307

Phase-II: 200-500 kWh/month

In % 3.18%

Progress 586272

Total Nos.

18429956

SAUBHAGYA Update

Status of Household electrification

1-August-2019

Less than 80% electrification 0

More than 80% and less than 90% 0



100% electrified 29

Only 18734 households are left to achieve 100% target. All the houses are in Chhattisgarh.

PRAAPTI Update

Particulars June-2019

No. of Discoms 58

No. of Gencos 19

No. of pending invoices 4361 Outstanding Amount At month start (in Cr.) Month Start

43599

Total Amount Paid By Discom (in Cr.) 8171

Total Amount Billed To Discom (in Cr.) 11361

Outstanding Amount At Month End (in Cr.) 46789








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As of now, EESL has installed 4.5 lakh smart meters in the state of Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Andhra Padesh. Some of the key points shared are:

Data consumption per meter is only 7 kb per hour

EESL charge INR 75-95 per meter to the discom under PAYS model (Under this model EESL make upfront investment for smart metering and DISCOM pays on a per meter per month basis, thereby improving their financial strength, opera-tional efficiency and customer satisfaction)

The smart meter installation resulted in increase in revenue collection; the highest is in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh division i.e. of 21.12%

There is reduction in delay payment, in KESCO, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh this came to Zero

Bill collection increases

Increase in average revenue per unit IEA signs MoU to bolster energy efforts in India The International Energy Agency‘s signed a memoran-dum of understanding (MoU) with The Energy & Re-sources Institute (TERI) to strengthen cooperation be-tween the two organisations in their work on a wide range of energy issues. Companies will assist in overcoming issues including affordable energy access and the integration of renew-able energy, energy efficiency, mobility and reducing emissions in the industrial sector. Discoms losses rise 89% in FY19 State-run electricity distribution companies (discoms) reported a near doubling of their financial losses in FY19, in what reflected a dramatic reversal of the trend of a secular decline in losses in FY17 and FY18 thanks to the UDAY scheme. What caused these entities to di-gress from the pathway to progress are politically-motivated delays and inadequacies in tariff hikes and state government departments‘ failure to pay them in time for the electricity purchased. Another reason for the rise in losses is the Saubhagya scheme for electrifi-cation of households. Discoms‘ financial losses stood at Rs 28,369 crore at the end of FY19, up 88.6% year-on-year, according to the updated data provided to the power ministry. The losses were reported at Rs 21,658 crore as at May-end (reflecting 44% annual increase), but several states have since revised their inputs in the Central govern-ment‘s UDAY portal, revealing that the losses in aggre-gate were actually higher. Power ministry order will badly affect Discoms, says AIPEF All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) strongly

opposed the order of Ministry of Power, Government of India to make it mandatory to open and maintain adequate Letter of Credit (LC) as payment security sys-tems by Discoms. It has also opposed the NITI Aayog‘s strategy paper to privatise the distribution of electricity throughout the country. However, the order states that Discoms will continue to pay the fixed charges to generating companies even when power is not being dispatched AIPEF termed the order as anti-people and appealed to Union Power Minister RK Singh to withdraw the order immediately as it will not be practically feasible to implement this mechanism due the poor financial status of Discoms. 40 lakh families in Andhra Pradesh will benefit from power reforms: Minister The Energy department is focusing on providing quali-tative power to both farm and aqua sectors and uninter-rupted power supply to domestic consumers. State power minister stated that the government is giv-ing utmost priority for effective implementation of Navaratnalu in power sector, given the fact that 40 lakh families stand to benefit with new reforms being imple-mented in the power sector. The minister said like nowhere in the country, the state government was implementing 9-hour free power sup-ply to farm sector during day time, free power to SC, ST families and power to aqua farmers at cheaper rate. According to the minister, the 9-hour day time free power supply would benefit 18.15 lakh farmers for which the government allocated Rs 4,525 crore. Similarly, aqua farmers would get power at just Rs 1.50/unit as against Rs 3.85/- per unit which benefits 53,649 families. The state government has extended free power up to 200 units for around 20 lakh SC, ST families with addi-tional expenditure of Rs 128 crore for which total ex-penditure of the government will be around Rs 413 crore. Power discoms dues to generation companies stand at Rs 21,000 crore monthly As per CRISIL analysis, the dues to be paid by power distribution companies in India to generators stand at a monthly average of Rs 21,000 crore and large firms including GMR Energy and CLP India top the list of developers facing the highest level of financial stress as a result of these mammoth receivables. Central and private generators supplying power to dis-coms under long-term PPAs have been unable to re-cover dues from discoms, leading to ballooning receiv-ables and stress, and a stretched working-capital cycle. The problem is aggravated by the requirement of up-front payments to be made to Coal India and the rail-ways for supply of coal for generation.










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Discom-wise share in overall overdue reveals Uttar Pradesh tops the chart accounting for 22 per cent of the total dues to generating companies, followed by Tamil Nadu (15 per cent), Karnataka (15 per cent) and Telan-gana (9 per cent). In order to address the issue of dues, the power minis-try has directed all the discoms to open and maintain sufficient letters of credit (LC) as a payment-security mechanism under power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed with generation companies. The implementation of the order will benefit genera-tors, as the power supplied to discoms is conditional upon the opening of an LC for an amount adequate to cover the entire quantum of power to be supplied. Once an LC is opened, it will be communicated to the load despatch centre, enabling generators to recover any overdue amount by invoking the LC when a discom does not pay on time. Despite govt claim, many houses yet to be electrified Contrary to claims by the Centre that all rural house-holds and poor households in urban areas across the country had been electrified by March 31, 2019 under its ambitious Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yo-jana or Saubhagya, around 1.40 lakh households in Ra-jasthan and 40,000-odd households in Chhattisgarh are yet to be electrified as on July 1, 2019. This means that roughly around 1.80 lakh households are yet to be electrified under Saubhagya. Urban locals still await 24X7 power As per latest data of UPPCL, urban areas in the state did not receive round the clock power supply in the past three months. As per records, the average power supply to urban ar-eas hovered just over 22 hours even though the UP Power Corporation Limited fixed a scheduled supply of 24 hours. Records show that it were the rural areas which received the supply as per the schedule of 18 hours. In fact, records show that rural areas received over 19 hours of power in April and more than 20 hours in May this year. According to records, the average power supply to ur-ban areas, in fact, dipped from just over 23 hours in April and May to a little over 22 hours. The UPPCL had also fixed a roster of 24 hours to tehsils but the utility consistently failed in wheeling out that much of power supply. Discoms make a beeline for cheaper power supplied by NTPC under SCED system A large number of discoms are making a beeline for the power supplied by NTPC under the SCED system which facilitates supply of cheaper electricity on prior-ity. Under SCED (Security Constrained Economic Dis-

patch), implemented over a year ago, power generating companies raise capacity utilisation of more efficient plants or of those units which are located closer to coal mines and thus have lower freight cost. As a result, the cost of power production goes down, which benefits both the distribution companies (discoms) and end consumers. According to an estimate, discoms are expected to save as much as Rs 2.5 crore per day due to this mechanism that allows states to access cheaper power first. There are currently 49 thermal power plants as part of the SCED pilot project with a total installed capacity of 56 GW. All stations of NTPC are contributing to the central pool. This optimisation scheme has a cost saving poten-tial of around Rs 3,000 crore per year if all coal stations of the IPPs (independent power producers) and state generation companies are brought under its ambit. PSPCL extends save water-earn money scheme from six feeders to 250 feeders: Sharma With the positive response given by the farmers to its save water-earn money (Paani Bachao, Paise Kamao), an ambitious scheme of the direct benefit transfer for electricity to agricultural consumers to save the groundwater, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has announced expansion of the scheme from six feeders to 250 new feeders of the state. From June, 2018 and July 25, 2019, an amount of Rs 15.74 Lakh as subsidy has been transferred to the ac-counts of consumers for judicious use of water by the department. World Bank and J-PAL are supporting in the imple-mentation of the scheme on these new feeders along with The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), IT Power India (ITPI), Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) are also instrumental in conceptualizing the scheme design. UP: 1.4 lakh cases of power theft in 2018, says Srikant Sharma Utter Pradesh Energy Minister stated that more than 1.4 lakh cases of power pilferage were reported in the state in FY 2018-19 and over 32,500 cases of discrepancies in consumption of electricity by consumers was found. The minister further stated that the electricity divisions in urban areas which record high rate of power pilfer-age have been allocated Rs 1 crore each to convert the existing distribution lines into aerial bunch conductors (ABC). Under the project, the government has given its nod to converting 1,000 km of distribution lines into ABC cables. Draft plan proposes prepaid smart meter for all power connections












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A draft electricity distribution plan prepared by the Central Electricity Authority envisages conversion of all electricity consumer meters into smart meters in pre-paid mode within the next three years. Smart metering would provide consumers with tools to help conserve energy and plan electricity usage in an efficient and optimum manner. The plan anticipates an increase in distribution substa-tion capacity by 38 per cent, distribution transformation capacity by 32 per cent and an increase in different type of feeder lengths by 27-38 per cent till 2022. CEA is also preparing a Distribution Planning Manual for guiding Discoms for future planning. This is a step in the direction of developing Standards of Service for Power Sector in India. During the review meeting, going beyond the infra-structure and technology, the minister laid emphasis on integrating the planned reforms and improved proc-esses of operations into the Draft Distribution Perspec-tive Plan. The minister also directed that a core group of ministry officials should study the power sector ‗Reforms 2.0‘, which would be integrated with Distribution Perspec-tive Plan before it is released. Tata Power-DDL Deploys Micro Drones for Mainte-nance With an aim to provide better service to its customers through the use of latest technological interventions, Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL) has initiated the use of drones for maintenance of its power lines, poles and towers. In a statement, the company said that the drone usage will provide faster, better and more accurate service resolutions. It is using micro drones of less than 2 kgs in weight along with flying capacity of below 200 ft. Company stated that these drones are equipped with integrated thermal vision camera to render infrared radiations, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to measure distances with the use of laser lights, high resolution camera for electrical asset inspection, moni-toring & mapping and GPS enabled Autopilot System guided by a Ground Control Station. Indias state electricity distribution firms shelled out higher tariffs since Q4 2018 As per report, India‘s state electricity distribution com-panies have paid much higher tariffs to buy power on short-term contracts over the last few months, shelling out a few thousand crore rupees more than they did for spot market buys. As a result, questions have been raised over prudent power procurement at these power distributors at a time when many are cash-strapped due to rising elec-tricity costs. States have bought power at an average rate of INR 6

per unit per unit from November 2018 to May 2019, while in some cases it reaches to INR 12 per unit. Govt considers norms to cut discoms power cost The power ministry is considering a proposal to allow all generation companies (gencos) flexibility to supply electricity from any plant in their stable, a move that will reduce cost of power for cash-strapped distribution companies (discoms) and ease pressure to raise con-sumer tariffs. The ministry‘s line of thinking has been encouraged by fuel cost reduction of over Rs 300 crore since April due to such flexibility allowed to 49 coal-fired power stations of state-run NTPC, aggregating 56 GW capacity and about one billion units per day of generation. The move is part of power minister R K Singh‘s efforts at improving efficiency and sustainability in the power sector. Called Security Constraint Economic Despatch (SCED) in government parlance, the norm allows gen-cos to raise capacity utilisation of more efficient plants in their stable or units that are closer to coal mines and have lower freight cost — both of which have a bearing on cost of power. Higher capacity utilisation improves ratings of power plants, while discoms save on cost of power purchase. French MNC EDF upbeat on India across renewables, nuclear, T&D sectors French power multinational EDF is upbeat on India across several areas including renewables, nuclear power, transmission and distribution systems, and smart grids. The company has bagged a mega project to deploy five million smart meters in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, has completed pilot projects and is stepping up efforts to deploy them. Marianne Laigneau, Group Senior Executive Vice-President In-Charge of International Division, stated that EDF has been awarded the biggest ever contract in India by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), where it has to design, install and integrate a network of 5 million smart metres across India staring with An-dhra Padesh and Bihar. With this project, EDF is now active in India in all the areas that are key for reducing the country‘s carbon dioxide emissions through low carbon electricity generation of nuclear and renewable, smart grids and intelligent public lighting. Letters of credit for power supplies: UP seeks more time The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and state distri-bution companies (discoms) have sought some time after a recent order from the power ministry made it mandatory for discoms and other utilities to provide letters of credit to the generation companies (gencos) as an assurance of payment in lieu of power supplies. The











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ministry‘s move comes into effect on August 1. Citing Uttar Pradesh‘s unique problem, the official said that post Uday transition, the financial position of the state discoms has not been satisfactory. Official mentioned that UP has a peculiar consumer mix. Industry forms just 14-15% of our consumers, while the rest are domestic and it is easier to collect money from industries. Our biggest challenge is to col-lect revenue from domestic consumers, especially in rural areas, where our majority consumers are based, due to which our revenue realisation is low. As per an senior official, it is important to note that UP has gone all out to increase its customer base by way of Saubhagya, through which its maximum new connec-tions have been in the rural areas, where the revenue collection is poor. ―UP has a dual challenge. While on the one hand the Central schemes such as Power for All and 24×7 power has increased our base load, on the other we do not have the ability to collect revenue from rural areas. This is becoming a huge bane for us. Running more ACs than limit? They could soon be turned off remotely To prevent over usage of power above permissible limit, power discom DHBVN plans to bifurcate its sup-ply channel to households into two categories- one for lights, fans, etc and the other for heavy-duty electrical appliances like ACs, microwaves and others. As per official, they will soon start working on the project, in which they will install a second phase in households for heavy duty appliances. This line, officials say, can be switched off remotely if power load is too high in an area and people are found to be consuming electricity higher than the permissible limit. The project is part of smart meter mission, which is cur-rently being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited. It aims to cover all households in the city by 2021. UP: Jolt deaths doubled in seven years Directorate of Electrical Safety (DES) has revealed that the electrocution toll in UP almost doubled in the past seven years. Data show the number of jolt deaths rose from 570 in 2012-13 to nearly 1,120 in 2018-19, which means that three persons lost their lives every day. The highest number of electrocution was reported in 2017-18, with the toll being 1,131. Principal secretary (energy) Alok Kumar conceded that the situation was alarming. ―The department has con-stituted a team under director (electrical safety) to study the situation and come up with remedial meas-ures,‖ he said. Kumar added that the committee set up to probe the Balrampur incident had also been asked to come up with strategies to buffer accidents.

Procedure for despatch centres: Govt ‗aiming to make states accountable‘ The government aims to make states accountable for the financial condition of their electricity distribution companies (discoms) through its latest rules enforcing a mandate of bank guarantees for access to power. They expect the move, which causes an imminent threat of power cuts in several states if discoms are unable to provide such payment security come August 1, will trigger a long-needed turnaround in operations in this sector. At the same time, some analysts believe the move may disrput power supply as several state-owned discoms are in debt due to infrequent hikes in electricity tariffs, high expenses and irregular subsidy disbursal. As per official, ―What we are looking at is the financial sustainability of the power sector, where every player is financially healthy. Right now, power generators and transmission people are not getting paid for their ser-vices". The state‘s machinery must work together to make this sector viable instead of promoting non-economic meas-ures without the financial support to back them. However, according to analysts, the latest move may disrupt power supply in different states if followed to the letter, as they are in debt due to infrequent hikes in electricity tariffs, high expenses and irregular subsidy disbursal. ―The sector does not have enough cash flow to support LC in the short term. Also, issues of disputes in genera-tor invoices remain due to contractual and regulatory issues,‖ said Sambitosh Mohapatra, partner, PwC India-Power and Utilities.







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―This move requires discoms to have liquidity, and state governments need to give subsidies on a monthly basis instead of tranches of payments given out once in six months or a year,‖ said Divya Charen C, senior ana-lyst, India Ratings and Research. Power ministry order on letter of credit to face chal-lenges: India Ratings India Ratings and Research stated that the power ministry's order for implementing letter of credit payment security mechanism would face im-plementation challenges but could improve predictabil-ity of cash flows for generating companies in the long term. As per estimates, Distribution companies (discoms) would have to create LC for about Rs 30000 crore be-fore August 2019, if the circular has to be implemented. Clarity on payment of existing dues is still awaited. Ad-ditionally, given the erratic payment behaviour of dis-coms, banks could issue LCs subject to 100% margin back–up. The standalone credit profiles of several dis-coms are frail; therefore, LC issuance by a bank could be a litmus test for discoms. The consequences of non-creation of LC include stop-ping despatch from generating companies, preventing trading through power exchanges, and not allowing short-term open access. These consequences are quite severe as they could force discoms to resort to load-shedding; thus, this could prove to be effective for en-suring timely payments from discoms. Power demand grows at 7.4% YoY in June As per data, in June 2019 power demand grew 7.4% YoY while supply increased 7.5% YoY, resulting in lower deficit of 0.4%. This raised capacity utilisation of thermal power plants to 62.2% for the month (June 2018: 59.4%), following improvement in private and state sectors‘ capacity utili-zation. Short-term power prices at Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) remained stable at Rs 3.32 per unit in June (May 2019: Rs 3.34 per unit) but declined 11.1% YoY due to lower demand in the short-term market. Total power trade at IEX fell 15% YoY to 4,211 million units in June 2019. Fall in short-term demand was on account of improved supply from long-term contracts as the generation improved YoY across all sectors in-cluding thermal (8.7%), hydro (7.9%) and renewables (4.7%). Chandgarh: UT plans overhaul of electricity depart-ment In the coming days the UT administration has planned to overhaul its power department. The move is aimed at implementing power sector reforms and bringing down its transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.

The UT electricity department in this regard have al-ready invited expression of interest to engage a consult-ant, who will guide the department in making these changes and to present department‘s side properly be-fore the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC). Besides, the UT administration has also started the process to corporatize the department, which was being opposed by the UT power men union. Southern and Western Regions of India Recorded Zero Power Supply Deficit in Q1: CEA During the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year (FY) 2019-20, India‘s power supply increased slightly with the power deficit declining to 0.4% from the 0.6% re-corded during the Q1 of FY 2018-19, according to the data provided by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). During the period between April -June 2019, around 347,771 million units (MUs) of electricity were supplied against a demand of 346,208 MUs. This was a decrease of 1,563 MUs over the targeted energy requirement. During the same period, against a peak demand of 183,673 MW of electricity, 182,533 MW was supplied. This was 1,140 MW fewer than the required supply to meet the peak demand, resulting in a peak power sup-ply deficit of 0.6%. During the first quarter of FY 2019-20, the northeastern region faced the highest power supply deficit of 5.4%, followed by the northern region at 1.1% and the eastern region at 0.2%. The southern and western regions re-corded zero power supply deficit in the country. In terms of peak power supply deficit, the northeastern region led with 2.1% followed by the northern region at 1.7%, and the southern region at 0.2%. The western and eastern region witnessed zero power deficit during the same period. No power supply to discoms without bank guarantees As per Central govt order, Power companies will man-datorily have to snap supplies to state electricity distri-bution companies that fail to open or maintain bank guarantees with effect from August 1. Financially weaker distribution companies can open letters of credit for even one day, one week or a fort-night of electricity supply and keep renewing them, said the order issued by the power ministry. It seeks to curb addition to the outstanding bills of Rs 41,747 crore by discoms. Non-payment of dues by dis-coms is one of the key reasons for stress in the power sector. Discoms failing to provide letters of credit in favour of generators will not only be denied that much power but they will also be denied access to spot markets, possibly forcing affected states to resort to power cuts. TThe order comes after power utilities of southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil










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Nadu and Telangana have expressed financial inability in opening guarantees and asked the Centre to defer implementation of the mechanism. Ailing discoms seek more time from MoP Electricity distribution companies (commonly known as Discoms) in the Southern Region (SR), that are under deep financial stress, are admitting to their inability to comply with the Ministry of Power‘s (MoP) order re-garding the opening and maintaining adequate letter of credit (LoC) as part of the payment security mechanism in power purchase agreements. The Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC) Chairperson S Selvakumar requested the date of imple-mentation of order to be deferred, as all States in the Southern Region have expressed serious concerns over the MoP‘s order. India plans to change all electricity meters to prepaid smart meters by 2022 Central government plans to convert all electricity me-ters into smart prepaid meters by 2022. The strategy is part of the government‘s electricity dis-tribution plan prepared by the Central Electricity Au-thority (CEA), India‘s apex power sector planning body, and comes at a time when the new government is trying to step up its efforts to supply 24x7 power to all. The Centre is looking to introduce several reforms in the proposed national tariff policy, including penalty on gratuitous load-shedding, not allowing losses of more than 15% as a pass-through in tariff, and limiting cross-subsidies. The policy also proposes suspension of licence in case of non-availability of adequate power supply arrangements and imposition of penalty in case of disruptions in supply. It also plans to introduce distribution sector reforms such as separating the ―carriage and content opera-tions" of power distribution companies (discoms), and letting people and firms buy electricity from a firm of their choice. Reforms agenda to be included in power distribution guidelines Keeping in mind the current financial distress of the country‘s electricity distribution companies (discoms), power minister RK Singh has asked the Central Elec-tricity Authority (CEA) to integrate the upcoming tariff policy‘s proposed procedural reforms in its final ‗distribution perspective plan‘. The initial version of the perspective plan, floated by CEA in June 2018, was a set of guidelines to help discoms choose appropriate tech-nologies for infrastructure development. In the power sector, ‗Reforms 2.0‘ refers to key amend-ments to the Electricity Tariff Policy, 2016, such as pen-alty for gratuitous load-shedding, restriction of AT&C losses to 15% (losses above this would not be compen-

sated via tariffs), payment of subsidy through direct benefit transfer, capping cross subsidies at 20% of the power supply cost and reducing cost of electricity units while increasing fixed monthly rentals. Separate police station for electricity thefts cannot re-duce such crimes, says HC The Delhi High Court declined to order setting up of a separate police station to deal with electricity theft cases, saying it would not put an end to such crimes or change the mindset of people indulging in such activ-ity. The court mentioned that instead of a separate police station, a dedicated investigative unit was required to probe such cases. AT&C loss reduces from 46.33 to 27.39 pc in five years in Bihar: Minister Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav stated that sus-tained efforts of the government to improve power sce-nario in Bihar had yielded good results as AT&C loss reduced from 46.33 to 27.39 per cent in last five years while the peak load increased from 700 MW in FY 2005-06 to 5139 MW in FY 2018-19. Power Minister reviews first ever Draft Plan for Power Distribution Sector prepared by CEA Shri RK Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) reviewed the Draft Dis-tribution Perspective Plan for power sector in India. The draft plan is the first ever plan at Distribution level which has been prepared by Central Electricity Author-ity (CEA) under the guidance of the Ministry of Power. Till now, the Central Government has been preparing Perspectives Plans for Generation and Transmission Sectors under the aegis of the National Electricity Plan (NEP). The Distribution plan keeps the needs of con-sumers at the center of its focus. The Power Minister laid emphasis on integrating the planned reforms and improved processes of operations into the Draft Distribution Perspective Plan. This would enable the distribution sector to address all the people, process and technology related aspects required for making the Power sector robust and resilient. The Min-ister directed that a core group of Ministry officials should study the power sector ‗Reforms 2.0‘, which would be integrated with Distribution Perspective Plan before it is released. The plan lays emphasis on 100% metering of all con-sumers and providing an electricity connection on de-mand. The plan also envisages frontier technology ini-tiatives with an objective of providing reliable quality power supply to consumers. The plan anticipates an increase in Distribution substa-tion capacity by 38%, Distribution transformation ca-pacity by 32% and an increase in different type of













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feeder lengths by 27-38% till 2022. CEA is also preparing a Distribution Planning Man-ual for guiding DISCOMs for future planning. This is a step in the direction of developing Standards of Service for Power Sector in India. Goa: Soon, pay power bills via net, card, get 1% dis-count The Goa electricity department will reward domestic consumers with a 1% rebate for non-cash payment of power bills from August 1. Power minister Nilesh Cabral stated that the consumer will have to pay the entire bill. The rebate will be cred-ited in the next bill. Short-term power market gains as long-term PPAs re-cede, shows data The short-term power market in the country has surged ahead over the past decade with the gradual drying up of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) inked by thermal power generators with the state electricity boards. According to CERC data, the share of the short-term market, made up by energy exchanges, bilateral trade and unscheduled interchanges, moved up from 6.1 per cent in FY09 to 11.7 per cent in FY19. In the comparable period, the dominant grip of PPAs loosened as their share fell from 93.86 per cent to 88.3 per cent. Short-term power trade, especially the power ex-changes have come in handy to meet the sudden surges in peak demand owing to their flexibility and ready availability (of power). No free power, first pay and then get electricity, says R K Singh Recently, Union Power Minister stated that India is moving towards a new regime where a power con-sumer would pay first and then get power supplies, which would eventually deal with the issue of non-payment in the sector. The minister also made it clear that states can give free power to certain sections of society but they would have to pay for it from their own budget. He was of the view that states cannot have a system whereby they distribute free power and do not collect the price of the power. Relief for power firms: Govt asks Aptel to crack down on regulatory assets With the government planning to improve finances of the state-owned power distribution companies (discoms) to equip them for supplying 24×7 electricity, the power ministry has written to APTEL, asking it to direct the state electricity regulators not to create any further ‗regulatory assets‘— a jargon for recoverable discom expenses which regulators acknowledge as pass

-through costs, but are not immediately built into tar-iffs. These ‗regulatory assets‘ currently stand at around Rs 1.35 lakh crore and about half of these were created since the launch of the Uday scheme in FY16. Accord-ing to official sources, regulatory assets in Maharashtra went up 390% to Rs 12,382 crore since the Uday launch and Uttar Pradesh saw a rise of 25% to Rs 33,000 crore in this period. In its letter to the Aptel, power secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla invoked a 2011 order where Aptel had mandated that ―regulatory asset should not be created as a matter of course, except where it is justifiable, in accordance with the tariff policy and the regulations‖. According to an official estimate, discoms lose Rs 22,000-crore revenue annually as regulators allow in-adequate tariff hikes. As per reports, during the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, electricity regulators of most major states ei-ther delayed or announced meagre tariff hikes for FY20, despite financial losses of discoms rising 44% annually to Rs 21,658 crore at the end of FY19. According to an Icra report, while the median tariff hike at the all-India level was 8% in FY15, it fell to 4% in FY16 and FY17, 3% in FY18 and 1% in FY19. While every state regulator was to pass orders on FY20 tariffs by April 1, only 15 states have done this, and this ex-cludes big states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Power distribution companies paying more on short-term contracts State electricity distribution companies have paid much higher tariffs to buy power on short-term contracts over the last few months, shelling out a few thousand crore rupees more than they did for spot market buys. This has raised questions over prudent power procurement at these power distributors at a time when many are cash-strapped due to rising electricity costs. As per ET analysis, states have bought power at an av-erage rate of Rs 6 per unit from November 2018 to May 2019. In some cases, they have bought power at around Rs 12 per unit for a block of 10-15 days, while dur-ing the same period, average trading prices at the India Energy Exchange (IEX) was about Rs 3-3.5 per unit. Chandigarh: Corporatization of power department be-gins The UT administration has started the process to un-bundle the UT electricity department and transform it into a corporate. UT special secretary (engineering) decided to appoint a consultant for the purpose of corporatization of the electricity wing of the UT engineering department. As Chandigarh does not have its own power genera-tion, the state transmission utility will be responsible














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for ensuring smooth transmission of power in the city. State load dispatch centre will be the apex body to en-sure integrated operation of the power system. It will also be responsible for optimum scheduling and dis-patch of electricity; maintaining accounts of the quan-tity of electricity transmitted and maintaining control over the intra-state transmission system. Power distcos owe Rs 6846 crore to World Bank, Gridco, Odisha govt State energy minister stated that the four electricity dis-tribution companies (distcos) of the state owe Rs 6846 crore to the World Bank, state government and govern-ment-owned Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco). Govt wants discoms to enforce regular electricity tariff revisions Central government wants state power regulators to ensure regular tariff revision, and put an end to creat-ing the so called regulatory assets, as it seeks to enforce financial discipline on state electricity distribution com-panies (discoms). The move seeks to address the ongoing crisis in dis-coms due to poor financial health, which has led to de-layed payment to generation utilities. The union power secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla has writ-ten to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel) chairperson Justice Manjula Chellur requesting the en-forcement of its previous order of November 2011. The Aptel order issued to the state electricity regulators per-tained to ―ensuring regular and timely revision of tar-iffs, including regular truing up of tariffs," and ―non creation of fresh regulatory assets, allowing carrying cost of the past regulatory assets". Govt looks to implement electricity distribution fran-chise model to help discoms The power ministry is looking to include a distribution franchise model under the new tariff policy. With financial losses amounting to about Rs 23,000 crore on state distribution companies as per ICRA re-port, the government believes that implementation of franchise model will help these firms become efficient at least in terms of billing and collection of electricity dues. The idea of tariff policy is to enforce 24/7 power sup-ply, penalty on discoms on performance issues, provide subsidy on electricity via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and also to not let inefficiencies of the discoms be passed on to the consumers through a hike in tariff. Chandigarh: UT directs electricity department to take strict action against power defaulters The UT administration has directed the electricity de-partment to take strict action against power bill de-faulters.

The directions were issued followed the instructions from the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), who had recently asked the administration to deal strictly with defaulters As per the latest list of power defaulters, compiled by the UT Electricity Department, there are total 270 de-faulters, who owe over Rs 10 crore to the electricity de-partment. The list of defaulters include government offices, residential and commercial buildings. Discoms will soon have to pay users for power cuts Soon all power distribution companies (discoms) in the country will have to compensate consumers for un-scheduled power cuts used by cash-strapped state utili-ties to artificially reduce demand and avoid buying ad-ditional electricity. The move is part of the government‘s efforts to ensure the states fulfil their commitment of 24x7 power supply they gave by signing the ‗Power for All‘ document. The penalty will be the second tough measure taken by the ministry in recent times to discipline discoms, after last tough norms for timely payments by discoms to power stations. MSPDCL bats for right & efficient usage of electricity Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited (MSPDCL) will be initiating an environment-friendly project to save energy in the State, following an exten-sive assessment on usage of power, utilization of elec-tronic items, electrical load etc at every household of Manipur. Inergystat- TPDDL signed MoU with Ricardo Energy & Environment Tata Power-DDL signed a collaboration agreement with Ricardo Energy & Environment for collaborating in areas like Network Improvement, Re-Integration, EV Charging, Asset Life Extension etc. The agreement was signed by Sanjay Banga, CEO, Tata Power-DDL and Timothy Skelton, Director- Advanced Systems Archi-tecture- Energy Networks, REE at the TATA Power-DDL Smart Grid Lab, Rohini, New Delhi. Power tariff hiked by 6.8 per cent for domestic consum-ers in Kerala Power consumers in the state will have to shell out more now as the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission announced 6.8 per cent hike in power tar-iff. The hike, which will come into effect from July 8, is for a period of three years from 2019 to 2022. For the domestic sector, the hike is 40 paise per unit. Meanwhile, it has been clarified that those belonging to BPL category and consumers with monthly consump-tion of 40 units have been exempted from the hike. Centre & states to focus on improving viability of dis-

















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coms As per reports, the Centre and states will focus on the reduction of losses by distribution companies, improve-ment in collection efficiency, shift towards pre-paid metering and accounting for each unit electricity sup-plied. Further, the power ministry has asked states to reduce aggregate technical and commercial losses (AT&C) and cut unsustainable borrowings to bring in fiscal disci-pline. According to the ministry data, AT&C losses of the 27 electricity distribution companies in 26 states and UTs remained as high as 21.1% at the end of December 2018, down only 0.4 percentage point from the level recorded a year earlier. This is against the ministry's ambitious target of restricting AT&C losses to 15% or below by end of March 2019. Uttar Pradesh government posts 560 cops to check power theft The state government ordered posting of 560 policemen in UP PowerCorporation Limited on a deputation pe-riod of two years with the aim of curbing high line losses that are denting its revenue. Following the order, 10 inspectors, 190 sub-inspectors and 360 constables would be posted at police check posts dedicated to take up power theft cases. Union Budget 2019: Discoms buying from gas units to now get subsidy The Centre will restart a revival scheme for gas-based power units. For this, the Union Budget has allocated Rs 1,035 crore to the Power System Development Fund (PSDF), double the allocation last year. The money would be used for subsidising state-owned power distribution companies‘ (discoms‘) purchase of electricity from stranded gas-run power units. This is in line with the recommendations of the High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) on stressed power units. The earlier round helped more than half the gas-run capacity in the country. The current round would assist the rest. Of the 24,150 Mw of gas-based power generation capac-ity, 14,305 Mw has no supply of domestic gas. On this front, an investment of about Rs 60,000 crore is at the threshold of becoming a non-performing asset. The quantity of gas required to run these plants is 116.59 million standard cubic metres a day (mscmd). Total supply of domestic gas in 2017-18 was 22.8 mscmd and this resulted in the decline of average plant load factor (PLF) to a mere 22 per cent. The remaining capacity (9,845 Mw), involving investment of about Rs 40,000 crore, is working at a sub-optimal level. Budget 2019: UDAY to be reviewed, new power tariff reforms on anvil The National Democratic Alliance government‘s

scheme for turning around the power distribution sec-tor, Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), will now be reviewed, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman stated, and will be further improved. In the past one year, the success rate of UDAY was be-ing debated by several agencies. When UDAY was launched in 2015, the distribution companies cleared their debt through bond issuance against them, but they are back at making losses now. The operational targets of reducing power supply loss and improving efficiency is still a work in progress. This is the first time in years that a finance minister has announced several reforms to reduce consumer electric-ity tariff and boost supply in the Budget speech. Several power tariff reforms, such as reducing number of tariff slabs, introduction of direct benefit transfer of subsidy in place of subsidised electricity and new initia-tives of content-carriage separation and time-of-the-day tariff, are also awaiting implementation. Budget 2019: Govt will work to remove UDAY barriers for discom turnaround Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the government is examining the performance of the scheme and will work with states to remove barriers like the Cross Subsidy Surcharge. The UDAY scheme has faced criticism of late owing to mounting debt and overdues of discoms. In a report last month, ratings agency CRISIL had said the com-bined external debt of discoms is set to rise to pre-UDAY levels of Rs 2.6 lakh crore by March 2020 from Rs 2.28 lakh crore in March 2019 and Rs 1.85 lakh crore in March 2018. The discom debt was at Rs 2.75 lakh crore in September 2015 and fell to Rs 1.94 lakh crore in March 2016 after Uday. Package in the offing to help supply 24x7 power to all, says FM Central government is stepping up efforts to supply round-the-clock power to all, a power sector package, comprising a new tariff policy and structural reforms, is in the offing, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated in budget speech. We will work with state governments to remove barri-ers like cross subsidy surcharges, undesirable duties on open access sales or captive generation for industrial and other bulk power consumers. Besides these struc-tural reforms, considerable reforms are needed in tariff policy. A package of power sector tariff and structural reforms will soon be announced. The Centre is looking to introduce distribution sector reforms such as separating the ―carriage and content operations" of power distribution companies (discoms), and letting people and firms buy electricity from a firm of their choice.













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Power ministry directive on payment security mecha-nism could lead to load shedding, cautions ICRA The centre‘s direction of putting in place a security mechanism before wheeling power to utilities would be a positive for power generation companies and is ex-pected to improve payment pattern of utilities. How-ever, it may be difficult for utilities to secure large quantum of letter of credits given their poor financials in many states and hence its implementation may be an issue, following this supply curtailment may follow leading to load shedding, ICRA mentioned in a report. The ministry of power has recently issued directions to the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) and Re-gional Load Dispatch Centres (RLDC) to schedule and dispatch power from generation companies to distribu-tion utilities (discoms) only after implementation of payment security mechanism. This should be in the form of letter of credit (LC) by the discoms to the gen-eration companies for the scheduled quantum of power, with effect from August 1, 2019. The decision follows continued delays in making pay-ments by discoms to generation companies, leading to liquidity constraints for the power generators. While power purchase agreements and power sale agree-ments between generators and utilities have the provi-sion of payment security in the form of LCs, the provi-sion was not implemented by discoms in most of the states. Report also seeks clarity on compensation payable to renewable energy projects having single-part tariffs under the PPAs with discoms. Adani wrong in issuing adjusted inflated power bills: Committee A high-level fact-finding committee set up by Ma-harashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) to probe into the inflated power bills issued by Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd last September-November, has observed that it was wrong on the part of the power firm to issue bills based on average consumption to over four lakh consumers in the suburbs. The committee recommend switching over to smart meters in a phased and time-bound manner so that...manual interface in meter reading could be mini-mized and consumers could have the facility of viewing their consumption on real-time basis. Till the change takes place, licensees may communicate the level of consumption, date of meter reading, recorded reading and amount bill through SMS on consumer cells as practised by MSEDCL. When the committee was probing the matter, the MERC had asked AdaniElectricity to check the metered power consumption of the ‗affected‘ consumers, and if excess billing was found, refund them, with interest. The MERC had also told Adani to hold special camps to

address user complaints. The panel found that during the transition period, workers are protesting and, as a result, many power meters could not be read from August to September 2018, for which average bill was issued. Economic Survey sees big gains from higher energy consumption The Economic Survey 2018-19 mentioned that a two-and-a-half times increase in India‘s per capita energy consumption will help it grow the real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) by $5000 (in 2010 prices). Also, if India has to achieve the Human Development Index (HDI) level of 0.8, the per capita energy consumption has to quadruple. This comes against the backdrop of India using only around 6% of the world‘s primary energy despite it having 18% of the world‘s population. India‘s per cap-ita energy consumption equals 0.6 tonnes of oil equiva-lent (toe) as compared to the global per capita average of 1.8 toe. Report also pointed that India cannot become an upper-middle-income country without (i) rapidly raising its share of the global energy consumption commensurate with its share of the global population, and (ii) ensuring universal access to adequate modern commercial en-ergy at affordable prices.m Dams drying up, curbs on power supply inevitable: Kerala Min Kerala power minister stated that crisis in power pro-duction is experienced across the state as almost all dams have low water level. As of now, we are buying electricity from outside as per a contract, but this may not be sufficient. Power restrictions may be imple-mented in state unless the monsoon makes a comeback with sufficient rainfall. Supreme Court green light to end Adani-Gujarat power purchase agreement The Supreme Court decided Adani Power Mundra was right in terminating the power purchase agreement (PPA) it had signed with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL), as it could not get coal supply on time from the Naini block of Gujarat Mineral Development Cor-poration (GMDC). This could set a precedent for power companies that become unable to commission their capacity or suffer losses due to insufficient coal supply. The apex court has also allowed Adani to seek a com-pensatory rate for the electricity it had alternatively supplied to Gujarat from its Korba power project in Chhattisgarh. Power play: Discoms to gain as tariffs to soon reflect all costs














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Power regulators in the country may be barred from the practice of not allowing discoms to promptly pass on part of their expenses to consumers. As per sources, the provision of creating ―regulatory assets‖ — recover-able discom expenses which regulators acknowledge as pass-through costs, but are not immediately built into tariffs — will be scrapped from the tariff policy. While no new regulatory assets will be created, the ex-isting stock — a whopping Rs 1.2 lakh crore at FY19 end — will be cleared over the next 3-5 years through incremental tariff hikes, the sources said. According to an estimate, discoms lose Rs 22,000-crore revenue annually due to the deferred pass-through of certain expenses. Electricity regulators of most major states have either delayed or announced meagre tariff hikes for FY20, de-spite financial losses of discoms rising 44% annually to Rs 21,658 crore at the end of FY19. Ensure 9-hour free power supply to farm sector: AP CM YS Jagan Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has categorically directed officials to take stringent steps to plug loop-holes and revamp the existing system in AP power sec-tor to make it more transparent and accountable to pro-tect the interests of people and provide cost-effective power. The Chief Minister has also directed the Energy depart-ment to make the nine-hours free power supply to the farm sector compulsory during day time as permanent phenomena. Orissa: Industrial power consumption increased by 9% in last decade Power consumption by the industrial sector in the state is reported to have risen by 9 per cent in the last 10 years, as per data submitted by the Energy. As per the latest information given by Energy Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra in the House, the availability of power to the state stands at 27,633 MU through several sources. He also gave a detailed consumption report from the industrial as well as domestic consumers in the last 20 years. As per information received from GRIDCO and Distri-bution Companies during the year 2018-19, the avail-ability of power to the state is 27,633 MU from various sources. During this period, the consumption of elec-tricity in the industrial sector is 7073 MU and domestic sector is 7503 MU in the state.

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29

POWER TRADING

IIMA and Telangana government to develop electric-ity trading platform for consumers IIM Ahmedabad is all set to build a consumer-to-consumer electricity trading platform in Telangana. The project under the global Smart Grids innovation challenge was awarded to the IIMA-led consortium by the Department of Science and Technology, Gov-ernment of India. IIM Ahmedabad will be collaborating with the Gov-ernment of Telangana to implement the project fo-cusing on creating a Blockchain-based platform. The project aims to increase transparency and effi-ciency in transactions in the power sector through the application of Blockchain concept in power trad-ing at consumer levels. NTPC turns a power trader, gets renewable energy lift NTPC, received licence from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for inter-state trading in electricity in the whole of India. However, NTPC won't be able to trade electricity generated by it, but will have to purchase and sell power involving other entities. The licence will help NTPC to implement renewable energy projects, especially solar and wind energy, across the country, as NTPC has been identified as the nodal agency. June spot power price at IEX falls 11 per cent to Rs

3.32 per unit Average spot power price fell 11 percent to Rs 3.32 per unit in June compared to the year-ago month. With trading of 4,207 million units (MU) of electricity, the volume in the day-ahead-market (DAM) grew 12 per cent month-on-month. On daily average basis, around 140 MUs were traded in June 2019.

Particulars May 2019

in % terms Short-term transactions

Bilateral 4.97

(i) Through Trad-ers and PXs 2.49

(ii) Direct 2.48

Through Power Exchanges 3.231

(i) IEX 3.23

(ii) PXIL 0.001

Through DSM 1.55

Total 9.75

Total Generation (MUs) 116748.1

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30

COAL SECTOR

2019 thermal coal imports in India seen at 180-185 MT: WoodMac As per Wood Mackenzie report, India is expected to im-port up to 185 million tonnes of thermal coal in 2019, about 13% higher than its estimate for 2018. India's coal imports from Australia and Colombia will increase in the long run as demand for high-energy coal grows due to environmental reasons. WoodMac previously said India's thermal coal im-ports grew at their fastest pace since 2014 to 164 million tonnes in 2018. India's imports of American coal grew 24% in 2018-19 largely due to restrictions on consumption of petroleum coke, a better burning alternative to coal, in some parts of the country. The energy hungry nation's overall coal demand rose 9.1% to 991.35 million tonnes during the year ended

March 2019, with utilities accounting for a lion's share of the consumption. Indonesia remained the top supplier of thermal coal in 2018-19, accounting for three-fifths, or 111.6 million ton-nes, according to government data. Imports from South Africa amounted to 31.15 million tonnes, or less than a sixth of total thermal coal imports. Imports of thermal coal from the United States rose by 24% to 10.84 million tonnes, the largest gain by a coun-try in percentage terms. Pachwara coal mines caught in legal tangle Almost a year after the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL)'s efforts to revive Pachwara coal mines with issuance of a letter of allotment by the Un-ion government, the project has again run into trouble with the Punjab and Haryana high court ruling in fa-

Particulars 1-Jul 15-Jul 31-Jul

Pithead Plants

No. of plants with critical stock (<5 days)

0 0 0

No. of plants with super critical stock (<3 days)

0 0 0

Non-Pithead Plants

No. of plants with critical stock (<5 days)

4 1 2

No. of plants with super critical stock (<3 days)

1 1 0





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vour of the former operator of the coal mine, who filed a petition to protect his financial interests. The power corporation was expecting that it would save Rs 650 crore with the reoperationalization of the coal mines that could have effected a cut in the rising power tariffs in the state. Singareni posts record Rs 1,766-crore profit The State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited has posted a net profit of Rs 1,766 crore for the FY 2018-19. The company had achieved the highest-ever 644 lakh tonnes of coal production and 677 lakh tonnes of coal dispatches during 2018-19. The company recorded a turnover of Rs 25,828 crore and a profit of Rs 1,766 crore after tax deductions. Coal India clears over 44% rake backlog to non-power sector consumers After supplying enough coal to the state-owned power plants in the country, Coal India, in the last three and a half months, accelerated rake loading to the non-power sector consumers, thereby reducing its backlog to this sector by more than 44 per cent. Out of a total dispatch of 33.7 million tonnes (mt) of coal to the non-power sector during April to late July, around 8.75 mt backlog volume was cleared. The total backlog volume to non-power sector is estimated at around 19.38 mt. Out of a backlog of 5,100 rakes, which were committed to the non-power sector, the miner was able to clear 2,300 rakes during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Company officials estimate that this entire backlog of rake allocation can be cleared in the next 3-4 months. The bulk of non-power consumers constitute captive power plants (CPPs), and the steel and cement sectors besides others. Coal India subsidiaries face Rs 53,331 crore penalties for over producing Coal India‘s five subsidiaries are facing Rs 53,331 crore of penalties slapped by states as at least 60 of their mines exceeded production limits set by environmental authorities. The company has included the figure in its annual re-port for 2018-19 under the head ‗contingent liability‘, meaning it is a potential liability and may have to be paid depending on the outcome of each of these cases. A senior official stated that being the only commercial coal producer, Coal India‘s responsibility of meeting the nation‘s demand for coal had to be fulfilled and we were obligated to meet the country‘s demand for coal on behest of the government. Public sector companies to get more coal mines The Centre has formed a three-member committee to

examine the applications received from central and state public sector undertakings for allotment of coal mines under the provisions of Coal Mines ( Special Pro-visions) Act, 2015. The committee will submit its recom-mendations to the Centre for its consideration and allot-ment of coal mines. West Bengal Power dept mulls tie-up with Australia on coal extraction strategies The state Power department is considering a tie-up with the Australian government in order to share their expertise in the extraction of coal. A high-level meeting with the Australian Consulate General was held last week in which number of issues was discussed. After Meghalaya Claims of 32 Lakh Metric Ton Coal, NGT Seeks Details of Mine Owner, Location, Stock The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Meghalaya government to furnish details on its claim that the state has over 32 lakh metric ton of coal. ―In the Supreme Court an affidavit dated April 19, 2019 was filed by commissioner and secretary in charge of mining and geology, where they said that around 32 lakh metric ton already extracted coal is available for auction or disposal. We have directed the government to make available to us the quantities of coal which they have stated before the Supreme Court, the names of the coal mine owners and also the place where the coal de-pots are located,‖ said retired Justice BP Katakey. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government filed communi-cation urging the committee to give them a month‘s time for formulation of policy for the disposal of coal to which the NGT panel agreed. The NGT panel will hold its next meet-ing on August 14 in Shillong, where the government has been asked to give its progress report on policy for-mulation. Deocha-Pachami coal block to become operational Birbhum district's Deocha-Pachami coal block, the larg-est coal reserve in India, will soon get into activity fol-lowing the Centre's nod. With reserves of 2,102 million tonne, Deocha-Pachami which spreads over an area of 12.31 sq km, is one of the largest coal reserves in Asia. NGT Panel Meet on Coal Mining in Shillong The Meghalaya government has sought a month time from the NGT Committee on coal mining to make a policy decision on issues of auctioning and transporta-tion of coal as per the direction of the Supreme Court. NGT directed the government to file a progress report on the status of formulation of the pol-icy on August 14. After the policy has been formulated, the document will be placed before the committee for














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consideration before a meeting with Coal India Lim-ited. Commercial coal mining opened for private sector Government announced that they have opened com-mercial coal mining to the private sector. Coal and Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi stated that the objective of the policy is to create a market place for coal with mul-tiple producers to drive competition and adopt best practices in mining as well as environment manage-ment. India may negate distinction between captive coal, commercial mining India‘s Coal Ministry is working on a proposal to ne-gate the legal distinction between captive coal mines operated by user industries and commercial mining by private merchant miners. The move to bring captive mines and commercial coal mining under the same legal framework has been prompted by experience showing that user industries like steel, cement and nonferrous metal refiners have either failed to bring coal blocks specifically allocated into operation or are producing the fuel at suboptimal levels. Further, the opening up of commercial coal mining to private miners without any end-use restrictions and with free pricing regime has also failed to evoke any substantial interest among investors, prompting the Coal Ministry to put the auction of coal blocks for such commercial mining on the backburner. The government holds auctions of coal blocks specifi-cally for captive use by industries like steel, cement and aluminium. However, production from captive coal mines was recorded at 4.12-million tons in the April to June quarter, up a mere 2.5% over the corresponding previous period. Captive coal mines notched up production of 25.12-million tons during 2018/19, recording growth of 55%, but this was still short of the aggregate potential of these mines to produce about 44-million tons a year. Under a new scheme of things, the Coal Ministry is working on holding auctions for the allocation of single commercial mining rights, irrespective of end-use for specific sectors, offering mining leases of 50 years. Mahanadi Coalfields promoting Khanan Prahari App to curb illegal mining Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) stated that they are promoting the 'Khanan Prahari' mobile to curb ille-gal coal mining activity through remote sensing and detection technology. 'Khanan Prahari' app is available on Google Play Store for free installation and is a tool for reporting any ille-gal coal mining incident through geotagged photo-graphs as well as textual information by any individual.

Company stated that they are spreading information through different modes of communication banners, posters and social media platforms - so that individu-als, particularly in peripheral areas, actively participate in reporting any illegal mining activity they come across. Coal mining in Meghalaya: CM holds meeting with Coal India Ltd Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma hold a meeting with officials of Coal India Ltd to initiate measures as a fol-low up action plan post lifting of coal ban in Megha-laya. CM stated that the logistics on how to implement the SC ruling and how to take it further was discussed with the officials of Coal India. The response was very posi-tive and productive. Coal India Ltd has been author-ized by the Supreme Court to dispose or sell the coal stock that is lying in Meghalaya. Meghalaya: Auction of extracted coal will take four months The process to auction extracted coal of Meghalaya will take at least four months. The remaining extracted coal has to be auctioned and the Meghalaya government should hand over to the Coal India Limited (CIL) as directed by the Su-preme Court. The mining and geology department convened a meet-ing with coal miners and district officials of the coal-rich East Jaiñtia Hills district and discussed with them the process related to e-auction of coal. There are over 400 coal stock owners, according to a list, submitted by the East Jaiñtia Hills district admini-stration and the quantity of coal assessed is around 17 lakh metric tons in the district. Indian utilities coal imports in first half of 2019 rise over 53% from year ago As per CEA data, Coal imports by Indian coal utilities during the first half of 2019 rose 53.4% from a year ear-lier to 35.47 million tonnes. Demand for seaborne coal imports in India has risen because of a fast rising population and the unavailabil-ity of alternative fuels such as natural gas. Imports for power plants at the port of Mundra, in western India's state of Gujarat, made up 42% of all imports by Indian utilities during the first half of 2019. NTPC Ltd, India's largest electricity generator, shipped in 1.4 million tonnes of coal to various ports during six months ended June 2019, about 11 times of what it im-ported a year ago. Coal India output flat un Q1 on stocked up power units Coal India Ltd (CIL) has produced 137 MT of the fuel in Q1 FY20, inching up only 0.1% year-on-year (y-o-y).














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The miner supplied 119.6 MT of the fuel to power plants in the quarter, which is 3.2% lower than corresponding quarter the previous fiscal. At the end of Q1, power plants across the country had stocked up 30.6 MT of coal, 53% more than the levels in end-June during 2018. On top of that, CIL has a stock of about 33 MT. Breaching the 600 MT production level for the first time, the world‘s largest coal miner produced 607 MT of the fuel in FY19, recording an annual growth of 7%. Mahanadi Coalfields is promoting mobile app to curb illegal mining Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) promoting the 'Khanan Prahari' mobile to curb illegal coal mining ac-tivity through remote sensing and detection technology. 'Khanan Prahari' app is available for free and is a tool for reporting any illegal coal mining incident through geotagged photographs as well as textual information by any individual. Centre to sign MoU with Bengal govt over largest DPHD coal block The centre is set to sign an official MoU with West Ben-gal state government over the formal allotment of the world's second-largest coal block Deocha-Pachami-Harinsingha-Dewanganj, situated in Birbhum district. An approximate requirement of per day in the state is 55 thousand MT, whereas the average supply is 42 thou-sand MT per day. This coal block is the largest in India, covering the area of 12.31 sq km a having a reserve of 2102 million tonnes of coal. Coal blocks contracts should be made public under RTI: Chhattisgarh panel The Chhattisgarh State Information Commission has ordered that the Mining Development and Operations Contract for coal blocks signed by the state power com-pany should be made public. The commission passed its orders after the Chhattisgarh Rajya Vidyut Nigam Limited (CRVNL), the state-owned power generation company twice refused to share copy of the contract and government records pertaining to the formulation and acceptance of the MDO agreement. The Chhattisgarh state information commissioner‘s or-ders now could now set precedent for MDO contracts signed by all state governments as well as Coal Indian Limited to also be made public under the RTI Act. Coal mine auctioning may be restricted to commercial use to boost output With miners, which took coal blocks for own use, per-forming poorly, the government is planning not to auc-tion mines to captive users. Instead, it will allot or auc-tion rights only for commercial use of coal. The allocation would be decided based on the produc-

tion plan and revenue share to the government. The proposal is to ask existing captive mining lease holders, which have not yet started production, to sur-render their blocks and pay a penalty of 10 per cent of the bid security. These blocks were given out through e-auction by the earlier NDA government after the Supreme Court judg-ment cancelled 204 coal mine allocations in 2014. Of the 85 firms awarded through four tranches of auction, 29 were already producing coal when their licences were cancelled. There are only 3 mines that have met their annual peak-rated capacity in 2018-19 and only one is sticking to its mining plan. More than a dozen had seen zero produc-tion in the last financial year. The committee is in favour of only a one-stage competi-tive bidding with a maximum mining lease duration of 50 years. Niti Aayog panel for a greater role of private sector in coal mining Niti Aayog committee was formed to ―recommend leg-islative, statutory, procedural and regulatory changes‖ and ―lay down a clear plan of action for simplification and Ease of Doing Business‖. The development comes with dismal levels of produc-tion by captive coal mines amid growing demand. These mines produced only 25.1 million tonne (MT) in FY19, much lower than the peak output of 43.2 MT in FY15 when the Supreme Court had cancelled the licences of 204 captive coal mines. Only 17 of the 29 operational blocks allocated through CMSP (auctioned: 14, allotted : 15) are currently under production. While 12 of the auc-tioned mines are under production, only five allotted blocks are currently extracting coal. Coal production from these mines inched up by 2.3% year-on-year in April-May to 4.12 MT. The draft report attributed sub-optimal use of captive coal mines to lower requirement at the power plant to which they are tied up to. Arguing that such dynamics limit competition, the draft report of the committee rec-ommends that auction/allotment for coal blocks should be done only for commercial purposes and no blocks should be allocated to any entity. The committee has also recommended amendments to the Coal Bearing Act (CBA), 1957 to allow acquisition of such areas by the private sector players as well. The CBA currently allows special relaxations only to state-owned companies. The draft report said that such dis-crimination between the private and the public sector ―hinders establishment of competitive market‖ and ―puts private companies in financially disadvantageous position discouraging participation‖. Government to auction 41 new coal blocks very shortly Union minister Prahlad Joshi stated that the government













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plans to auction more than 41 new coal blocks "very shortly". In 2018-19, all commodities loading by the Indian Rail-ways was 1,223.29 million tonnes, out of which coal loading was 605.82 MT, which is almost 50%, the Coal and Mines minister said. Govt to increase coal production to one billion tone by 2022-23 Coal minister Prahlad Joshi stated that there is a plan to increase the total production of coal in the country to one billion tone by 2022-23. He further stated that the gap between demand and supply of coal cannot be bridged completely as there is insufficient domestic availability of coking coal. He fur-ther added that all India raw coal production has in-creased its production from over 462 Metric tonnes in 2013-14 to around 730 metric tonnes in 2018-19. He further added that 14 dedicated corridors are being developed for the transportation of coal and plans are being made to improve transportation of coal through conveyor belts. Modi govt mulls breaking up Coal India to boost output As per reports, govt. may spin off units of Coal India, the world‘s largest coal miner, into separate listed com-panies to boost competition and raise government funds. The state-run company and the coal ministry are study-ing a proposal by the finance ministry‘s Department of Investment & Public Asset Management to list four of Coal India‘s biggest production units, as well as its ex-ploration arm. The four units -- Mahanadi Coalfields, South Eastern Coalfields, Northern Coalfields and Central Coalfields -- account for more than three-fourths of the company‘s output, while constituting less than half of its workforce. The fifth unit would be Central Mine Planning & Design Institute. India‘s state run coal giant has been unable to meet growing demand despite abundant resources. Coal In-dia produced a record 607 million metric tons in the last fiscal year to March, falling short by 22% of a target pro-posed in 2017. The goal has been revised a few times since then, but output was still just below a revised tar-get. Meanwhile, imports of the fuel surged to a record over the same period. The government‘s top planning body, NITI Aayog, pro-posed in 2017 that Coal India be broken up so its units can compete against each other. It was dismissed at the time by Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, who said the plan doesn‘t reflect government policy. India: Coking coal imports at 51.84 MT in 2018-19 During 2018-19, coking coal import stood at 51.84 mil-lion tonnes (provisional). Coal Minister stated that re-

duction in Import of coal in the country is always a pri-ority area of the Government, and Govt is taking steps in order to increase availability of coking coal. State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) has planned to in-crease coking coal output from 34.12 million tonnes (MT) to 52.95 MT by 2019-20. CIL also plans to set up nine new coking coal washeries by 2020-21. Captive coal production inches up 2.3% in April-May Coal production from captive mines in the first two months of the ongoing fiscal have increased by 2.3% year-on-year to 4.12 MT from the corresponding period in FY19. However, as many as 13 of the 29 allocated blocks remain stranded due to local agitations, lack of clearances from the appropriate authorities, inadequate transportation infrastructure and conflicts with mining contractors. Output has increased in 12 coal blocks, which includes three mines which were not producing any coal in April-May 2018. Captive coal mines produced 25.1 MT of the fuel in FY19. Though this figure is 55% higher than FY18, it is still much lower than the peak output of 43.2 MT in FY15, when 42 blocks were operational. Demand to raise royalty on coal in Rajya Sabha Amar Patnaik (BJD) raised the issue of the rate of royalty paid to state governments on coal produced in states and stated that it was last changed in April 2012 and as per rule was due to be revised in April 2015 but was not done. He demanded that royalty on coal should be raised to 20 per cent from the current 12 per cent. Four years on, auctioned coal mines still behind produc-tion target

The coal mines, which were awarded through flagship e-auction during the BJP‘s first term, are still behind the targeted production. Even the ready-to produce mines of the 85 awarded till date have been unable to meet










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their peak-rated capacity (PRC), four years on. There are only three mines that have met their annual peak-rated capacity in 2018-19 and only one mine, which is sticking to its mining plan and more than a dozen had nil production during the last financial year. This paper reported recently, during the last fiscal year, the total production of coal from auctioned mines stood at 24.82 million tonnes. Of this, 13 mines are owned by private companies producing 8.44 million tonnes and 14 by states producing 16.38 million tonnes. SCCL plans to produce 10 MT of coal from Naini block in Odisha Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is chalk-ing out plans to produce 10 million tonnes (MT) of coal per annum from Naini coal block in Odisha even as pro-duction is expected to commence from February 2021. Drilling, which is part of the preparatory work, has been taken up at two places in the coal block area. It has been decided that permission of the Odisha gov-ernment and the forest department are to be obtained by March 2020 and coal production is to start by February 2021. The Naini Block is estimated to have 340 million tonnes of coal reserves. 21 states have framed rules to curb illegal mining: Minis-ter As per information provided by Indian Bureau of Mines, 21 state governments... have framed rules to curb illegal mining under the section 23C of the MMDR Act, 1957. State governments, are empowered to make rules for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals for both major and minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith. In fiscal 2018-19, there were 1.1 lakh cases of illegal mining for both major and minor minerals. Singareni sells 107 lakh tonnes coal through e-auction to 150 industries State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) had sold 107 lakh tonnes of coal to 150 indus-tries, other than power industries. General Manager (Marketing) Anthony Raja stated that another 14.4 lakh tonnes of coal is available for sale through e-auction from July 16 onwards. NTPC terminates coal mining contract with BGR over allegations of corruption NTPC, India's largest electricity producer, has termi-nated contracts it had awarded to BGR Mining & Infra Ltd for development of its coal mines in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh over allegations of corruption against sen-ior officials of the private mining company. NTPC has terminated contracts for development and operation of Chatti-Bariatu coal mine in Jharkhand and

Talaipalli coal mine in Chhattisgarh. Apex Court sets aside coal mining operations in Megha-laya The Supreme Court has allowed coal mining operations in Meghalaya, on the privately and community owned land subject to the permissions from the concerned au-thorities. The court stated that we clarify that in event mining op-erations are undertaken in privately owned/community owned land in Hills Districts of Meghalaya in accor-dance with mining lease with approved mining plan as per Act, 1957 and Mineral Concessions Rule, 1960, the ban order dated 17.04.2014 of the tribunal of the NGT shall not come in way of carrying mining operations. The Apex Court also said that the allegations of environ-mental degradation by illegal and unregulated coal min-ing were fully proved from materials on the record in-cluding the report of the experts, report of the Megha-laya State Pollution Control Board, the report of Katakey committee. It also said that the amount of Rs 100 crore which has been directed by NGT to be deposited by State of Meghalaya is neither a penalty nor a fine imposed on the State of Meghalaya. SCCL to start production from 3 new mines The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is working on three new opencast coal mines as part of its efforts to optimise extraction of reserves so as to meet the increasing demand from its bulk consumers. By taking production from three of its new projects — Kistaram opencast near Sathupalli, Indaram opencast mine near Srirampur and KTK-3 in Bhupalpallym— SCCL authorities plan to offset the impact due to closure of two of its opencast mines — at Dorli in Bellampalli and Medipalli in Ramagundam. The coal company, which achieved a production of 64.4 million tonnes in 2018-19, is making efforts to get envi-ronmental clearance for all its new projects, including those in pipeline. Meghalaya coal forum hails Supreme Court judgment on coal mining The Meghalaya State Co-ordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners, Exporters, Transporters & Dealers Fo-rum hailed the Supreme Court‘s judgment of setting aside the ban on coal mining by the National Green Tri-bunal (NGT) conditionally by directing the Meghalaya government to follow some central laws related to min-ing including the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act. Budget 2019: Coal Ministry sees 48% jump in budget allocation to Rs 1,160 cr for 2019-20 The Budget allocation for the coal ministry has regis-

















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tered a jump of 48.2 per cent to Rs 1,159.05 crore in 2019-20 from Rs 781.85 crore in 2018-19. The expenditure budget of Rs 1,159.05 crore in the 2019-20, includes Rs 1,097 crore on central sector schemes/projects and Rs 23.15 crore on Coal Mines Pension Scheme. Centre refusing Deocha Pachami clearance despite pleas: Mamata Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the Centre has denied clearance of underground mining at Deocha Pachami, one of the largest coal blocks in Birbhum, de-spite repeated pleas by the state government in the past four years. She further stated that the Bengal government had formed a board to look after the issues related to Deocha Pachami coal block. The board was supposed to sign a Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU) with the Cen-tre, but the Centre has deliberately denied the clearance. CCL: Coal production jumps by 19 pc to 7.25 lakh ton-nes in June The Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) has registered a growth of 19 per cent in coal production for the month of June at 7.25 lakh tonnes and during the same time, the overburden (OB) removal was up by 22 per cent. As per official statement, CCL also registered positive growth of 3.3 per cent in coal dispatch and achieved off stock liquidation of 6 million tonnes in the first quarter. Coal India plans to deploy drones in mines Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), plans to purchase drones to monitor planning of mines and get data from India‘s entire mining area that spans 20,000 square kilometres. The purchase of two drones has been approved by the CMPDI board and plans to further purchase five more drones in the future. SC asks Meghalaya to deposit Rs 100 cr fine for illegal coal mining The Supreme Court directed the Meghalaya government to deposit the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on it by the NGT for failing to curb illegal coal mining with the Cen-tral Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The bench also allowed the mining operation to go on in the state on the privately and community owned land subject to the permissions from the concerned authori-ties. Coal India announces provision production and offtake performance Coal India announced the provision coal production and

offtake figures for the month of June 2019. Coal India and its subsidiaries has achieved production of 45.08 million tonnes in June 2019 compared to 44.87 million tonnes in June 2018. Meanwhile, offtake of coal stood at 48.86 million tonnes in June 2019, lower by 1.6% over the same period last year. Singareni produces 17 mn tonnes of coal during April-June Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has regis-tered 17.3 per cent growth in coal production during the first three months of the current fiscal (2019-20) at 17.1 million tonnes compared to 14.6 million tonnes in the year ago period. According to an official release, 5.71 million tonnes of coal was produced in June compared to the same period last year where nearly five tonnes was produced regis-tering 15.1 per cent growth. Similarly 5.6 million tonnes of coal was transported last month when compared to 5.2 million tonnes in the same period last year thus achieving a growth of 4.7 per cent. Coal India supply to power sector drops 3% in first two months of FY20 As per data, supply of coal to the power sector by state-owned CIL declined by 2.6 per cent to 80.9 million ton-nes in the first two months of the ongoing fiscal. Coal supply by SCCL also dropped by 2 per cent to 9.4 MT in April-May 2018-19, from 9.6 MT supplied in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

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RENEWABLE SECTOR

MNRE enforces fixed charges payable to clean energy firms also The ministry of new and renewable energy has now de-cided to extend fixed charges payable by power distribu-tion companies (discoms) for the consumption of power generated from solar, wind and small hydro projects as well. The directive said that the energy generated during the non-dispatch period will be calculated on the basis of ca-pacity utilization factor (as declared in the PPAs) and for plants that have been operational for over a year, the power not-dispatched will be calculated based on pro-rated actual energy generated in the last 12 months. The fixed charge will be the ―tariff on which the power is pur-chased by the discom as it reflects the cost of installation, operation and maintenance of the power plant," the direc-tive said. RENOM is now one of India Largest Independent O&M Service Providers RENOM now has over 800MW of assets under its man-agement and almost 90% of these contracts are compre-hensive in nature. It is the only company in India that can maintain any make, any size, any location wind turbines in India on a comprehensive basis. RENOM has also tied up with world-class companies across the globe to provide value-added services like it's Scada called RESCA and also blade vortex which guaran-tees growth in annual energy output.

Government revises solar pumps costs before install-ing 17.5 lakh units The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has revised the benchmark costs of solar pumps for FY20. The latest bench-marking comes at a time when the government is preparing to install 17.5 lakh stand-alone solar pumps and connect 10 lakh existing agri-culture pumps with solar power through the recently approved Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) scheme. Since all component purchased through the scheme will have to be manufactured domestically, it opens up a potential market of over 8,000 MW for domestic solar panels makers who are currently struggling to sustain themselves against cheaper imported products flooding the market. Wind and Solar Energy Bring Extra Costs for Con-sumers: Report A new report claims that despite that renewable en-ergy is cheap, wind and solar power generation comes with large, yet often ignored costs that increase elec-tricity costs for residents and businesses. The new study conducted by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank found that while wind turbines and solar panels are relatively cheap to operate—given their fuel source is free—they‘re costly to build and connect to the power grid. And crucially, because the wind won‘t always blow










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and the sun won‘t always shine, they require constant backup sources of power including natural gas-fired electricity plants, which must be kept idling, while con-suming fuel and emitting greenhouse gases—so they can start producing power quickly if necessary. These extra costs increase electricity prices for consum-ers. In SECI and NTPC PPAs, Discom Profile is Integral for Counterparty Analysis India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes the analy-sis of counterparty profiles of distribution companies (discoms) has gained prominence in revenue risk analy-sis. The latest power purchase agreements (PPAs) of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC Limited (‗IND AAA‘/Stable) articulate that tariff pay-ment obligations (on monthly bills and supplementary bills which include change in law amounts) are a direct obligation on the intermediaries. Hence, SECI and NTPC PPAs fare better on tariff payment obligations compared to directly selling to discoms. However, every obliga-tion, other than tariff payment obligation, needs to be met by SECI and NTPC only to the extent the same obli-gations are met on a back-to-back basis by discoms. SECI has the highest tender pipeline (19GW) and the financing of future projects depends on the features of SECI PPA. While signing PPAs with SECI and NTPC is perceived to be better than having PPAs with discoms directly, the intricacies of obligations under SECI and NTPC PPAs indicate significant dependence on back-to-back performance by buying discoms. Also, the latest NTPC PPA has tariff adoption by the relevant State Elec-tricity Regulatory Commission for the discom that has signed back-to-back power sale agreement (PSA) as con-dition precedent. In earlier PPAs, such a clause was ab-sent. In case tariff adoption is not completed within two months of signing PPA, the PPA will stand cancelled, unless the timeline for adoption is mutually extended. Renewable energy cost in India lowest in APAC region: Report As per Wood Mackenzie analysis India has emerged as the market leader with the lowest renewable energy cost in Asia Pacific. According to the report, India's levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) using solar photovoltaic has fallen to $38 per megawatt hour (MWh) this year, 14 per cent cheaper than coal-fired power. It is mentioned that, high-quality solar resources, market scale and competition have pushed solar costs down to half the level seen in many other Asia Pacific countries. The report said while solar costs are falling across the region, the average LCOE for wind and solar in Asia Pacific is still 29 per cent higher than coal-fired power. Priority sector lending to renewable energy can help India achieve sustainable energy access

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has planned to request the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to remove the priority sector lending (PSL) limit for re-newable energy (RE). The decision was reportedly taken to encourage public sector banks to lend more for RE projects, and to promote easy access of finance for RE developers. The low solar tariffs and reduced operation and maintenance costs for solar projects are cited as the underlying rationale for the decision. The proposal has been received positively by the indus-try, since it will help RE developers secure larger loans. India: Renewable Energy Dominates 1st Half Of 2019 With 58% Share In New Capacity

Renewable energy technologies, especially wind and solar power, continued to lead all other technologies in new capacity added in the first half of 2019. In the first half of this year, solar power technology had the largest contribution towards the new power genera-tion capacity added in India. Of the 7.8 GW of new ca-pacity added between January and June 2019, 3.5 GW came in the form of solar power projects. India added a total of 7.8 GW of power generation ca-pacity in the first half (H1) of 2019. This is a sharp jump of 59% compared to the capacity added in H2 2018. However, compared to H1 2018, the capacity addi-tion is down 39%. At the end of June 2019, all renewable energy technolo-gies had a total installed capacity of nearly 80.5 GW, with a share of 22.4% in the total installed capacity. Other technologies (i.e., nuclear power and large hydro, which means a capacity greater than 25 megawatts) held a 14.5% share in the total installed capacity. Shore up renewable energy investments to meet sustain-ability goals: IEA Report The global investments in renewable energy have been stuck at one third of the cumulative global energy in-vestments and it needs to grow by 250 per cent to meet the sustainability goals. A report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the energy investments have been ‗misaligned‘ and are out of sync of the world‘s future energy needs. To beat the climate change and meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals, these investments would need a ‗rapid boost‘. IEA‘s Executive Director Fatih Birol tweeted: ―A worry-ing trend. Combined investments in renewables, effi-ciency, nuclear, batteries and other low-carbon tech are stuck at around 1/3rd of global energy investments. If we want to reach our climate targets, this share needs to be 2/3rds. That‘s a key message of our report.‖ AP HC stays state order to renegotiate renewable energy contracts The Andhra Pradesh High Court stayed the state gov-





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ernment's July 1 order seeking renegotiation of all renewable energy power supply contracts. The order has been stayed for four weeks and the next date for hearing has been fixed at August 22. The state's move to review and bring down purchase cost of wind and solar energy could aggravate the prob-lem of delayed payments from distribution companies and stress 5.2 GW of renewable projects with estimated debt exposure of over Rs 21,000 crore, Crisil Ratings said in a statement. Gujarat Approves Proposal to Tweak Change in Law Clause for Solar Projects The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved the proposed deviations to the competitive bidding guidelines for procuring power from grid-connected solar projects by Torrent Power Limited. Torrent Power Limited had proposed to modify the clause to provide for ‗Change in Law‘ like additional tax, duty, cess, on the generation of electricity (leviable on the final output in the form of energy) or the sale of electricity to be passed through. Regarding safeguard duty, specific relief was proposed based on the feedback received from various solar generators and in line with the prevalent practice in the state of Gujarat to ensure bid competitiveness. While going through submission, the commission ob-served that the deviation had been proposed to bring clarity to the ‗Change in Law‘ which may occur during the construction period as well as the operation period of the project. According to the commission, it also brings clarity for the bidders, so they know before bid-ding as to what the changes are in taxes or surcharge or cess which do not qualify for ‗Change in Law‘ and other events which do. It would also clarify the introduction or modification in the rates of safeguard or anti-dumping duty, which have a direct effect on the project cost, which qualify as ‗Change in Law‘. The commission noted that the net effect of the ‗Change in Law‘ needs to be proved concerning its impact on the estimated revenue from the sale of electricity during the operation period or a change in proposed tariff. The pro-curer also needs to submit necessary evidence in sup-port of the claim to the other party. Canada pension fund OMERS seeks new green energy deals Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees‘ Retirement System (OMERS) is scouting for acquisition opportunities in India, in an affirmation of the country‘s position as a green energy hot-spot. With net assets of more than $100 billion under manage-ment, OMERS has been attracted by the presence of other Canadian investors in India such as Canada Pen-

sion Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Brookfield Asset Management. The other large overseas investors include Singapore‘s GIC Holdings Pte Ltd, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the UK‘s CDC Group, French energy firm Engie SA, and Japan‘s JERA Co. Masdar-owned by Abu Dhabi government‘s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Invest-ment Co. is also scouting for opportunities. NTPC, SECI warn Andhra of legal action for non-payment of power bill NTPC and Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) have threatened Andhra Pradesh power distribution utilities of legal action and have denied renegotiation of tariffs from solar plants, saying the demand does not hold any valid ground. A senior NTPC official stated that it has been communi-cated to the Andhra Pradesh government that non-payment could invite legal action and that the tariffs are non-negotiable as the contracts were sealed with the approval of state regulatory commission. India‘s $450 billion renewable energy plan would re-quire Alternative Investment Funds: CPI As per a latest study, India‘s ambitious plan to invest $450 billion for financing of its 2030 targets for renewable energy generation capacity can face seri-ous challenges if operational projects do not ac-cess capital markets to recycle capital and attract new investor classes. India has committed to ambitious action on climate change, pledging to achieve 40 per cent of the country‘s electricity generation capacity by 2030 through renew-able sources. The government has also set a near-term target of achieving 175 GW of renewable en-ergy capacity by 2022, a significant increase from the current level of 80 GW, requiring an additional $100 bil-lion in financing. These figures will increase to $450 billion through 2030. Assuming a typical financing ratio of 70 per cent debt and 30 per cent equity, the debt funding requirements translate to $330 billion over the next decade. ―While India‘s clean energy sector continues to grow and attract significant investment, there can be serious challenges to the growth trajectory if the capital de-ployed in existing projects is not recycled and if new sources of capital are not included to meet the increased future investment requirements,‖ the study, conducted by US-based think tank Climate Policy Initiative under the US-India Catalytic Solar Finance Program, states. Green economy to create 12 million jobs by 2031 As per TERI analysis, the push for a greener economy is estimated to create 12 million jobs by 2031.











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Green economies are those that take sustained initiatives to reduce environmental risks and be more ecologically friendly. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in India is working on building an inclusive green economy under the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) India initiative. Under the PAGE India initiative, five international agen-cies – UN Environment (UNE), International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Industrial Development Or-ganization (UNIDO), UN Institute for Training and Re-search (UNITAR), and UN Development Programme (UNDP) – are partnering with the MoEFCC. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is the imple-menting agency for the stock taking study that is part of the initiative. The preliminary findings of the stocktaking study em-phasised that in the context of India, policy tools for in-clusive green economies would lead to the strengthen-ing of the third tier of the government along with the mobilising commitments and actions from business and industry and civil society. The TERI analysis also found that in addition, there will be developmental benefits such as income generation, greater energy access, education and positive impact on indicators such as infant and maternal mortality rates. Given the vulnerability and limited restorative capacity of marine and beach ecosystems, the urgent need to pro-tect sand dunes along the Indian coast was brought out as a measure to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). At $20 billion in 2018, green energy investments sur-passed thermal power in India As per study, investments in the country‘s renewable energy sector doubled over the last five years to around $20 billion in 2018, surpassing the capital expenditure in the thermal power sector. The joint study by International Energy Agency (IEA) and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said ―reduced risk perception of financiers funding renewable energy projects in India resulted in investments in the sector doubling over the last five years." This comes in the backdrop of India‘s additional clean energy investment requirement of around $80 billion till 2022, growing more than three-fold to $250 billion dur-ing 2023-30. Over the period from 2014 to 2018, interest rate spreads for both wind and solar PV declined by 75 to 125 basis points. This indicates declining risk perceptions. Report also mentioned that while the costs of debt and equity financing together accounted for close to 60% of the levelised cost of electricity for solar PV and wind generation in India, improvements in the terms of fi-nance for renewables projects have played an important

role in lowering tariffs. The weak availability of long-term, fixed-rate debt re-mains a constraint for all power generation investments, raising uncertainty over future financing costs for new plants and the refinancing of existing ones. India to touch renewable energy capacity of 260 GW by 2024 - govt secretary A Govt official stated that India expects to achieve a re-newable energy capacity target of 260 GW by 2024, as the country sees rapid growth in renewable capacity backed by government orders, private equity and pen-sion fund investments. CAG Calls out West Bengal for Failing to Create Green Energy Fund CAG in audit mentioned that West Bengal failed to cre-ate a Green Energy Fund (GEF) under the renewable energy policy of the government. CAG mentioned that the responsibility for creation and management of the energy fund was thrust upon the state‘s nodal agency, West Bengal Green Energy Devel-opment Corporation Ltd (WBGEDCL), which has not taken any serious initiative in this direction, GEF was to be created with an equity contribution of the West Ben-gal government and contributions from international donor agencies. Andhra Pradesh asks SECI, NTPC to revise tariffs for some solar projects Andhra Pradesh government asked NTPC and SECI to revise tariffs for power from 1,650 MW of solar projects to Rs 2.44 per unit retrospectively from the time of com-missioning of the plants in 2016. In a letter to NTPC, government-run southern power distribution company of Andhra Pradesh sought revi-sion of tariffs from solar plants in Anantpur district (250 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW). The tariff from the An-antpur plant has been fixed by the state's regulator at Rs 5.96 per unit. Bundled power from the solar park in Kur-nool was supplied at a weighted average of around Rs 4.61 per unit in 2018-19. The state‘s power distribution companies had signed contracts also with the projects of Acme Solar (150 MW), Azure Power (50 MW), Tata BP Solar (100 MW) and FRV Solar (100 MW) at Rs 4.50 per unit through bidding conducted by SECI. India To Save $ 381 Million Through Sustainable Etha-nol Procurement System India could save $ 381 million and ensure a consistent supply of ethanol while developing the indigenous in-dustry, says the latest report by UPES and PLR. It em-phasizes meeting the ethanol blending mandates along with the development of 2G production. The report sug-gests that India needs to follow international trends very












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closely for a robust ethanol ecosystem, which will fa-cilitate substantial foreign exchange savings from re-duced dependence on crude as well as increased oc-tane savings. On the basis of the global trend of biofuels, the report also highlights that 2G ethanol is still in the nascent stage of development and as of today, the commercial viability and technological success of 2G ethanol are still unproven. With 2G still in the experimental stages, it is 1G ethanol that is majorly used for blending with fuel for facilitating transports. Andhra attempts to renegotiate PPAs to hamper re-newable operators cash flows: Fitch Fitch rating mentioned that the Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment‘s attempts to renegotiate its agreements to purchase solar and wind power will hamper the gen-erators‘ operating cash flows. Agency also expects the Andhra Pradesh government to face vigorous chal-lenges from the operators of renewable power projects and the Central government. India Likely to Have 300 GW of Solar and 140 GW of Wind Capacity by 2030: CEA With its focus on India‘s aim to achieve 40% non-fossil fuel generation capacity in the country‘s power gen-eration mix by 2030, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has released a draft report on the optimal gen-eration capacity mix for the year 2029-30. Optimal generation capacity mix is a study primarily aimed at finding out the least cost-optimal generation capacity mix, which may be required to meet the peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement of the year 2029-30 in line with the 19th Electric Power Survey. The study minimizes the total system cost of genera-tion, including the cost of anticipated future invest-ments while fulfilling all the technical constraints. The base year of the study has been considered as 2021-22. The installed capacity projected in the National Elec-tricity Plan (NEP) has been taken as the input to find out the requirement of future generation capacity mix to be built up until 2029-30. The technical and financial parameters of different generation technologies have been considered as specified in the NEP. 5-Fold Increase in Clean Energy Jobs in 5 Years: India As per report, solar and wind energy jobs in country grew an impressive five-fold in the past five years. India‘s remarkable job growth is directly linked to the tremendous growth in solar and wind energy. India‘s installed renewable energy capacity (solar, wind, small hydro, and biomass power) has more than quadrupled in the last nine years from almost 17 gigawatts (GW) in financial year (FY) 2009-2010 (FY10) to over 80 GW in

FY19. Today, in 2019, nearly 100,000 workers are employed in India‘s solar and wind market, up from 19,800 workers in 2014. The largest renewable energy growth occurred in FY18 with over 30,000 workers in utility-scale solar, rooftop solar, and wind energy. Yet, FY19 slowed with only 12,400 workers given the limited renewable energy capacity added that year. Distributed renewable energy sector to create 400,000 jobs in India According to the first annual jobs census measuring employment from decentralised renewable for rural electrification by Power for All , the distrib-uted renewable energy sector is set to create 400,000 jobs in India by 2023, including 190,000 direct, formal jobs, almost double the current number, as well as 210,000 direct, informal jobs. According to the census findings, decentralised renew-ables are a significant employer. Relative to its penetra-tion level in the market, the DRE sector has already grown an impressive direct employee base. The India census results show that the country‘s DRE direct, for-mal workforce is already equivalent to the on-grid so-lar industry, and may double in size between 2017-18 and 2022-23 if the mini-grid market continues to ex-pand at a rapid pace. Switching to renewable energy can drive up energy poverty: Study As per study, switching to renewable energy sources from fossil fuels can help reduce carbon emissions but at the expense of increased energy inequality. The study published in the journal 'Energy Research & Social Science' found that renewable energy consump-tion reduces carbon emissions more effectively when it occurs in a context of increasing inequality. Con-versely, it reduces emissions to a lesser degree when occurring in a context of decreasing inequality. The study of 175 nations from 1990 to 2014 supports previous claims by researchers who argue that renew-able energy consumption may be indirectly driving energy poverty. Centre Urges Jagan Mohan Reddy Govt Not to Cancel PPAs of Chandrababu Naidu Regime Central Government recently wrote a letter to Andhra Pradesh government to re-think its decision on cancel-lation of PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements), which were signed by the previous Chandrababu Naidu re-gime in the state. In his letter, Union Minister RK Singh reminded Reddy that ―Power Purchase Agreements are contracts binding all the signatories. If the contracts are not hon-













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ored, the investments stop coming.‖ Responding to tariffs, Singh said, ―Tariffs are fixed by regulators, who are independent. At the Central level, there is a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and at the State level, there are different State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) and these commissions fix tariff rates. These commissions fix tar-iff rates after public hearing and examining all the costs." Govt invokes special powers to save green projects worth Rs 40,000 crore The government has invoked special powers under the Electricity Act of 2003, directing the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to clear a clutch of in-ter-state transmission lines under the public sector route to save solar and wind power projects worth Rs 40,000 crore from getting stranded. Invoking Section 107 of the Act, a written directive from the power ministry has asked CERC to approve the lines for which state-run PowerGrid had sought ap-proval before new norms for clearing transmission in-frastructure was implemented in June last year. The directive also seeks speedy clearance to transmission lines finalised under the previous norms once the utility applies for approval. Sources said the directive covers transmission lines re-quired by the end of 2020 in Phase – I for 12.5 GW (giga watt) of renewable projects either under implementa-tion or tendered, for which regulatory approvals had already been sought under the old norms. The directive also covers lines for 15.5 GW under Phase-I and 38.5 GW in Phase-II, which were finalised under previous policy and are in for approval. Nearly 10 GW of Renewable Capacity Added to Green Energy Corridor: RK Singh The Government of India has been working for a while now to expedite the implementation of transmission infrastructure for the evacuation of power from renew-able energy projects. To accelerate the implementation of interstate transmis-sion programs for the evacuation of renewable energy, the bidding process and the process for the grant of regulatory approvals are being done simultaneously. Singh informed the House that a comprehensive trans-mission program had been planned for integrating the identified renewable energy zones of 66.5 GW, which will be implemented in two phases. About 28 GW of renewable energy projects are planned under Phase-I (up to December 2020), and the balance 38.5 GW will fall under Phase-II (December 2021). Answering a question regarding the progress of Green Energy Corridor Project, Singh informed that overall, 2,168.20 circuit km (ckm) of intrastate transmission had been laid under the Green Energy Corridor which sup-

ports 4,757 MVA of substations, along with 2,467 ckm of interstate transmission laid out to support 13,000 MVA of substations. So far, 10,261 MW of renewable energy capacity has been added to the Green Energy Corridor. Singh also informed the members that so far, 140 pro-grams have been approved for Power System Develop-ment Fund (PSDF) funding with a sanctioned grant of ₹112.82 billion (~$1.65 billion). Renewable energy sector adds 2,151 MW in Q1 The renewable energy sector‘s new capacity addition during the first quarter of this fiscal was higher at 2,151 MW when compared with the capacity addition of 1,541 MW in the year-ago quarter. As per data, the June quarter of this fiscal saw total in-stalled capacity of the Indian renewable sector cross 80 GW (80,000 MW). As on June 30, 2019, total grid-connected installed re-newable power capacity in India stood at 80,467 MW (71,325 MW in Q1 of last year) Renewable energy investment dips 14% to $117.6 bn in first half As per Bloomberg report, renewable energy investment dropped 14 percent to $117.6 billion in the first half of 2019. While, renewable energy investment in India grew 10 percent to $5.9 billion. Rajasthan: Renewed thrust on green energy with policy push State Budget was focused on the energy sector and is to tap the immense potential of non-conventional energy sources. It proposes to generate 1,426 MW of wind power and 4,885 MW of solar power by 2023. Chief Minister further stated that additional power gen-eration of 6,000 MW by traditional sources is targeted in the next seven years. Considering abundant potential of solar power in Jodh-pur, Barmer and Jaisalmer, a 765-KV grid substation at Jodhpur was proposed. In other districts, 13 grid sub-stations of 220 KV and 132 KV are to be set up in a phased manner at a cost of Rs 2,378 crore. Tenaga plans to set up a green energy platform in India Malaysian government-owned Tenaga Nasional Berhad is exploring the option of setting up a renewable energy platform in India. In April, yet another Malaysian government-owned company, Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, had acquired one of India‘s largest rooftop solar power pro-ducers, Amplus Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The oil and gas company had paid ₹2,700 crore for the deal. The interest from Malaysia‘s largest electricity utility, with a market capitalization of around $18 billion,












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comes at a time when India‘s emerging green economy requires additional investments of $80 billion till 2022, to grow more than threefold to $250 billion in 2023-30, according to the Economic Survey 2019. Disappointing Union Budget 2019 Failed to Jumpstart Renewable Sector The renewable sector received a massive boost follow-ing the government‘s announcement in May 2015 of achieving a target of 175 gigawatts (GW) by 2022. How-ever, over the last year the momentum has been lost. A number of policy missteps, such as a safeguard duty on imported solar panels, confusion around the Goods and Service Tax (GST), and unpredictability in auction including ad hoc caps, have played a role in the mar-ket‘s slowdown. But perhaps the biggest reason was the financial weaknesses of discoms – delayed payments to renewable companies; attempts to renegotiate PPAs; and failed auctions were a result of stressed discoms. Bold ideas and significant investment support from the government were needed to jumpstart the renewable sector; however, the Budget was disappointing. The budgetary allocation to the Ministry of New and Re-newable Energy (MNRE) marginally increased to Rs 5,255 crore. The allocation to the solar power sector in-creased by a pitiful 1.1% to Rs 3,004 crore compared to the last year‘s revised estimates. The wind sector fared even worse, with allocation dropping compared to the last year‘s revised estimates. AP govt cancels energy storage proposal The new Andhra Pradesh government has decided to cancel the energy storage proposal for which its prede-cessor had invited expressions of interest. The tender received 5 response, 2 out of this is based on pumped storage, and 3 bids were for solutions using batteries. In February, Transmission Corp of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (APTransco) had invited expressions of interest from companies for long-term supply of a power storage so-lution that could be connected to the state electricity grid. The requirement was to build an ―energy shifting solution" of 400MW and 8 hours of discharge per day (3,200 MWh) that would be operational from October 2021. Since peak power generation and consumption happen at different times of the day, grids use ―energy shifting solutions" to regulate the flow of electricity, move power away from the grid during periods of low demand and back to the grid when consumption picks up. APTransco‘s tender wants a cost-effective energy shifting solution for grid stability. The discom will pay fixed annual charges to the developer. Suntuity Group announces foray into Indian renewable energy market US-based solar solutions provider Suntuity Group an-

nounced its foray into the Indian renewable energy sec-tor with the commissioning of 103-kW (kilowatt) roof-top solar protect at an educational institution in South Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Suntuity Group develops, finance, build, own and operate residential, commercial and utility-scale renew-able energy solutions across the world. Discoms altering PPAs is bad move for power sector, says ICRA ICRA in a report stated that attempts by state power distribution companies (discoms) to renegotiate power purchase agreements (PPAs) will bode poorly for inves-tors in the sector. And bra Pradesh government has attributed the high-cost wind and solar power PPAs to the large power purchase dues from the discoms to the power genera-tors, and thus has recommended reviewing the high cost wind and solar agreements and to negotiate and bring down the prices of wind and solar power PPAs. Commenting on the state‘s move, Sabyasachi Majum-dar, Group Head - Corporate ratings, ICRA Ltd, stated that the PPAs are contractual documents, and unilater-ally modifying the same is likely to be subjected to legal challenges. Any attempts to renegotiation without mu-tual consent may adversely impact investor sentiment and future investments in the sector. Further, the reluc-tance shown by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh to honor the PPAs may result in payment de-lays for wind and solar IPPs in the state in the near term. India Renewable Industry Attracted FDI Worth $1.4 Billion in 2018-19 Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India‘s renewable energy sector has been gradually increasing over the past five financial years Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stated that in the non-conventional energy sector, the FDI inflow during FY 2014-15 stood at $615.95 million, which increased to $776.51 million in the next fiscal year. In FY 2016-17, the FDI in the domestic market reached $783.57 million, and it went up to $1.2 billion in FY 2017-18. Further, the inflow increased to $1.44 billion in FY 2018-19. Overall, in the past five fiscal years, the Indian power sector has attracted FDI totaling $5.4 billion while non-conventional energy sector attracted FDI totaling $4.8 billion. Green certificate sales down 22% to 6.98 lakh in June 2019 Sales of renewable energy certificates dropped by 22% to 6.98 lakh units in June as compared to 8.96 lakh in the same month a year ago due to lower supply. IEX saw total trade of 4.19 lakh RECs in June as com-pared to 5.09 lakh in the same month last year. Simi-













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larly, PXIL recorded sale of 2.78 lakh RECs in the month as compared to 3.86 lakh in June 2018. Review of Power Purchase Agreements may affect sec-tor: Ind-Ra India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), is of the view that the Andhra Pradesh government‘s decision on renego-tiating PPA has the potential to ―impair the cash flow of projects and may impact investor sentiments in the sec-tor‖. The decision will have far-reaching implications on not just the State‘s renewable power sector, but that of the entire country. State discoms have accumulated payables of over eight months and if continued to be unpaid, the tariff renego-tiation process will open an avenue for further delay in the payments until the renegotiations conclude. Notwithstanding the outcome of the committee deci-sion, reopening of PPAs will dent investor sentiments. Additionally, banks will be forced to recognise these assets as non-performing if payments are stopped, thereby creating further stress for the lending sector. Green power needs $30 bn annual push As per Economic Survey estimates, India would need around $80 billion to set up renewable energy plants up to the year 2022. This estimate of $80 billion is as on today's prices and without any transmission lines. From the next eight years starting 2023 (up to 2030), an investment of around $250 billion would be required. 13 GW of Solar Projects Tendered in June as Procure-ment Activity Surges Post Elections The month of June 2019 witnessed a big surge in tender announcements, compared to just 119 MW tendered in May 2019. Solar project auction activity also increased slightly in the month. As per Mercom, approximately 13 GW of projects were tendered in June 2019, over 1.7 GW retendered and ap-proximately 3 GW of solar tenders canceled. According to the tender trajectory issued by the Minis-try of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), 30 GW of solar is expected to be tendered in FY 2019-20. So far, around 14 GW have been successfully tendered. Generation of power through renewable energy sources on decline during past 3 yrs Union Government‘s repeated directions on tapping renewable energy on a large scale are not being taken seriously by the concerned authorities in Jammu and Kashmir despite the fact that State has second highest potential in the country. As per official figures, which reveal that generation of power through such sources is on decline during the past three years despite release of over Rs 150 crore. The Union Government is expecting Jammu and Kash-

mir to play crucial role in achieving this feat as study conducted by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) reveals that Jammu and Kashmir has solar power potential of 111.05 Giga Watt, which is the sec-ond highest in the country after Rajasthan where the potential is 142.32 GW. In FY 2016-17, J&K generated only 326.12 MU renew-able energy, in FY 2017-18, state generation decline to 324.37 MU and in FY 2018-19, the generation further declined to 312.20 MU. Indian Railways renewable energy usage up by 6,900 per cent As per data, the Indian Railways‘ dependence on re-newable sources of energy for running trains has gone up by a staggering 6,900 per cent over the last five years. While in 2014-15, the railways sourced only 0.03 per cent of energy from renewable sources, the number went up to 2.1 per cent in 2018-19. In 2014-15, railways used a total of 18,426 MU of electricity to propel its trains while in 2018-19 it used 20,439 MU. Andhra Pradesh to issue recovery notices to all wind, solar power gencos The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to issue recovery notices to all wind and solar power generating companies for what it terms as the loss they caused to distribution companies. In an order, the government also directed its electricity distributors to cancel short-term power purchase agree-ments with Lanco Infratech and Spectrum group. Gas allotted to the two projects will be reallocated to GMR Energy‘s Vemagiri plant. It also cancelled allotment of 5,000 acres to Greenko's wind solar hybrid project in Anantapur. Andhra Pradesh is one of the leading states in the use of renewable energy, with about 8,364 MW of solar and wind projects — 6,614 MW of these are commissioned and the rest are under construction. The government decision may impact a large chunk of these contracts, the industry insiders said. Solar, wind energy to fuel over half of India power ca-pacity by 2030 As per CeA report, solar and wind energy projects may constitute over half of India‘s total power capacity of by 2030, and sees the country surpassing its climate goals. Solar and wind projects are seen constituting 440 GW of capacity out of the projected 831 GW in more than a decade. All non-fossil fuel sources will form 65% of the total installed capacity and contribute around 48% of gross electricity generation. The report, which is yet to adopted by the government, identifies the intermittent nature of renewable genera-tion as a limiting factor and advocates adoption of grid-















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scale battery storage. The reducing cost of batteries will help in faster roll out. 5-year power vision: Scaling up the grid integration of renewable energy The Centre has advised thermal power producers to pre-pare for a scenario in which there will be a larger scale grid integration of renewable energy. Simply put, the total power demand will be met by a higher share of renewable energy, requiring thermal power producers to adjust their operations accordingly. A joint presentation by the MoP and MNRE mentioned that in a scenario with 130 GW of installed renewable energy generation capacity by 2022, the Plant Load Fac-tor (PLF) of coal plants during peak summer months could drop to 35-40 per cent. A lower PLF signals tougher times for coal-based power producers as preference for renewable energy would eat into their business. In order to better integrate renew-able energy, it has been proposed to do away with the exemptions for renewable energy transmission. Speaking at the session, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh said that the agenda is to treat all power at par on the transmission network. The plan is to move to-wards a source-neutral transmission network. Industry pitches for moving to 100% TBCB for projects in power, renewable sector Power industry July 1 pitched for moving towards 100 per cent tariff based competitive bidding for energy and renewable sector projects to attract investment and make services affordable for consumers. In the power sector, the government has been allotting various projects under nomination route where tariff is determined by the power regulator on cost plus basis. The industry representatives pointed out that the TBCB projects are cheaper and are built ahead of time, and said the power ministry brought in early commissioning provisions only when private sector entered, particu-larly in energy transmission. Industry expert claimed that the tariff remains 30 to 40 per cent lower in the TBCB projects.

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SOLAR

MNRE blacklists developer over 500 MW solar park delay MNRE has blacklisted Mum-bai-based Sai Guru Mega Solar Park Limited from taking part in any future tenders or work-ing on government projects. Office memorandum men-tioned that ―Sai Guru Mega Solar Park, a special purpose vehicle of Pragat Akshay Urja Limited, has been blacklisted as it had failed miserably to execute the work relating to development of [a] solar [park] under the government‘s scheme for [the] development of solar parks and ultra mega projects,‖. The document also claimed the developer had refused to return Rs4.1 crore of financial assis-tance granted to it in connection with the park. Sai Guru Mega Solar Park was listed as developer of a 500 MW generation capacity solar park planned in the village of Bhamer in Madhya Pradesh. The company official stated that they are being un-fairly blamed for an 18-month delay to development of the solar park that was caused by the Maharashtra state government. Under the terms of the solar park development plan, 20% of the electricity generated at the site must be purchased by Maharashtra state, and it took one-and-a-half years to secure that per-mission. He further added that ministry have not

given us the chance to resolve the situation. MERC Reiterates Solar Safeguard Duty as Change in Law Juniper Green Energy Private Limited (JGEPL) and its special purpose vehicle Nisagra Renewable Energy Pri-vate Limited (NREPL) recently filed a petition against the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL), requesting compensation for the losses incurred due to the imposition of safeguard duty. The two entities had requested the Maharashtra Elec-tricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) that the impo-sition of safeguard duty on July 30, 2018, by the Minis-try of Finance be declared as a ―Change in Law.‖






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The two petitioners had also requested that they should be entitled to claim relief under the clauses in the PPA for the expenditure incurred under GST due to this event. The MERC passed a common order in both the mat-ters, underlining that the government notification was a ―Change of Law‖ event. The state commission also added that the actual expenditure and its consequential impact would be considered for the reimbursement. This will be possible only after JGEPL and NREPL ap-proach the MERC again with all the necessary details. Low-Cost, Eco-friendly Solar Cells Made Possible Using Kumkum Dye A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technol-ogy Hyderabad (IIT-H) have developed low-cost, envi-ronment-friendly solar cells by employing an off-the-shelf dye used to make kumkum or vermilion in India. According to the research published in the Solar Energy journal, the dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is based on New Fuchsin (NF) dye with aqueous electrolyte and platinum-free counter electrodes. Researchers stated that it is cheap, non-toxic and is solu-ble in water and importantly does not degrade in the presence of water. Indian largest renewable energy companies: Acme, Adani and Greenko top the list Acme Solar, Adani, and Greenko have topped the list of India‘s largest solar power producers by capacity while in the wind energy sector Renew Power, Greenko and Sembcorp top the charts, according to latest data com-piled by the International Energy Agency and CEEW.

India‘s largest renewable energy companies: Overall, the report highlights that the investment in In-dia‘s renewable energy sector has doubled over the past five years. At around $20 billion in 2018, it has sur-passed capital expenditure in the thermal power sector. Lack of Insurance for Solar Modules Holding Back India-Made Modules As per Mercom report, Indian manufacturers have made solid inroads supplying to the domestic market after the safeguard duty was imposed on imported modules from China, Malaysia, and Taiwan last year. Three Indian manufacturers appeared among the top supplier‘s list. This trend is likely to continue at least into the second half of the year. If Indian manufacturers want to continue to supply to developers that they have built a relationship with, they will have to start focusing on quality and stand behind their panels with a warranty backed by insurance. The government has been trying to create a robust do-mestic market by implementing a reworked mega manufacturing tender that provides leeway to pure-play module manufacturers in terms of associated solar pro-ject development. Lack of insurance products for solar PV modules in In-dia is a problem that needs to be addressed. Indian solar module manufacturers often point out that the Chinese government has made it a point to provide module in-surance, thereby making it more attractive to solar PV project developers. In India project insurance is available, but there is no module insurance that is being provided as of now. Pro-ject insurance in India currently covers shortfalls in power generation. Even though the cost of insurance can make modules a little bit more expensive, it will make purchasing modules from manufacturers that of-fer insurance less risky and more attractive for project developers. Only 2,681 of 23L buildings have solar panels in Coim-batore circle Of the 23 lakh buildings in Coimbatore circle, only 2,681 buildings have set up solar panels in the last five years. The buildings include houses, commercial buildings and educational institutions. As per tangedco officials, even though the public are aware of the benefits of producing green energy, they are reluctant because of its high installation price. UP govt allows farm land lease for solar power plant, agri industry UP government has made it possible to lease out agri-cultural land, so far prohibited, for agricultural purpose or for setting up solar plants. The new law permits lease of agricultural land for agri-












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cultural purposes for up to 15 years and for a solar pro-ject for up to 30 years. UK CM allocates solar energy projects to local entrepre-neurs Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat al-located solar energy projects worth Rs 600 crore to local entrepreneurs. Together, these projects will generate 148.85 MW power. On the occasion, the chief minister said another lot of solar power projects worth Rs 200 crore will also be dis-tributed soon among local entrepreneurs. Rawat de-scribed the projects as a significant step towards eco-nomic development of hill areas. Firm blacklisted for using poor quality material in solar panels Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science and Technol-ogy Promotion Society (CREST) has blacklisted M/s Live Braille Wearable Solution for using poor quality material in solar panels installed at various residential houses. CREST has taken the step after receiving number of complaints regarding installation of low-quality mod-ules and use of substandard material. One more firm i.e M/s 8Minutes Solar Private Limited, was also blacklisted after it failed to deposit the addi-tional bank guarantee for the works of solar panel. Aditya Birla to complete 75 MW solar plants in Odisha by June 2020 Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd. won a bid for developing 75 MW solar power plant in Odisha, which is expected to get completed by June 2020. Gridco has signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Aditya Birla Renewables on December 20, 2018 for development of 75 MW. India to help power global solar installations to record high As per Wood Mackenzie, new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are set to reach a record high this year, driven by improving markets in Europe and the United States and fast growth in India and Vietnam. Low auction prices are also expected to help boost new solar PV capacity by the end of this year to 114.5 GW, 17.5% higher than 2018 and the first time new installa-tions have exceeded 100 GW. As per report, the market is now back on a strong growth trajectory – 2018‘s slowdown was just a blip and it is expected that annual installations to rise to around 125 GW per year by the early 2020s. Up to 2024, however, China, India and the United States will account for more than half of total solar PV installa-tions.

50,000 solar pumps to be given to farmers and gaushalas in Haryana: Minister Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Ban-wari Lal stated that fifty thousand solar pumps will be given to farmers and 'gaushalas' in Haryana with the assistance of NABARD. About Rs 1,696 crore will be spent on this special scheme and about 238 MW of green energy will be generated in the state with the installa-tion of these solar pumps. "This will not only save the diesel used to run the pump, but also prevent pollution caused by the diesel pump," he said. With a motive to increase the income of farmers, the government has selected 11 agricultural feeders under which 468 electricity-based tube wells will be converted into solar energy-based tube wells. The extra electricity produced from these solar energy-based tube wells will be provided to the farmers. About Rs 26 crore is esti-mated to be spent on this scheme. Maharashtra govt mulling new policy for solar power projects The Maharashtra government is preparing a policy wherein vacant plots and agriculture land will be taken on lease to set up solar energy projects. The land can be leased on rent at 8 per cent as per the ready reckoner rates, he said. The state has set a target of generating 14,400 MW power through non-conventional means. For this, apart from the vacant lands, water bodies will be used to set up floating solar panels through private partnership. SECIs CPSU Tender for 2 GW of Solar Projects Left Un-dersubscribed by 932 MW The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)‘s tender for setting up 2,000 MW of grid-connected solar photo-voltaic (PV) power projects (Tranche-I) under the sec-ond phase of the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) program has been undersubscribed by 932 MW. The projects will be developed on Build-Own-Operate (B-O-O) basis. A total of five government entities submitted bids total-ing 1,068 MW capacity. No Slowdown in Solar Power Generation Post Safe-guard Duty: RK Singh Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh stated that India generated over 81 thousand million units (MU) of solar power in the last three financial years (2016-17 to 2018-19). Answering a question on decline in the amount solar power produced in the last financial year due to the im-position of the safeguard duty, the minister stated that the sector witnessed no slowdown in generation capac-


















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ity. And that according to data furnished by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), there was an increase in the power generated from solar power plants by 13,797 MUs in the financial year (18-19) from the previous year (17-18). According to the data tabled in the parliament, solar power generation in 2016-17 was 16,499.41 MU, this in-creased to 25,871.07 MW in 2017-18, ridding on the wave of energy transition initiatives of the government. And in 2018-19 the total generation fell just shy of 40,000 MU, with 39,268.20 MU generated. This increase could largely be accredited to the solar projects that had gone into construction well before the duty announcement in July of 2018. The real slowdown in the generation of solar power due to the duty will perhaps be better gauged by the generation figures from the present and next few years. Global solar installations to reach record high this year - research As per Wood Mackenzie, new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are set to reach a record high this year, driven by improving markets in Europe and the United States and fast growth in India and Vietnam. Low auction prices are also expected to help boost new solar PV capacity by the end of this year to 114.5 GW, 17.5% higher than 2018 and the first time new installa-tions have exceeded 100 GW. Last year, new capacity dipped slightly, mostly due to a slowdown in the world's largest solar PV market, China, which ended feed-in tariff subsidies for new projects. KUSUM Program to Get ₹344 Billion to Add Solar Ca-pacity of 26 GW by 2022 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued detailed guidelines to implement the KU-SUM program for India‘s farmers to solarize agriculture. The program has been divided into three components and aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 with the central government support of ₹344.22 billion (~$4.99 billion).

The first component under the program includes the installation of 10,000 MW of decentralized ground-mounted grid-connected renewable power projects.

The second component will be the installation of 1.75 million standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps.

The third component is solarization of 1 million grid-connected solar-powered agriculture pumps.

According to the ministry, the first and third compo-nents of the program will initially be executed in a pilot mode for 1 GW of solar capacity and 100,000 of grid-connected agricultural pumps. The second component will be implemented fully. Overall, the central govern-ment will provide ₹190.365 billion (~$2.76 billion) in

support. After the successful implementation of the pilot projects for the first and third components, they will be scaled up with necessary modifications based on the learnings from the pilot phase with the total central government support of ₹153.855 billion (~$2.23 billion). India has surpassed 1.7 GW of non-commercial rooftop solar capacity: R K Singh As per Power Minister, India has added 780 MW of non-commercial grid connected rooftop PV capacity in the last two years to pass the 1.7 GW mark for the segment. Gujarat reportedly tops the state ranking for non-commercial solar rooftops with 261.97 MW of installed generation capacity, followed by Maharashtra (with 198.52 MW) and Tamil Nadu (151.62 MW). Solar power will soon become a peak-load source of energy: UPERC Chairman UPERC Chairman stated that the viability of storing solar power using batteries and using the same power during peak times is increasing due to declining battery prices. He further added that the storing of solar power using batteries is already working in several countries. In Australia, they charge batteries using renewable en-ergy like solar and the stored power is used during peak hours or when there are power outages. He further stated that it is expected that very soon we will see prices touching $100 per kWhr, and it will be-come an economically viable proposition to set up an RE plant with battery pack storage. Solar Federation Writes to RK Singh for Creation of a Fund to Provide Liquidity to DISCOMs The National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) has written to the Minister for Power, New and Renew-able Energy, R. K. Singh, seeking the creation of a fund for providing liquidity to state distribution companies (DISCOMs) which would help solar photovoltaic (PV) power producers. In the letter NSEFI has focused on how rampant pay-ment delays are affecting the independent solar power producers. NSEFI also mentioned that many prominent state DISCOMs are running large outstanding dues of over six to nine months to solar power producers. In the case of one major state, the dues for July 2018 onwards remain unpaid. Working capital lines are not available to the industry to take care of these inordinate de-lays. This directly reduces their ability to take on new projects. If this problem is not resolved, the industry will find it very difficult to continue to create further capacity at a pace that‘s needed by the country. Gujarat tops in rooftop solar installation across the country Gujarat ranks on top in the installation of rooftop solar














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projects with an installed capacity of 261.97 MW, total rooftop solar installation in India currently stands at 1,700.54 MW. Gujarat is followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with 198.52 MW and 151.62 MW respec-tively. The government provided total financial assistance and incentives of Rs 678.01 crore in 2016-17, Rs 169.73 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 446.77 crore in 2018-19 under the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar programme. Out of total 261.97 MW installation in Gujarat, 183.51 MW are subsi-dised installations and 78.45 MW non-subsidised. Gujarat Approves PPAs for 500 MW of Solar Projects The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has approved the power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 500 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects which were tendered and auctioned by the Gu-jarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL). The solar PV projects will be developed under Phase III of the state‘s Raghanesda Solar Park. In May 2019, the state had auctioned 500 MW of grid-connected solar PV projects out of the tendered 700 MW solar PV capacity. Uttarakhand Invites Applications From Permanent Resi-dents to Install and Own Solar Plants The Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) has invited online applications from permanent residents of the state for power generation from solar energy projects in the hilly areas of the state. The state‘s nodal agency for renewable energy projects has invited proposals from developers under the type-I category of the state‘s Solar Energy Policy-2013 which was amended last year. The total planned capacity un-der the tender is 52 MW through a tariff-based competi-tive bidding process. The cost of the bid bond is Rs 50000 per 100 kWp of bid capacity, and the processing fee will be Rs 2500 per 100 kWp. The last date for submission of the proposals and the applications is August 22, 2019. Assam utility opens single window clearance for solar rooftop installations Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has come up with a single window clearance system for accelerating deployment of Grid Connected Solar Roof-top installations in Assam. APDCL stated that it has come up with a web portal which will facilitate as a single-window clearance sys-tem for the consumers willing to install rooftop solar power plants in their premises. Haryana: Government buildings to have rooftop solar power plants The new and renewable energy department of Gu-

rugram has asked all heads of departments to send data of government buildings under their jurisdiction having load capacity above 40 kW for setting up solar power plants on rooftops under the RESCO model. Mah Govt to make available cheap solar electricity for agriculture in 2-3 years: Patil The Maharashtra government has decided to make available cheap electricity generated through the solar energy to the farmers of the state within two to three years. Minister stated that total 22,000 MW electricity was re-quired for agriculture purpose and the government would try to provide electricity through solar energy projects and pointed that total 200 MW electricity would be made available through solar energy project by De-cember this year. Goa exploring possibility to set up own solar power plant The State government is exploring possibility of setting up its own solar power plant in Goa to meet the power requirement, especially during the summer season. At present, the firm share allocation from Central Gen-erating Station in WR Grid is 391.95 MW and in SR Grid is 99.96 MW, while demand during summer reach 650 MW resulting deficiency of power. Commitments received for 900 MW out of 2,500 MW under Pilot Scheme II, says NHPC NHPC has received commitments for 900 MW under the second leg of a Pilot Scheme notified by the power ministry. Under Pilot Scheme II, NHPC is to finalise the supply of 2,500 MW through various coal-based thermal power plants for the short-term at a tariff of 4.41 per unit. The scheme is valid till September 30, 2019. MNRE Issues New Rooftop Solar Benchmark Costs for 2019-20 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has notified the new benchmark costs for grid-connected rooftop solar power projects for the FY 2019-20. The new benchmark costs will apply to all the imple-menting agencies which are involved in developing rooftop solar projects. As per the MNRE‘s new order, these rates will vary for states which come under the special category status, such as the northeastern states, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and union territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. For these states and UTs, the benchmark cost for projects above 1 kW is ₹59 (~$0.86)/W and ₹53 (~$0.77)/W for those above 10 kW and up to 100 kW. For solar power projects above 100 kW and up to 500 kW, the bench-

















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mark cost applicable will be ₹50 (~$0.73)/W. How feasible is Indian market for power-producers; new hurdle awaits solar companies Power producing companies have a new roadblock, making the Indian market a little more unfeasible for them. Distribution companies have held back a huge sum of money from the power-producers. Payment of Rs 21,198 crore to the power companies is still pending with the distribution companies, according to a reply in Rajya Sabha. The distribution companies have defaulted on a pay-ment of Rs 13,820 crore to the wind and solar companies, according to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA). Roadblocks for power-producers

Over-dependence on imported coal due to poor quality of coal found in India, mining inefficien-cies and environmental issues in opening up of new mines have troubled the power companies.

Transmission inefficiency is another problem as almost one-fourth of what is generated is lost in transmission.

Distribution inefficiencies have also disturbed the power companies because the companies can sell power only to the government agencies, which may either themselves distribute it to the end-users or outsource the same to private players.

Non-payment or delay in payment has paralysed the power companies up to a certain limit.

And, the rampant power theft throughout the country has caused huge revenue losses for a long time.

As per industry experts, renewable Energy tariff in India has come down significantly in recent years, which has resulted in too much pressure on margins of Solar and Wind developers. This has coupled with the delay in payments by discoms and has worsened the situation of Renewable Energy developers in India. Aptel stays AP discom letter on tariff cuts to 3 Greenko units APTEL stayed the controversial July 12 letter issued by a distribution power utility of Andhra Pradesh to three Greenko Energy group firms asking for drastic reduction in solar power tariff. The tribunal has said, ―Tariff is a subject which lies ex-clusively within the domain of the appropriate electricity regulatory, which is the present case is the respondent commission.‖ The companies including SEI Green Flash and SEI Arushi Pvt Ltd had in 2017 filed cases against Andhra Pradesh electricity regulator in APTEL for reducing tar-iffs from its power plants. While the cases were still pending, the discoms under

new Andhra Pradesh government issued letters to all solar power companies asking them to lower tariffs to Rs 2.44 per unit discovered under a separate bidding in Ra-jasthan. India Imposes Provisional Duty on Coated Flat Products Used in Solar Mounting Structures The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has issued its preliminary findings in the anti-dumping in-vestigation on the imports of aluminum and zinc-coated flat products originating in or exported from China PR, Vietnam, and Korea RP. In solar projects, the panels are mounted on module mounting structures which are made up of aluminum and zinc-coated flat products. After examining the submissions made by the parties, DGTR found that there is a significant increase in the imports of subject goods from concerned countries in absolute terms as well as in relation to the production and consumption in India. The DGTR was of the view that the imposition of a pro-visional duty is required to offset dumping and injury, pending completion of the investigation. Therefore, DGTR found it necessary to recommend the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on the imports of sub-ject goods from China PR, Vietnam, and Korea RP. Solar panel demand expected to reach 125.5 GW in 2019, TrendForce says EnergyTrend, a division of Taiwanese market reseach company TrendForce, forecasts solar module demand to reach approximately 125.5 GW this year. If realised this would represent 16% year-on-year (YoY) global market expansion. The analysts believe that this level of growth is likely to continue through 2020. According to preliminary figures, Chinese manufactur-ers shipped around 28.5 GW of modules to foreign mar-kets from January to May 2019, thus almost doubling the results of the same period of 2018, in which shipments to overseas markets reached 14.6 GW. Tata Power ties up with NTT Com-Netmagic to set up 50 MW solar project Tata Power partnered with NTT Com-Netmagic to build 50 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Solapur, Ma-harashtra. This initiative enables NTT Com-Netmagic to meet the green energy needs and optimise operating costs. This solar power project is aimed at reducing CO2 emission at an average by about 70,000 tonne per annum, with the increased power and cooling demands of NTT Com-Netmagic‘s data centres in the city. The power will be supplied through open access under a long-term power purchase agreement. Poolawadi Windfarm Ltd, a subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL), has signed definitive












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agreements to supply 50-MW solar power to NTT Com-Netmagic. The capacity will be built in a phased manner with an initial capacity of 35 MW increasing up to 50 MW within 24 months of initial commissioning of the plant. Palau becomes 76th country to join International Solar Alliance Palau became the 76th signatory country to join the In-ternational Solar Alliance. The agreement was opened for signature during the COP22 at Marrakech on No-vember 15, 2016. The International Solar Alliance is a group of 121 solar resource-rich countries with headquarters in Gurugram, India. The organisation aims to deploy over 1,000 giga-watts of solar energy and mobilise more than USD 1,000 billion into solar powerby 2030, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 96,376 Solar Pumps for Farmers Have Been Approved in 2 Years The Government of India has a target of adding over 10,000 MW of solar capacity to solarize the agricul-ture sector. As per data, so far, under ‗Phase-II of Off-grid and De-centralized Solar PV Applications‘ program, the Minis-try of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanc-tioned 96,376 standalone solar pumps during 2017-18 and 2018-19.‖ So far, 15,000 standalone solar pumps have been ap-proved in Andhra Pradesh, 3,300 in Bihar, 15,000 in Chhattisgarh, 5,000 in Gujarat, 2,000 in Jharkhand, 1,500 in Karnataka, 14,000 in Madhya Pradesh, 8,000 in Ma-harashtra, 1,500 in Orissa, 2,556 in Punjab, 7,500 in Ra-jasthan, 1,000 in Tamil Nadu, 20,000 in Uttar Pradesh and 20 in Andaman & Nicobar islands. MNRE Relaxes Land-Owning Criteria in its Solar Park Program for CPSUs The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a memorandum modifying certain provisions of its solar park program for the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) units. According to the MNRE, now, under Mode 5A any CPSU or special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by the CPSU or government organizations that have land or engaged from various state governments or the central government can approach the ministry directly to set up a solar park. Earlier, it was mandatory that the CPSU must be the owner of the land. The MNRE has modified Mode 5B as well. Earlier, it was mandatory for the CPSU to own the land before ap-proaching solar park developers for open bidding, but now, with the modification of Mode 5A, the CPSU need not be the owner of the land before approaching solar

park developers. The ministry has also stated that private entrepreneurs can develop solar parks, but they will not get any central financial assistance (CFA). They will be entitled to con-nectivity and long-term access (LTA) from the central transmission utility (CTU). The MNRE has specified that private developers must submit a detailed project report (DPR) and documents stating they are in 100% possession of the land. Upon examination of the DPR and land records, solar park status will be issued, which will enable private develop-ers to apply for connectivity. Global solar sector raises $6 billion in the first half of 2019 As per report, the total corporate funding in the global solar sector saw an 11% increase year-on-year at $6 bil-lion in the first half of 2019, as against $5.4 billion in the same period last year. Top VC/PE deals in the first half of 2019 included $300 million raised by Renew Power, $144 million raised by Avaada Energy, $65 million secured by Yellow Door Energy, $50 million raised by Spruce Finance, $41 mil-lion raised by Oxford Photovoltaics, $39 million raised by CleanMax Solar, and the $31 million raised by BBOXX, according to the report. A total of 62 VC inves-tors participated in solar funding in the first half of 2019. Solar energy body seeks capping tariff at ₹ 3/unit under NTPC, SECI auctions National Solar Energy Federation of India has urged the government to cap tariff from all renewable energy sources at ₹ 3 per unit for auctions by NTPC and SECI. This will prove to be a remedy for differential treatment of electricity in the country and help in achieving ‗one nation, one grid, one renewable, one price‘, according to National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI). This would also means that all sources of renewable en-ergies shall be equally dealt at the grid level and thus would help in better grid management. To induce Dis-coms to continue buying electricity from renewable en-ergy sources, we may cap such electricity at ₹ 3 per unit. Gujarat To Subsidize Rooftop Solar Systems In 200,000 Homes Gujarat Govt. announced its budget for the financial year 2019-20. In which minister announced a new solar roof-top scheme this year, whereby 2 lakh families will be covered during the year. Under this scheme, benefici-aries will be given subsidy of 40% up to 3KW and sub-sidy of 20% for system of 3 to 10 KW. Provision of ₹1000 crore for this scheme has been made during the current year. The state plans to reach 200,000 households through this initiative. Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), the hold-ing company of the four public distribution companies














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in the state, will be the nodal agency to manage the state subsidy roll out. Gujarat has also announced a policy to provide govern-ment waste land on lease for setting up renewable en-ergy parks. As a result, the installed capacity will go up by approximately 30,000 MW over the next 10 years. Of this, 10,000 MW will be used to meet requirements of other states of India. Delhi government to convert Rajghat power plant into solar The Delhi Govt approved a proposal to shut down the Rajghat thermal power plant and to convert the area into a solar park with the capacity of 5,000 KW. Solar power scheme now open for Tamil Nadu small powerloom units Small powerloom weavers in the state now can avail subsidy for setting up solar-powered looms and avail benefit from the solar power scheme as the sector has been included under the ‗net feed-in scheme‘. In addition to this, small powerloom units, which have up to eight looms, could avail a minimum of 50% sub-sidy under the Powertex India Scheme for setting up the infrastructure required for solar power generation. According to the official estimate, the cost for setting up solar power generation infrastructure would be Rs 2.8 lakh for four looms, Rs 4.2 lakh for six looms and Rs 5.6 lakh for eight looms. While powerloom owners under the general category would get 50% subsidy for this, those under SC category would get 75% and those under ST category would get 90% subsidy. Solar power to get more profitable as power regulator lightens the safeguard duty burden Solar power producers will make more money now by the central power regulator, paving the way for more clean energy projects to take shape. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has allowed 5.4 GW solar power project by Bhadla Solar Power, to get its safeguard duty back. This move will add to gains to the tune of 1.9-2.2% of the equity returns. A report by CRISIL said that after the ruling, solar power producer will be compensated by law and will not have to wait for it for a year like the Bhadla park de-veloper. The CERC ruling also directed Solar Energy Corporation of India and electricity distribution companies of Rajast-han to compensate the developer of the Bhadla solar park project. Deadline for BIS Certification of Solar Inverters Ex-tended to September 2019 MNRE has extended the deadline for the Bureau of In-dian Standards certification of solar inverters. Considering that the series guidelines for inverters are in

the process being finalized for approval, the self-certification deadline for inverters of those manufactur-ers who have valid quality test reports has been ex-tended from June 30, 2019, to September 30, 2019. The unavailability of labs, lack of testing facilities and workforce, unreasonable costs of testing, absence of se-ries guidelines, and confusion regarding MNRE notifica-tions were some of the issues that have made the compli-ance of the order ―Solar Photovoltaics Systems, Devices and Component Goods Order 2017‖ extremely difficult. Jakson Group to set up 50 MW greenfield solar plant for Rs 300 cr in UP Jakson Group is investing nearly Rs 300 crore in a 50 MW solar power plant in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh. The project is projected to be operational in 18-24 months. Jakson is expecting its solar energy portfolio to touch 1 GW soon, including 150 MW of captive installations. Indian Rooftop Solar Capacity Crosses 4 GW Mark: Bridge To India The Indian Solar Rooftop market crossed 4 GW in total capacity by Mar 31, 2019, reaching a total of 4,375 MW, according to Bridge to India‘s (BTI) report. The lion‘s share of this capacity comes from the industrial segment that contributed 2,140 MW to the total while 926 MW came from the commercial segment. Despite the government‘s push the residential market continues to lag behind – it added 690 MW although it fared a tad better than the public sector that pooled in 619 MW by the reporting date. Out of the total installed capacity, 29% of systems are more than 1 MW in size. As per the report, CAPEX remains the most popular form of project development in this segment with more than 3 GW development activity taking place in the space, followed by the OPEX model that accounts for 1,320 MW. The states of Maharashtra (618 MW), Rajasthan (393 MW), Gujarat (314 MW), Karnataka (298 MW) and Tamil Nadu (365 MW) are listed as the top 5 states by annual installation, accounting for a 60% share of the total roof-top solar market. In FY 2019 (April 2018 to March 2019), India added 1,836 MW of rooftop solar power capacity, according to BTI. Among the major players in the space, there was no change at the top – Delta continued to maintain its posi-tion as the top inverter supplier during the year, Cleantech Solar was once again the topmost project developer and Tata Power Solar led the list of top EPC contractors for the year. Hartek Power wins order to set up substation to connect 130-MW solar energy to grid Hartek Power bagged an order to set up a 220/33 KV substation, which would connect 130 MW of solar power
















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supply to grid in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The scope of the project includes complete engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the substation right from survey, design, engineering and testing to supply, construction, project management and commis-sioning. Another blow to sanctity of contracts, Andhra Pradesh wants solar PPAs rewritten Several state governments used to tinker with power purchase agreements (PPAs) between their discoms and power generators and this added to the latter‘s woes. The new government in Andhra Pradesh has buttressed this trend by forming a committee to revise ―abnormally priced wind and solar‖ PPAs, saying these have ―resulted in unjustified burden on the consumers of the state‖, besides contributing to the financial woes of state-run discoms. The state will also request the Union gov-ernment to bear the ―additional financial burden‖ from buying renewable power. Andhra‘s decision also coincides with falling renewable power prices, as the weighted average solar bid tariff in calendar year 2018 was only Rs 2.73/unit as against Rs 3.01/unit in 2017 and Rs 5.01/unit in 2016. The lowest wind tariff in the last auction held in March was Rs 2.82/unit, much lower than the Rs 5-6/unit range seen about three years ago. The state‘s utilities had decided to approach the power regulator to fix tariffs of several wind power projects at Rs 2.25/unit. As per sources, officials would write to NTPC and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to reduce electricity price from solar power projects be-ing implemented through these agencies, to Rs 2.50/unit. SunEdison to Acquire Two Renewable Companies for $21.2 Million Chennai-based SunEdison Infrastructure Limited has informed of the acquisition of Megamic Electronics Pri-vate Limited and Enrecover Energy Solutions Private Limited. Megamic Electronics Private Limited, founded in 2015, is involved in the design, development, and supply of re-mote monitoring solutions for solar projects. The acquisition is at ₹10 million ($ 0.14 million) along with 0.3% equity shares of SunEdison in exchange for a 51% stake in Megamic Electronics. Enrecover Energy Solutions Private Limited manufac-tures organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems for heat re-covery and power generation from geothermal re-sources, biomass, solar, and waste streams. The financial consideration for this acquisition is ap-proximately ₹11.2 million ($ 0.17 million) for a 51% stake. Special drive to promote solar power launched in Am-

bala The district administration has launched a special cam-paign to promote the solar power by popularising the applications of various non-conventional and renewable sources of energy in Ambala. To begin with, it has implemented solar home system ―Manohar Jyoti‖ scheme to cover 505 households living in the un-electrified dhanis in the district. Under the scheme, solar home system consisting of 150W solar PV module, 12.8V80Ah lithium ferro phos-phate battery, two LED luminaires of max input power consumption of 6 watt each with 32 lux, one LED tube-light (batten type) of max input power consumption of 9 watt with 18 lux, one DC ceiling fan of 25 watt and pro-vision for one USB port shall be provided to the targeted group. As per the scheme, one household shall be eligible for one system only. The system, which costs Rs 22,500, will be provided to the eligible beneficiary at a user share of Rs 7,500 after state subsidy of Rs 15,000 per system. SJVN, BHEL in MoU for solar projects SJVN entered into a MoU with Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd for development of solar power projects in India. The MoU aims at building a strategic partnership be-tween the parties for jointly pursuing commercial solar power projects through participation in tariff/viability gap funding based competitive bidding process. Madurai airport meets 30% of energy through solar power The Madurai airport is saving big on electricity charges as it meets 30% of its power requirement through solar energy. With the addition of the 730 kW solar panels in April this year, the total capacity has increased to 900 kW. The facility, set up at a cost of Rs 4.8 crore, helps the Airport Authority of India (AAI) save at least Rs 10 lakh towards electricity charges monthly. ACME Solar terminates deal with NTPC for 600 MW project, wants bank guarantee refund in 3 days Acme Solar refused to work on a 600 MW project of the NTPC. Acme Solar has told NTPC that the agreement is no longer feasible as the Telangana government did not give regulatory approvals within two months of signing the power purchase agreement (PPA). The solar developer had quoted a tariff of Rs 2.59 per unit to win the project in an auction. In the PPA, the trading margin and the power capacity had to be ap-proved by the Telangana State Regulatory Commission (TSERC). Acme has now asked NTPC to return its bank guarantee within three days. Budget 2019: Solar power budgetary allocation rises by a mere 1.1 per cent















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The union budget for 2019-20 has provided for a budget-ary allocation of Rs 3,004 crore for solar power sector, including both grid-interactive and off-grid projects, a mere 1.1 per cent increase over Rs 2,969 crore provided in the Revised Estimate for last financial year (2018-19). This is in stark contrast to the 57 per cent jump in budg-etary allocation for solar power projects seen in the re-vised estimate of 2018-19 compared to actual figures (Rs 1,889 crore) for 2017-18. The budgeted expenditure for the current fiscal includes Rs 2,479 crore as Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for capacity addition of 7,500 Megawatt projects. The rest – Rs 525 crore – is provided for off-grid and decentralised solar sector. The latter includes implementation of Ph-III of the off-grid solar PV programme, which covers installation of 3 lakh solar street lights, distribution of 25 lakh solar study lamps and installation of solar power packs of total ag-gregated capacity of 100 MWp. Solar panels to come up on farmlands in Delhi by year-end Solar power generation through panels installed on agri-cultural lands is set to become a reality in the national capital by end of this year. As per reports, applications will be soon invited from those farmers who are inter-ested in signing up for the ambitious ‗Mukhyamantri Kisan Aay Badhotri Solar Yojana‘, which aims to en-hance their income. The development department is preparing to hold work-shops to sensitise farmers and create awareness. The plan couldn‘t take off as guidelines for Virtual Net-Metering (VNM) were not finalised. Tata Power announced signing of agreements for sale of 50 MW solar power under captive structure Poolavadi Windfarm, a 100% subsidiary of the Tata Power Renewable Energy (a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Company), has signed definitive agreements for sale of 50 MW solar power under captive structure. The power will be supplied through open access under a long-term power purchase agreement. Solar Market Predicted to Reach 4767 GW by 2026: Re-port According to a new report, the global solar power mar-ket will derive growth from the increasing awareness regarding conservation of conventional energy sources and reducing environmental pollution, to grow to 4767 GW over the next 7 years. The report, ―Solar Power Market: Global Market Analy-sis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2026,‖ published by Fortune Business Insights, has estimated the solar market to be at 680.22 GW in 2019. And predicted that the market will reach 4766.82 GW by 2026, thereby ex-hibiting a CAGR of 30.7%.

KSEBL solar project picks up pace Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL), which in January announced generation of 1000 MW solar power in the next three years, has been taking active steps to achieve the target. The Board is planning to generate 500 MW energy from rooftop solar panels in households for which more than two lakh consumers have already registered. The project is expected to bring a significant change in the state‘s energy sector and will give Kerala an edge over others in harnessing solar power. As per officials, department have received 2,78,258 regis-trations, including not only owners of houses but other institutions and organisations. A field survey is over while its scrutiny and inspection of rooftops are pro-gressing. Online tenders have been floated, and installa-tion of solar panels will begin in the selected rooftops by November. This year, tenders were invited for generat-ing 200 MW solar power from rooftops, and we plan to add 300 MW solar power in the next phase. The Board is keen to tap maximum solar energy, and the remaining 500 MW will be generated from floating solar panels atop canals, solar highway project and private solar parks. The floating solar project will be implemented in dams at Banasurasagar, Chengulam, Kallarkutty, Idukki, Anayirangal, Ponmudi and Kundala. National Thermal Power Corporation and Solar Energy Corporation of India will conduct a preliminary study in the identified dams. Solar scheme to assure Rs 1 lakh income for farmers The central government will launch a solar scheme for farmers that will ensure a minimum annual income of Rs 1 lakh. Power Minister R.K. Singh stated that farmers can use their land to install solar panels and the power gener-ated will be bought by the government. The farmers who don't have the capital can lease the land to developers to set up the solar panels. If given to the developers, the farmer will get at least 30-35 paise per unit to ensure an annual income of Rs 1 lakh. K P I Global Infrastructure gets approval for enhance-ment in solar power evacuation from GETCO KPI Global Infrastructure announced that Gujarat En-ergy Transmission Corporation (GETCO) has approved enhancement in solar power evacuation from 30MW to 70MW (30MW existing + 40MW additional capacity) at 66KV Amod Substation, Bharuch, Gujarat by KPI Global Infrastructure. The letter of Approval has been received from GETCO. MNRE Details Roles and Responsibilities of DISCOMs













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Under the 12 GW Solar CPSU Program The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a notification regarding the modalities and role of distribution companies (DISCOMs) to ensure the smooth implementation of the second phase of the Cen-tral Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) program. This government program aims to set up 12,000 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power projects for self-use or use by government entities. As estimates, this program is expected to create an in-vestment of ₹480 billion (~$6.70 billion) and provide di-rect employment to 60,000 people for about one year in pre-commissioning phase and 18,000 people for the next 25 years during the operation and maintenance period. All the projects are expected to be developed by the end of FY 2022-2023. Under the CPSU program, the usage charges should not exceed ₹3.50 (~$0.050)/kWh. India misses FY19 Solar Power target by 58% As per MNRE data, India has missed its solar power tar-get by a whopping 58% in the year gone by, and added only around 6.73 GW. In comparison, China added 44,000 MW of solar capacity during the year 2018. Out of the 6.7 GW added in FY19, 6.53 GW was added via large, grid-connected solar farms, while an estimated 150-200 MW was added via small, distributed rooftop and other solar installations. To meet the 100 GW goal, India was supposed to have already installed about 47 GW of power by March 2019, including 31 GW of grid-connected farms and 16 GW of rooftop systems. Instead of 31 GW of grid-connected farms, India could achieve only 28.18 GW of grid-connected systems by March 2019. In rooftop segment, against a target of 16 GW by March 2019, India has been able to achieve only around 0.9 GW, a shortfall of 94%. Solar products makers want govt to rationalise GST The solar equipment makers are a puzzled lot as they have to deal with a higher GST rate for the components and lower rates for the end product. To put an end to this practice, the association of solar equipment makers have gone to the finance ministry. Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) have also been writing letters to the revenue officials and to those of the renewable energy department to demand the 5% rate on solar-related products are equally implemented. No proposal to give free solar pumps to farmers: R K Singh There is no proposal to give free solar pumps to farmers, but a scheme to provide solar panels and pumps to farmers with the Centre and state government each shar-ing 30 per cent of its cost has been approved and will be rolled out soon, the Government stated.

Solar Developers Association Writes to MNRE on Non-Payment of Dues by Telangana DISCOMs The Solar Power Developers Association (SPDA) has written to MNRE regarding the overdue payments from Telangana distribution companies to solar power devel-opers. The letter mentions that in Telangana, there are about 3,600 MW of solar projects and the cumulative dues from the DISCOMs as of June 2019 is to the tune of ₹14 billion ($203 million). The dues have been piling up from July 2018. The huge dues have resulted in a liquidity crunch for most of the developers, and these are also affecting their daily operations and debt servicing timeline. The letter has also mentioned that the developers were forced to infuse unsecured loans to service their rising debts and daily operational expenses. Since the developers have invested heavily in the equity for these projects, the lack of rotation of money due to this non-payment by DISCOMs is preventing them from participating in fresh tenders. The association has requested the ministry to issue an advisory to the DISCOMs for the immediate release of at least three months of payments, to enable the develop-ers, sustain and service debts to a limited extent. India: Solar Imports Declined by 40% in Q1 2019 As per data, India‘s solar imports witnessed significant decline year-over-year (YOY) in the first quarter (Q1) of the calendar year (CY) 2019. Solar modules and cells of approximately $650 million (~₹45 billion) were imported by India in Q1 2019. This was a decrease of 40% YOY from the $1.1 billion (~₹76 billion) worth of solar cells and modules imported in Q1 of 2018. In the same period, India exported solar modules and cells worth $33 million (~₹2.3 billion) in Q1 2019, an in-crease of 74% compared to $19 million (~₹1.3 billion) of exports in the same quarter of the previous year. 600 MW project no longer feasible: Acme solar to NTPC Acme Solar has told NTPC that a 600 MW project it won in an auction is no longer feasible as the power purchase agreement (PPA) stands terminated in the absence of necessary regulatory approvals, and has asked the state-run power major to return its bank guarantee. Acme had won the project in an auction conducted by NTPC last August where it quoted a tariff of Rs 2.59 per unit. Other winners in the auction for 2,000 MW of pro-jects were Azure Power, Softbank-backed SB Energy and Shapoorji Pallonji whose tariffs were also in the range of Rs 2.59-2.60 per unit. According to the terms of the power purchase agree-ment (PPA) it signed with NTPC, the output was meant for Telangana, and the tariff, trading margin and con-











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tracted capacity had to be approved by the Telangana State Regulatory Commission (TSERC) within two months of signing the PPA, failing which it would stand terminated. Panasonic Introduces Urban Microgrid for the Indian Market Panasonic, a diversified technology company, has launched urban microgrid, hybrid Energy Storage Sys-tems (ESS) with end to end solutions for the Indian mar-ket. The integrated solar power microgrids feature effi-cient, reliable and intelligent power storage solutions to power up urban residential and commercial areas. The solution allows grid interaction, remote monitoring and data analytics that helps in optimising the energy usage. Microgrids would enable uninterrupted power supply and enhance operational flexibility for distribu-tion utilities, which are facing challenges in coping up with the increasing demand and network stress, poor power quality and losses, etc. These systems can support overstressed distribution transformers, energy arbitrage, peak shaving, capex deferral and self-consumption. Islanding mode effectively eases the strain of the larger grid system by allowing any sections of the grid to oper-ate independently.

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NON- SOLAR

Two of nine Gujarat wind auc-tion winners agree to slash tar-iffs Two of the nine winners of Gu-jarat‘s latest wind energy auc-tion agreed to a condition that power purchase agreements will be signed only with compa-nies that cut tariffs to match the lowest bidder. The remaining six including Inox Wind, Renew Power, Adani and France‘s EDF have declined. The state distribution company asked all the winners to match the lowest tariff of Rs 2.80 quoted by Enerfra if they wanted power purchase con-tracts. The second-lowest winners Powerica Ltd. and Vena Energy agreed to match the lowest bidder. They won 50 MW and 100 MW, respectively, at Rs 2.81 per unit, which is only one paisa higher per unit. As per official, company has issued letters of intent to the three that have agreed to tariffs of Rs 2.80. Andhra Pradesh seeks to cancel 21 wind energy pacts The battle between renewable energy companies‘ and Andhra Pradesh is getting intense as the state has sought cancellation of 21 wind power purchase agree-ments with clients of Suzlon Energy and Axis Energy and is not letting the wind plants operate for most hours of day without giving any valid reason.

The cancellation is despite the high court staying a July 1 notification issued by the state and July 12 letters written to various developers seeking renegotiation of power tariffs from solar and wind power plants. The PPAs though signed were not yet approved by the regulator. ―…in view of the precarious financial position of AP dis-coms and consequent inability to bear the additional fi-nancial burden involved in purchasing power from 21 wind developers, AP discoms have decided to withdraw the PPAs entered with various wind power projects cients of Suzlon and Axis Energy Ventures India Pvt Ltd. The APSPDCL further submits that since the PPAs are not yet approved, the same is not enforceable and the APSPDCL is at liberty to withdraw the same,‖ the memo






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to Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission said. TERI has solution to stop stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana — convert residue into fuel Scientists at TERI has proposed for using paddy straw as fuel for running decentralised cold storage units at the village level. The report says there is a huge demand for solid fuel — such as coal and wood — to run cold storage units and brick kilns in the two states. It also says that creating a biomass supply chain involving entrepreneurs and set-ting up facilities to convert crop residue into fuel pellets can help farmers find value in waste. This, in turn, will aid in curbing air pollution. Around 35 million tonnes of biomass crop are burned each year in Punjab and Haryana alone — a phenomena that has been blamed for the rising levels of air pollution plaguing the capital city every winter. Report found that unless there is an additional value for the stubble, farmers are not going to be interested in re-moving it. So more and more of them are resorting to burning stubble. Changes in bidding norms for wind power to add capac-ity: ICRA ICRA stated that the government's recent move to change guidelines for awarding wind power projects is a positive move for developers who are experiencing sig-nificant delays in project execution due to issues like de-lays in land acquisition and securing transmission con-nectivity. They further mentioned that the other amendments like providing additional time for revising annual capacity utilisation factor, lowering the penalty rate for shortfall in generation to 50 per cent of quoted tariff from 75 per cent of quoted tariff and allowing sale of power from part commissioned capacity at quoted tariff against 75 per cent of quoted tariff earlier are also positives for the developers. ICRA expects wind power capacity addition to increase to about 3.5 to 4 GW in the current financial year 2019-20, supported by large project awards by the nodal agencies and measures being taken to address some of the key challenges. However, the sector continues to face challenges related to weak counter-party credit profile reflected from dete-riorating receivable position in a few states, the viability of the bid tariffs at less than Rs 3 per unit and securing financing in a timely manner for under-construction pro-jects. Small Hydro-power projects of 4,604.81 MW commis-sioned Union Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy

and Power, R K Singh stated that a aggregate capacity of SHP projects commissioned in India by June 30, 2019, was 4,604.81 Mega Watt (MW) and a total of 116 SHP projects, aggregating to 589.99 MW, are under construc-tion. Top 10 Turbine OEMs to Spend €2.3 bn on R&D by 2023 A new report has revealed that the research and develop-ment (R&D) expenses among the world‘s top ten wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is ex-pected to increase to € 2.3 billion by 2023. Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables have in its new report, ‗Next-Generation Wind Turbine Models‘ revealed that the R&D expenses for the said OEMs have doubled over the last 4 years, reaching €1.6 billion in 2018. And, that this number will only continue to increase. According to Shashi Barla, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Principal Analyst, the turbine OEMs have accelerated R&D investments in next-generation turbine platforms, battling against new unit sales margin com-pression and the market‘s need to further reduce wind energy‘s Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). Turbine technology investments are central to lowering LCOE below the €15-20/MWh mark and mitigating de-veloper/off-taker increased exposure to merchant power prices.‖ The report further highlights that these OEMs are ex-pected to continue their frantic pace of new product in-troductions, including 7-8 MW onshore turbines with 200+ m rotors expected to be available by 2025 and 20+ MW offshore turbines with 280+ m rotors possible before 2030. Government amends bidding guidelines for wind power projects In a bid to fast-track wind energy projects, the Centre has made certain amendments to the bidding guidelines for such projects. MNRE stated that the amendments have been made based on the experience of bidding and con-sultation with various stakeholders. As per the statement, now the timeline for land acquisi-tion for wind power projects has been extended from seven months to scheduled commissioning date i.e. 18 months. This, the ministry said, will help wind power project de-velopers in states where land acquisition takes longer time. Nearly ₹29 Billion Allotted for Off-Grid Renewable Gen-eration in Last 3 Years A corpus of ₹29.37 billion (~$0.43 billion) has been pro-vided for off-grid renewable energy generation sources in the past three consecutive budgets, beginning with the financial year (FY) 2016-17 and ending FY 2018-19. Off-grid renewable energy generation sources, coupled













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with new laws and codes for building construction, will help in ensuring energy efficiency and energy sufficiency in India. Minister for Power, R. K. Singh, informed that the Minis-try of New and Renewable Energy has been implement-ing the following off-grid programs in the last three years: National Biogas and Manure Management Pro-gram, ‗Biogas Power (off-grid) Generation Program, Bio-mass Gasifier Program, Unnat Chulha Abhiyan (UCA) Program, Off-grid and Decentralized Solar Applications Program, Atal Jyoti Yojana, 7 million Solar Study Lamp program, and Concentrating Solar Thermal Program. MP to be first state to have electricity storage facility: CM Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced that Madhya Pradesh would become the first state in the country to have an electricity storage facility. The Congress govern-ment in the state had received flak recently for frequent power cuts. He further stated that, a global tender has been issued for building an electricity storage system, and a team of ex-perts from China would be visiting the state soon. Maharashtra CM okays 100 acre land for Bhandara etha-nol, biogas plant Maharashtra Chief minister approved 100 acres land for a proposed project to produce ethanol and biogas gas from paddy straw at Bhandara. The project will come up at an estimated cost of Rs1,500 crore. Minister of Bhandara and Gondia districts Parinay Fuke stated that the project will benefit Bhandara and Gondia districts to a great extent. ―Paddy straw of 3.84 lakh tonne is available in Bhandara district and 3.46 lakh tonne in Gondia district. The straw is burned and not used for any purpose till now. Therefore, the project will give an alternate revenue source for farmers. Ethanol and biogas will be used in vehicles for an eco-friendly atmos-phere and reducing consumption of petrol and diesel. First offshore wind emerging markets land World Bank funds Twelve countries are in line to be the first cohort of ‗emerging‘ offshore wind markets to see backing under a $5m programme recently launched by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to fast-track take-up of the increasingly competitive energy resource around the world. Vietnam, Algeria, Morocco, Brazil, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Poland, India, Sri Lanka, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey will receive support through the World Bank‘s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme to collect local wind and marine data, as well as exploring industry-linked economic development. IFC senior renewable-energy specialist Sean Whittaker, stated that the rapid, recent reduction in the levelised cost of energy of offshore wind – expected to go sub-€50/

MWh by 2022 – is creating ―a very clear interest‖ in many previously priced-out markets. CoEFM develops cost effective tech for bio-diesel pro-duction Under the aegis of the CSIR-CMERI, scientists at Centre of Excellence Farm Machinery (CoEFM) here have devel-oped the technology of ‗semi-continuous bio-diesel plant‘. This technology represents a simplified process to produce biodiesel from any feedstock having free fatty acid content up to 10%. The plant is capable of utilizing different types of waste edible oils and non-edible oils of jatropha, karanj, tung, mahua and jojoba as well as animal fat to produce qual-ity bio-diesel. The CSIR-CMERI is commercializing its technology to help MSME units in the production of bio-diesel processing machinery. To reduce burden on dumping grounds, BMC plans waste-to-energy plant near Haji Ali The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to set up a waste-to-energy plant near Haji Ali to reduce burden on the three dumping grounds in the city — Kan-jurmarg, Deonar and Mulund — which have already reached their maximum capacity. The project will cost about Rs 65 lakh. Currently, the city generates about 7,500 metric tonne waste daily. The civic body has reduced around 1,000 metric tonne of garbage over the past couple of years by introducing various measures, like compulsory process-ing of waste by bulk generators – establishments generat-ing more than 100 kg waste daily – on their premises, and segregating wet and dry waste among others, a civic official said. JK ignores central scheme on biogas, organic manure Jammu and Kashmir government has shown zero per cent implementation of the centrally sponsored scheme New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme (NNBOMP), for the last three years. This year UMNRE has fixed the target of setting up 76,000 small biogas plants across India. For J&K, the Cen-tre has set the target of setting up 400 such plants this year. In 2016, the nodal agency of the programme, Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) has not set up a single biogas plant in rural areas of state and the trend continued in 2017 and 2018. Want to create local ethanol economy of Rs 2 lakh crore, says Nitin Gadkari To cut down the import dependency and reduce the lev-els of pollution in the country, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari advocated to capi-talize on locally produced ethanol fuel. He further stated that India has huge potential of manu-














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facturing ethanol. In 2018, country's ethanol market was of Rs 11,000 crore and this year it will probably go up to Rs 20,000 crore. In my dreams, I want to make India an ethanol economy of Rs 2 lakh crore, and India has robust back up of large sugarcane farms to support the produc-tion of ethanol feed stocks. The development of a sub-stantial ethanol industry would potentially mean new markets for country's biomass and agriculture and will also help in reviving the dried up farm income. NGT directs Haryana to reduce leisurely timeline for waste-to-energy plant installation The National Green Tribunal has directed the Haryana government to install the waste-to-energy plant in Rohtak cluster before December 2021, calling the pro-posed timeline "leisurely". The tribunal, however, said such "leisurely" timeline is not only in conflict with the rules but also at the cost of the environment. "The timeline proposed is in conflict with the statutory timelines under the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016. If such longer timeline is permitted uncondi-tionally, the result will be that damage to the environ-ment will continue," the bench said. Delhi: SDMC dedicates 2nd Waste to Energy plant at Dwarka To manage and process a large quantity of organic waste in the South Delhi area, the South Delhi civic body has inaugurated its 2nd bio-methanation plant at Dwarka Sector 14. The bio-methanation plant- ‗Yasasu Green‘ has been de-veloped by Yasasu EMS Pvt. Ltd., Now a Blue Planet Group company. ―YASASU‖ a product line incubated by Organic Recy-cling Systems Pvt. Ltd. developed a packaged solid waste processing plant. It treats waste at source based on DRYCO-ADTM technology. Synergy launches biodiesel Synergy Green Diesel Synergy Teletech Pvt. Ltd has launched its new biodiesel fuel 'Synergy Green Diesel' that is claimed to be able to reduce environmental pollution and help small busi-nesses save money. Synergy Green Diesel, a distilled grade biodiesel, could be an environment-friendly fuel option for the non-transport sector, and will be cheaper than normal diesel. Gujarat tells wind auction winners to match lowest tariff Gujarat has told all winners of its latest auction of wind power projects to match the tariff of Rs 2.80 per unit quoted by lowest bidder Enerfra to stand a chance to win the contracts. There were nine winners who quoted tariffs in the range of Rs 2.80-2.95 per unit in the 1000-mw auction con-ducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) in May.

At the auction, Enerfra had won 40 mw of capacity at Rs 2.80 per unit, while Powerica and Vena Energy won 50 mw and 100 mw, respectively, at Rs 2.81 per unit. EDF, Renew Power, Adani and Inox Wind had quoted tariffs of Rs 2.87-2.95 per unit in their winning bid. Tamil Nadu sets eyes on energy from waste, to work with NTPC The state government will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with National Thermal Power Corpora-tion to produce electricity from waste. This comes close on the heels of NTPC achieving full generation capacity in its 200KW waste-to-energy plant in Karsada at Vara-nasi in Uttar Pradesh using municipal solid waste. Municipal administration and water supply minister S P Velumani stated that the urban local bodies, including 15 corporations (including Chennai), 121 municipalities and 528 town panchayats, generated 7,011MT of biodegrad-ablewaste and 6,733MT of non-biodegradable waste a day. Uttarakhand to produce green power from pine needles The Uttarakhand government has begun efforts to pro-duce green power from the leaves of pine trees - known as pine needles - in a bid to reduce their quantity in the jungles as they catch fire very quickly. According to a government estimate, 3,99,329 hectares of the total forest area is covered by chir pine trees, so pine needles are found in abundance in the state. As part of the move, the government has issued letters of award to 21 companies which would set up new power plants to generate electricity under the state's policy of power generation through pirul. These companies would produce a total of 675 KW power. The Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), the sole government-owned power distribution company in the state, would sign separate power purchase agree-ments (PPAs) with these companies to buy power at Rs 7.54 per unit, said Chander Singh Bisht whose company - Bhagirathi Chidh Vidyut Producer - is setting up the big-gest pirul plant in Dunda block of Uttarkashi district with a capacity of 125 KW. Under this policy, the government has set a target to gen-erate 1 MW by 2019, 5 MW by 2021 and 100 MW by 2030, said state Power Secretary Radhika Jha. Meanwhile, the government will pay Rs 1 per kg to those who collect and supply pirul from the jungles. Already, Haryana-born Rajnish Jain has set up a small plant to generate power from pirul in the Berinag area of Pithoragarh district. This is considered to be the first such plant in the hill state. Auction ceiling prices, project delays lower near-term growth outlook of Indian wind power sector As per report, imposition of auction ceiling prices and delays in commissioning of awarded projects have low-













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ered near-term growth outlook of wind power sector in India. In its latest report ‗Global Wind Power Market Outlook Update: Q2 2019‘, Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables said the current market conditions in India have bruised the region‘s near-term outlook, resulting in a 4 per cent downgrade quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Annual Global Wind Power Capacity Additions To Aver-age 76 Gigawatts By 2024–2028 As per Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables report, annual global wind power capacity additions are ex-pected to average 71 GW between 2019 and 2023, and 76 GW between 2024 and 2028. India First Offshore Wind Tender Out In Four Months, Claims Report After several delays, it seems the first offshore wind en-ergy tender in India will soon see the day of light. As per report, government is planning to approve viable gap funding worth US$909 million to support the first offshore wind energy project in the country. There is an in-principle agreement over the funding and is now likely to be discussed by various ministries and finally approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The 1 GW project is planned to be implemented off the coast of the west Indian state of Gujarat. Power distribu-tion utilities in the state have reportedly agreed to buy energy generated from power plant at Rs 3.50/kWh (US¢5.11/kWh). The government funding would compensate the project developer for the difference between the fi-nancially viable tariff and the already agreed power pur-chase tariff. PPA for 12 MW Waste Gas-Based Captive Project Ap-proved in West Bengal The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) has approved the power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 12 MW waste gas-based power generation project in the state. The commission stated that it has the responsibility to promote cogeneration and renewable sources of energy and in line with this, the commission approved the PPA executed between the WBSEDCL and RIL for purchase of surplus power from waste gas-based captive generating project of RIL located at Jhargram, for a period of 25 years. The WBERC fixed the tariff for first year of operation at ₹2.22 (~$0.03)/kWh which was made up of a fixed cost of ₹1.32 (~$0.02)/kWh and an energy charge of ₹0.90 (~$0.01)/kWh with a provision for an annual increase in the energy charge as per the terms of the PPA. Karnataka Extends Generic Tariff of ₹7.08/kWh for Waste to Energy Projects Until 2020 In a recent order, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has extended the validity of the ge-

neric tariff it had set for municipal solid waste (MSW) projects in the state. A tariff of ₹7.08 (~$0.10)/kWh was set by the commission back in 2016 which was applicable on all of the state‘s MSW-based power projects which were commissioned between September 19, 2016, to March 31, 2018. This extension came after the commission reviewed a petition by the Bangalore Municipal Solid Waste Limited (BMSWL) which had requested for the extension of the tariff order for its project. To encourage new waste to energy projects in Karnataka, the commission decided to retain the existing tariff for a period of one year beginning from April 1, 2019, to March 3, 2020. EU to help India establish its first offshore wind energy plant Tomasz Kozlowski, representative of European Union (EU) India, disclosed that India‘s first major off-shore wind energy plant is expected to be set up soon in Guja-rat with contributions of the EU nations and private com-panies. The first off-shore wind energy plant in Gujarat is in the implementation stage. The Indian government‘s plan is very ambitious. By 2022, India wants to have a capacity of 5 GW of offshore wind energy in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Govt to set up 76,000 small biogas plants this fiscal The government plans to set up 76,000 small biogas plants in 2018-19 under the New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme (NNBOMP). Under the programme, the maximum size of family type biogas plants has been enhanced from 6 to 25 cubic metre capacity to cover untapped potential of biogas energy in remote/rural and semi-urban areas. The central financial assistance under the programme has been enhanced and it varies from Rs 7,500 to Rs 35,000. China and India to lead biomass growth by 2028 Asia is expected to lead growth in the biomass sector over the coming decade, driven largely by China and India, thanks to the region‘s large agriculture sectors and rapidly expanding power demand which offers signifi-cant growth opportunities for biomass generation, a re-port by Fitch Solutions revealed. China is slated to become the fastest-growing biomass market in the world over the coming decade, adding more than 12.8GW between 2018 and 2028. Meanwhile, the Indian biomass sector is expected to ex-pand from 10GW as of 2018, to more than 16.1GW by 2028, as the country will seek to leverage residues from a number of agricultural sectors, particularly from sugar and rice production. It has been estimated that the coun-try as a whole produces close to 550 million tonnes of residue from agriculture, forestry and plantations on an














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annual basis, which could generate over 16GW of power. Implementation of Small Hydro Projects on PPP basis in Maharashtra CAG Audit on implementation of Small Hydro Project (SHP) on PPP basis covering the period 2013-14 to 2017-18 revealed that out of 121 projects identified by the De-partment, feasibility study of 61 sites (installed capacity of 266.87 Mega Watt) had not been completed at the time of identification of sites and 27 sites (installed capacity of 78.65 MW) were dropped being financially infeasible. Further as against estimated installed capacity of 417.85 MW, only 36.85 MW installed capacity was achieved. In respect of sixselected commissioned projects, one pro-ject was commissioned within scheduled time and five projects were commissioned after delays ranging from 17 months to 63 months. Wind sector hopes for better times ahead As per IWTMA, in the last two years, only 15 percent of India‘s annual installed wind energy manufacturing ca-pacity of 10 GW has been utilised. They further mentioned that low capacity utilisation of wind energy is not sustainable for the sector and has af-fected 4,000 small and medium enterprises and 2 million jobs. The wind energy sector has been reeling under tremen-dous pressure and struggling with the transition from feed-in tariff (FiT) to reverse bidding, with tariff cap re-gime resulting in very low tariff. The tariff discovered is so low that it is neither bankable nor sustainable. Due to this, irrespective of bidding of 17 GW, the actual installa-tion is around 700 MW. Wind Generators in Rajasthan Face Payment Delays and Non-Renewal of PPAs The Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RVUNL) has not renewed the Power Purchase Agreements it had signed with wind generators, despite the Rajasthan Elec-tricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) passing an order to ensure continuity in renewable power purchases. The PPAs, which expired in March 2019, have not been renewed yet. The Indian Wind Power Association‘s (IWPA) Rajasthan State Council‘s Coordinator Santosh Kumar Sharma stated that the wind power developers in Rajasthan face the dual problem of PPAs not being signed, as well as dues to the tune of ₹8.43 billion ($122 million) from the DISCOMS of Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Ajmer since Septem-ber of 2018. The RVUNL has been consuming the power produced from these developers, but it has not renewed the PPAs, which were signed for a five-year term. The project term

is for 25 years, with the industry norm of renewing PPAs every five years.

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MISCELLANEOUS

Energy Efficiency and Conservation 81% of streetlights replaced with LEDs in Trichy city Replacement of close to 81% of the conventional street-lights such as power consuming mercury vapour lamps and metal-halide lights with energy-efficient LED lights was completed by Trichy corporation in the city till July. As many as 4,689 more streetlights and 52 high-mast lamps have to be replaced with LED lights, and the civic body is planning to complete the project, which has been taken up under the Smart Cities Mis-sion, before March 2020. BEE to help Andhra Pradesh to build energy-efficient housing BEE has agreed to assist the AP government with Indo-Swiss technology for affordable housing in the state. According to BEE director-general Abhay Bhakre, the bureau will provide technological support to housing and financial support to hospitals, model schools and rural water supply for implementation of efficiency schemes. He said energy-efficient methods will save about 20% of energy compared to traditional housing methods. Financial support for the efficiency programmes is grant-in-aid nature (100% free). The BEE has agreed to provide technology for the state‘s flagship programme of ‗affordable housing‘ for the poor, without any fi-nancial burden on government, through Energy Con-servation Building Code for Residential Buildings (Residential ECBC). ISHRAE Announces One Degree Challenge to Support Centre 24° AC Temperature Guideline ISHRAE‘s (Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers) recently announced the One Degree Challenge to support the Centre‘s ini-tiative. The initiative asks people to increase their air conditioners‘ temperature by one degree to help pro-mote a GREENER and CLEANER environment. By increasing the temperature by one degree, citizens would be saving 6% of energy consumption and 3.5 kW of energy. This further means that people would be directly impacting and contributing to lower energy consumption and higher energy efficiency. TSREDCO launches Energy Conservation campaign on Energy Efficiency in 2nd National Power Summit Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Cor-poration Limited (TSREDCO) has announced the launch of Energy Conservation Campaign on July 12,

in Hyderabad at the 2nd National Power Summit. The Campaign is in lines with the Government of India‘s En-ergy Conservation Act 2001. IIT-Roorkee to work on energy efficiency with Powergrid Corp The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee signed an MoU with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (POWERGRID), on energy efficiency and sustainable en-ergy. The MoU targets to bring together academic and indus-try/corporate prowess, in building efficient, reliable and low-cost energy systems. The MoU aims at advancing and implementing energy efficiency and sustainable energy projects at IIT Roorkee campus in the mutually agreed areas of space cooling/heating, lighting and fans, water pumping, power distri-bution, waste to the energy, etc. Power minister asks central govt depts to run ACs at 24 degrees Celsius to save energy In an effort to save energy consumption in India, Power Minister R K Singh has asked central government offices and PSUs to run their air conditioners (ACs) at a tem-perature of 24-25 degrees Celsius. Using ACs at an standard temperature of 24-25 degrees Celsius can reduced electricity bills significantly as an increase of temperature of the appliance by just one de-gree celsius saves 6% of electricity usage for consumers. He further mentioned that buildings, consumes over 30% of the total electricity consumed in India. Out of all the buildings, government ones are a major source of elec-tricity consumption. Energy Efficiency Services begins selling super efficient ACs online Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), has begun selling super-efficient air conditioners online priced at Rs 41,300 for a 1.5-tonne unit. The firm also claims that the inverter split ACs on offer have an energy efficiency rating of 5.4, making them 20 per cent more efficient than existing BEE 5-star rated ACs and 50 per cent more efficient than 3-star counterparts. EESL plan to deploy 50,000 ACs and save 145.5 million kWh or 120 crores per annum of electricity per year miti-gating around 1.2 lakh tonne CO2 annually. The savings for the consumer over a year would be about 300 units or Rs 2,400 on an average. The project, he pointed out, will entail an investment of nearly Rs 190 crore and will be partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Addi-















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tionally, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is provid-ing necessary grant support and loans, with United Na-tions Environment Program (UNEP) providing technical assistance, noted SP Garnik, CGM (Technical), EESL. EESL added that once the pilot programme of 50,000 super-efficient ACs is completed, it will launch a na-tional programme from the next season. The company aims to deploy around 2 lakh such ACs over the next year. Hindustan Coca-Cola installs 100% LED lighting in 14 factories Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), one of India‘s largest FMCG companies has announced that 14 out of its total 18 factories have now achieved 100% LED light-ing. On average, this measure would help HCCB accom-plish a significant reduction of approx 25 lakh units per annum in energy consumption. This shall further help in reducing the emission of around 20 lakh kg of carbon dioxide per annum, which is equivalent to the reduction in carbon footprint achieved by 80,000 trees every year.

Environment & Climate

India could overachieve its Paris Agreement goals by 60% As per IEEFA report, India is projected to overachieve its Paris Agreement targets by 60% thanks to projections that it will likely obtain 63% of its installed power capac-ity from non-fossil fuel sources including hydro by 2029-2030. India‘s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) reported esti-mates that growth in new installed power capacity will lead renewables to generate close to 44% of all electricity consumed in India in 2029-2030. IEEFA noted that CEA‘s analysis predicts moderate growth in increased coal capacity (from net end-of-life coal plant closures), whilst gas and biomass growth are expected to be negli-gible. Report also estimate that the CEA models also take into account that India will need 34GW/136GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by 2030 to balance the grid reliability and stability needs of 440GW of variable renewable energy capacity, supported by 73GW of hy-dro and 10GW of biomass. Three Indian firms vow to limit carbon emissions in line with UN call-to-action Three Indian companies are among the 28 global firms that have committed to a new level of climate ambition in line with the global goal to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C and reach net-zero carbon emissions, ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit. Hyderabad-based Banka BioLoo, Dalmia Cement Ltd and Mahindra group along with 25 other companies, representing a total capitalization of USD 1.3 trillion, are

stepping up to set a new level of climate ambition in response to a call-to-action campaign ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit on September 23. Clean Air Initiative: UN asks nations to align climate change, air pollution policies by 2030 The United Nations announced a global ‗Clean Air Ini-tiative‘, calling on governments to join it by voluntarily

committing to achieve safe air quality for citizens. The initiative comes ahead of the upcoming 2019 ‗Climate Action Summit‘. Under the ‗Clean Air Initiative‘, the countries are ex-pected to align their respective climate change and air pollution policies by 2030 and implement it to achieve the WHO ambient air quality guideline values by taking multiple measures. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called on all world leaders to come to New York for Climate Action Summit with ―concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050‖. Inergystat- CII launches ‗India CEO Forum on Air Pollu-tion‘ to accelerate clean air action Confederation of Indian Industry launches ‗India CEO

As on July 01, 2019

Total LEDs distributed 357194866

Energy saved per year (mn kWh) 46387

Cost saving per year (INR Cr.) 18555

Avoided Peak Demand (MW) 9287

CO2 Reduction per year (t CO2) 37574139

Total Tube light distributed 7115932





Total Fan distributed 2280907
















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Forum on Air Pollution‘ to accelerate clean air action. 18 CEOs across industry came together for the first ever India CEO Forum on Air Pollution on 23rd July 2019 in New Delhi. This core group will be working from 2019-2022 under the CII National initiative: ‗Cleaner Air - Bet-ter Life‘. Objectives: to formulate sectoral roadmaps to reduce emissions, get voluntary commitments from companies & enable peer-learning for reducing air pollution. Co2 levels over India consistently rising : Study The concentration of carbon dioxide (Co2) over India is consistently on the rise, according to a study. Findings of a five-member team led by the University of Delhi‘s Rajdhani College show that every year, the Co2 level in the mid-tropospheric region – 5 km to 8 km from Earth‘s surface – increases by 2.01 ppm (parts per million) over the country every year, touching a high of around 5 ppm during summer and a low of 1 ppm after the mon-soon, owing to the increase in green cover. In May, Co2 levels in the Earth‘s atmosphere crossed 415 ppm (parts per million) for the first time in recorded history. What the latest Greenpeace report says on air pollution in India metros Greenpeace report blames coal-fired power plants in India and cities in UP, MP, and Odisha as major sources of nitrogen oxide and dioxide pollution The Greenpeace report adds that coal-run power plants in India are one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide and dioxide air pollutants. Capital New Delhi is a par-ticularly major source of this pollution that stems from power plants, manufacturing, and transport. Other major sources of nitrogen oxide and dioxide pol-lution in India are Sonbhadra, the second-largest district in Uttar Pradesh, and Singrauli, a district in Madhya Pradesh. Even Talcher city and Angul district, coal and industrial hubs in Odisha, are high emitters. Centre to spend Rs 10 crore to fight air pollution in Vi-zag as part of NCAP In an effort towards achieving pollution-free cities, Un-ion Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Cli-mate Change, Babul Supriyo, revealed that five cities from Andhra Pradesh will be included in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Vizag, Vijayawada, Guntur, Kurnool and Nellore have been identified as non-attainment cities (Cities where National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are violated) and the centre will spend Rs 10 crore in resurrecting the air qual-ity standards in these places. Apart from these five cities, 28 other cities accommodat-ing a population of about 10 lakh have been chosen un-der the 10 crore bracket. To keep pollution levels at bay in these cities, the au-

thorities have introduced various measures. These measures include creating Public Awareness and Capac-ity Building Activities with the help of Mechanical Street Sweepers, Mobile Enforcement Units, Water Sprinklers, Source Apportionment Study, Installation & Commis-sioning of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations and Greening and Paving activities. India making progress in achieving Paris pact goals to check climate change India is progressing well in achieving goals under the Paris pact to check climate change, Environment Minis-ter Prakash Javadekar stated while asserting that the country is not responsible for the problem of pollution at the global level but wants to be part of the solution. Under the Paris agreement, India and other countries have set targets called Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to ensure global temperature does not rise by more than two degree Celsius by end of the century. India has taken steps to contribute in three ar-eas. First, reduce energy intensity of GDP by 30-35 per cent, installing 40 per cent cumulative electric power from non-fossil fuels and to have carbon sink for which steps have been taken and as a result the green cover has increased in two years.

Smart City

Smart cities in India to get data-driven governance! Check Modi government mega plan With an aim to provide world-class governance in 100 smart cities in India, each city will have a chief data offi-cer (CDO). The process of appointing CDOs has begun and the municipal authorities of these 100 smart cities have been entrusted with the responsibility of building its own ―data cell‖ by the central government, according to sources. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, that is nodal authority for ‗Smart Cities Mission‘, has asked each municipality of 100 smart cities to appoint departmental ―data champions‖, and push for ―data alliances‖. This is part of Smart Cities Mission‘s ―Data Maturity Assessment Framework‖. The central govern-ment has taken this step to understand data and pat-terns at the city level, the report said. However, cities need a data policy because without that even CDOs would find it difficult to work. Challenges that authorities of these cities face are that officials, in-cluding some CDOs, will have to get used to the task of mapping data and using it to provide better governance. Smart Cities Mission Director Kunal Kumar categori-cally stated that officials should avoid collecting pur-pose-less data. 3,800 city street lights to turn smart in Chandigarh In a new initiative, 3,800 street lights will be converted into sensor-based intelligent lighting system in Sectors












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17, 22, 35 and 43 under the Smart City Mission. Under this hi-tech lighting project, if a single street light stops working, its sensor will automatically send a mes-sage on the phone of the Junior Engineer (JE) concerned and the staff can fix the fault without turning off all lights on the stretch. The lights fitted with new sensors will also have an op-tional provision of automatically becoming dim, bright or switched-on and off according to the requirement. France-based MNC to pitch in for Ajmer smart city The Ajmer Smart City Limited (ASCL) signed a memo-randum of understanding (MoU) with France-based mul-tinational company Egis for project management. Two years ago, ASCL blacklisted Spain-based company called Eptisa and since then the project hasn‘t seen any move-ment. The consultancy firm will work in potable water supply management. It will uplift Anasagar Lake and create a bird park near it. Other work areas include management of sewerage system in Ajmer, solid waste management and delivery of services in government hospitals. Coimbatore ranks No.1 among TN 14 Smart Cities Coimbatore with its consistent performance in executing projects under the Smart City mission has been ranked No.1 among the 14 smart cities in Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore has been showing steady performance for the past few months as far as implementation of projects are concerned. Thus far, 43 projects have been under-taken at a cost of Rs. 978.6 crores which are at various stages of implementation. According to the data received, 13 projects under the Smart City mission have been com-pleted so far at a cost of Rs. 53.76 crores and 20 are under execution at a cost of Rs. 590.17 crores. The other projects are either at the tender processing stage or the DPR preparation stage. Karnataka ranks fifth in Smart City implementation The Urban Development Minister has stated that the State ranks fifth in terms of implementation of smart city projects across the country. At present, several projects worth Rs 3,000 crore are un-derway in Karnataka and most of the projects are funded by the State government. Economic Survey 2019: Smart Command and Control Centres worth Rs 2,927 crore set up in 16 cities Economic Survey 2019 mentioned that Smart Command and Control Centres worth Rs 2,927 crore have been set up in 16 smart cities and smart roads worth Rs 835 crore completed in 23 cities. Smart solar rooftops worth Rs 113 crore operationalised in 15 cities and smart water projects worth Rs 1,218 crore put to use in 24 cities, it says. Public private partnership projects worth Rs 2,282 crore

have been completed in 26 cities and works on vibrant public spaces worth Rs 277 crore have got over in 21 cit-ies, it notes. "The 100 cities under the Mission have proposed to exe-cute 5,151 projects worth Rs 2.05 lakh crore in 5 years from their respective dates of selection," says the survey. The survey says that work on Smart Command and Con-trol Centres has started in 44 cities. This is worth Rs 4,170 crore. Work worth Rs 1,509 crore has been tendered in 11 cities. Financial innovation is in-built in the design of the pro-gramme. The distribution of funding from Central and state government is Rs 93,552 crore (45 per cent) and funds from PPP are Rs 41,022 crore (21 per cent). Vizag: Only Rs 329cr of Rs 1,100cr spent under Smart City Mission A total of Rs 1,100 crore for 50 projects was sanctioned for making Visakhapatnam a ‗smart city‘ under the na-tional-level Smart City Mission. However, only 23 pro-jects worth Rs 329 crore have been completed till June. Only 5.07% or around Rs 753 crore worth of works have been completed in the three smart cities in the state — Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Tirupati. While 23 projects worth Rs 329 crore have been com-pleted in Visakhapatnam, only seven projects worth Rs 3 crore have been completed in Tirupati. In Kakinada, 21 projects worth Rs 421 crore have been completed. Merely Rs 27 cr utilized against Rs 116 cr released for Jammu, Srinagar Smart Cities State is unlikely to meet the timeline fixed by the Union Government for developing Jammu and Srinagar as Smart Cities as an amount of only Rs 27 crore has been utilized by the concerned authorities as against Rs 116 crore released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Ur-ban Affairs since 2017-18 financial year. The figures further reveal that one tender for Rs 17 crore worth work has been issued in respect of Jammu Smart City while as six tenders have been floated with regard to Srinagar Smart City projects worth Rs 361.34 crore till date. As per officials, not even single project has been com-pleted till date.

Green Building

Chennai: Stickers to mark buildings with rain harvesting Step out and see if your compound wall has a blue or a green sticker. If you have one, it means the building has installed a rainwater harvesting (RWH) structure. After inspecting 1.4 independent houses and apartment complexes - and finding 41,000 of them don't have RWH structures, the city corporation has started colour-coding buildings to demarcate the complaint ones from the oth-ers. So far, corporation workers have pasted only blue












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stickers, outside buildings that were found to have har-vesting systems. Those which install the structure after the recent inspections will be given green stickers. The corporation has set a target of making two lakh homes RWH-complaint. So far, 1,42,396 buildings have been surveyed by the ward teams, of which 77,975 were found to have func-tional RWH structures. The survey found 23,146 build-ings have RWH structures that are poorly maintained and need refurbishment, while 41,275 do not have RWH structures installed. Energy efficient materials use cuts operational costs: Building Innovation Guide According to the Building Innovation Guide (BIG) report, using energy efficient measures can increase return on investment in commercial office spaces and can increase efficiency by above 50%. The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) has published a Building Innovation Guide (BIG) for achiev-ing innovative buildings that are smart, green, and en-ergy efficient and has documented best practices for com-mercial buildings in four temperature zones. The guide has looked at case studies in composite weather (Delhi, Chandigarh), warm-humid (Mumbai, Chennai), Hot dry (Hyderabad, Jaipur) and temperate (Bangalore, Pune). According to the guide, energy represents 30% of the op-erating expenses in a typical office building and is the single largest and most manageable operating expense of offices. Himachal Pradesh first state to declare Energy Conserva-tion Building Code 2018 Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to achieve the milestone of notifying State Energy Conser-vation Building Code 2018 to reduce energy consump-tion demand in commercial buildings by 30 percent. The policy will be implemented after successful incorpo-ration of its provisions in Town & Country Planning Rules by the Town and Country Planning Department. With the mandatory implementation of the Himachal Pradesh Energy Conservation Building Code (HPEBC) & Rules 2018, every commercial building such as educa-tional institutes, shopping complexes, hotels, hospitals, and multiplexes, etc having a built-up area of 750 sq mtr or more will be granted planning permission by approval or development authority only after compliance of the provisions of this code. Maharashtra Govt to give incentive FSI for green build-ings To encourage green buildings, the state government has proposed to give incentive floor space index (FSI) of 3-7% on construction of buildings as per green building speci-fications. It will come into effect with the implementation of unified Development Control Regulations (DCR).

Ashok Mokha, chairman of Indian Green Building Coun-cil (IGBC), Vidarbha chapter and architect stated that I t will encourage builders and individuals to opt for gree buildings as they help in conservation of water and power and helps in controlling of gas emissions. Water is depleting with each passing year. As such, there is a need for building all structures as per green building norms. He further added there is also the need for giving incen-tive in property tax for green buildings. Incentive FSI has been proposed as per rating of these two organizations. 3% incentive FSI will be given for buildings with rank of 3 stars/silver, 5% for 4 stars/gold and 7% for 5 stars/platinum. To avail the benefit, the concerned builder or individual will have to first register with IGBC or GRIHA and consumer incentive FSI.

Waste Management

91.66 pc Agra households practising door-to-door solid waste collection: UP govt to NGT Door-to-door collection of segregated solid waste is being practised in 91.66 per cent households of Agra city and rag pickers have been integrated in the waste manage-ment system, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Na-tional Green Tribunal. The report mentioned that the city average of coverage has reached 91.66 per cent and at present, source segrega-tion is practised in 40 per cent wards and the Agra Mu-nicipal Corporation is making sustained effort to ensure it becomes 100 per cent. Odisha generates more waste, says Union Minister Babul Supriyo Even as Odisha figures in top-14 states that generate more solid waste, processing of waste is very less com-pared to the national average. The state, in fact, figures among bottom two states in terms of waste processing rate. As per information Odisha generated 9,92,800 tonne waste per annum until November 2018 and processed only 12 per cent of the waste against the national average of 46.03 per cent. While Chhattisgarh had the highest rate in processing waste (84 per cent), it was followed by Telangana (73 per cent). Odisha, however, figured immediately above West Bengal which has processed only 5 per cent waste. Odisha held third position in terms of generating hazard-ous waste. The state generated 5,95,697.8 tonne of haz-ardous waste in 2016-17. Odisha is among 23 states which does not have a com-plete inventory of e-waste generation. Indore: Zero waste colony? Civic body may waive gar-bage charges Encouraging Indoreans to implement zero waste model in their respective colonies, Indore Municipal Corpora-














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tion (IMC) soon plans to waive off garbage collection charges for residents of such colonies or societies. IMC Commissioner Asheesh Singh said that they are explor-ing the idea to waive off garbage collection charges from societies or colonies that become zero waste zone. Wasting energy: 92% Of J&K Waste Goes To Dump Sites, Higher Than National Average Out of the waste generated in Jammu and Kashmir per annum, 8% is processed and the remaining 92% is going to the dump sites. Minister of State for Environment, Forest and climate change Babul Supriyo stated that 501,510 MTPA is gener-ated in the state and claimed that 8% of it was processed as per details available by the end of November 2018. India Trash Bomb: 80% of 1.5 lakh metric tonne daily gar-bage remains exposed, untreated India is getting buried under mounds of garbage as the country has been generating more than 1.50 lakh metric tonne (MT) of solid waste every day. Worse - approxi-mately 90 per cent (1,35,000 MT per day) of the total amount is collected waste. Nearly 15,000 MT of garbage remain exposed every day, resulting in almost 55 lakh MT of solid waste disposed in open areas each year, which leads to "severe" pollution level. Of the total collected waste, only 20 per cent (27,000 MT per day) is processed and the remaining 80 per cent (1,08,000 MT per day) is dumped in landfill sites. At times the "highly polluting" unprocessed solid waste in the dump sites reaches 3 crore MT. The solid waste in landfill sites and the uncollected trash - of the total 5.4 crore MT of solid waste generated annually - 4.5 crore MT are unprocessed. Mumbai: BMC to give 5-10% rebate on property tax, if household waste is segregated The BMC has planned to give a 5-10% rebate on property tax if you segregate your household waste. BMC, which is set to introduce a garbage tax as part of your property tax bill, said the idea was to encourage waste segregation in the city for its easy management. Budget 2019: Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 to focus on rural solid waste management Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on July 5 announced the government's plans to scale up Swachh Bharat Mission to a new level through sustainable solid waste management in every village. The government intends to ensure 100 percent disposal of liquid waste, with an emphasis on faecal sludge man-agement and reuse of wastewater.

The government's plans include the use of latest tech-nologies to transform waste to energy and wealth in a major mission.

CSR

CIL and NLCIL join hands for development work under CSR Coal India Limited (CIL), its subsidiaries and NLC India Limited (NLCIL) commences development activities un-der Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as per sched-uled VII of Companies Act 2013. The company undertakes infrastructure development, skill development, social empowerment, water supply, health and sanitation, sports & culture and education facilities etc. The allocation of funds was set with the budget of Rs 403.41 crore for the year 2019-20 while the company ex-pended Rs 12.22 crores. The budget of Rs 442.75 crore was fixed in the year 2016-17 while the expenditure was Rs 489.67 crore with all 1149 activities completed in time. In the year 2018-19, the budget of Rs 370.64 crore was settled and the company expended Rs 408.94 crore. ONGC Rs 503 crore spending on CSR highest among central PSUs State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) was the highest spender of the the Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) funds among all the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in the country during the fi-nancial year 2017-18 (Apr-Mar). The next highest spender was Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) followed by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd with Rs 331 crore and Rs 257 crore as CSR expenditure. Out of the the 146 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) who spent a total of Rs 3442.42 crore on CSR ac-tivities during 2017-18, ten company‘s spent in excess of Rs 100 crore. Prosecution Sanction accorded in 366 cases for non-compliance of CSR, MoS Finance informs Lok Sabha Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur stated that the government has accorded "prosecution sanction" in 366 cases for non-compliance of Corporate Social Responsibility norms in the 2014-15 period and given notice in 5382 cases. Money spent under CSR was increasing and Rs 10,065 crore was spent by as many as 16,785 companies in 2014-15 and Rs 14,242 crore by 21,470 companies in 2016-17.

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Payment Security Mechanism for Power Discoms is missing...

FOCUS AREA

Well, we hope that you have got the idea on which news we are going to discuss. Today we are focusing on the latest and the current hot news, which have the power to disturb the power sec-tor. You all guessed the news right; in this article, we are focusing on the Ministry of Power order[i] to discoms for giving Letter of Credit for having power. Power distribution is going to experience a new, much-wanted change in its operation, with the introduction of need of Letter of Credit for power purchase by discoms as a measure of payment security for power generators. This measure will come into force from the month of August this year. In last few days, a number of analyses have come which mentions the profit[ii] [iii] [iv], loss[v] [vi], or disturbance[vii] [viii] [ix] the order will create in the sector. But we like to touch the second side of the news or say, we would like to throw light on the other end of power Discoms. If we want to describe what Discom do? Then, in simple words we can only say that it works as a mediator which purchase power in bulk from the generating plant and sell the power in retail to the consumers after adding their charges and profit. The current situation is like that the generating companies are not getting paid for their power which is hampering the financial conditions of generating companies and resulting in fear of an-nouncing them non-performing asset and in downgrading of the company's rating by different rating agencies. The latest order by the ministry is a step in that direction with focus to solve the most common issue of the sector: payment delays. Every stakeholder appraises the step except discoms which are struggling for the funds. In this article, we are touching the same. In our view, govt. has taken the right step in the direction to solve at least one issue of the gener-ating sector i.e. delay of payment on time from Discom. We appreciate the govt. for bringing the perfect solution and in tightening the loose connection which is creating a financial mess in the sector, but govt. as of now missed in tightening the second end. As we already mentioned above, Discom works as mediator which charge for their service from retail consumers. So, if we summarise the cash flow cycle of the sector, then the end-user con-sumer is the initial point from where cash flow start in the sector which moves to Discom and then finally reach the generating company. So, in short Discom is able to pay to generating com-

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/payment-security-mechanism-power-discoms-missing-inergystat-india/

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_8945334682866441376_m_4542929842107827123__edn1










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panies if and only if, they have collected the total money from the customers, which at present is one of the component of most important issue for discoms i.e. high AT&C losses. In recent times, a lot of news has come regarding huge arrears on consumers and steps discoms are taking to recover the arrears. Some of the news are: Maharashtra: Agricultural consumers now owe state discom Rs 30K cr SNDL continues drive to recover Rs 33 cr dues from 12,000 defaulters MSEDCL seeks to recover INR 4200 Crore from utility firms MSEDCL sets sights on recovering 1000 Crore dues In UP, 27 govt departments yet to pay INR 7 Crore electricity dues Nearly 15L defaulters owe over INR 10k Crore to DVVNL Power bill defaulters get time till Apr 30 for settlement scheme: UPPCL Electricity Act 2003 has mentioned the clauses and procedures for the recovery of bills from con-sumers and the procedure for penalising the consumers for late payment or for no bill payment. But seeing the daily news or tariff orders of discoms, it seems that all those clauses and processes are only on paper or only for honest consumers. There are certain demand and complains from the honest consumers that why discoms are sup-plying power to consumers if they are not paying bills or if they are indulged in the power theft. Why discoms come up with OTS (One-time settlement) schemes after every certain time period for those consumers and waiving off the penalties and arrears. Why they are burdened with high tariff on the price of giving free power or continuous power to dishonest consumers, only in the name of universal duty of discoms to supply power. It is right that the timely billing and collecting bills from consumers is the duty of the Discom and if they fail in collecting bills, the culprit is the Discom only. But, even if Discom tries their level best, still the process is such that any consumer will get the power supply for 45-60 days after the bill issuing date. And recent political situation is like that the issue of non pending bills is on the rise, as every political party during election or in the name of some protest promotes the non pay-ment for electricity bills. Regular exercise of One-time settlement of bills is one of those steps. Recently we have interacted with the on-ground staffs and officials, and discussed the issue of power theft and nonpayment of bills. Some of the interesting points what we gained are:

1. Lack of fear in public for getting caught in case of power theft and there are number of cases in which public attack on the vigilance team resulting in death and the physical trauma. 2. Lack of power to field engineer, which bind the hands of the officials to act on such cases 3. No support from the company in case of any attack on enforcement team 4. Long legal process, which have no gain to Discom in financial terms 5. Local political support to people in such practices, etc.

One of the suggestion that we received from them is giving equivalent power to enforcement team as given to TT's in trains, who collect the fine on the spot and if any nuisance was created, the person was sent to jail along with heavy fines. In one way we found the idea logical and im-portant, if discoms are responsible for higher losses then govt. should give some power to dis-coms to collect money instead of giving a protection to consumer in the name of consumer right or universal duty. Every service and product has its own price and if anyone is using the product









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then they must pay for it. High regulatory assets and financial loss tells the true story of the discoms, the story is same for the state owned as well as for private discoms. It is highly contradictory that on one hand, govt. is forcing discoms to increase the billing and collection efficiency, disallowing AT&C loss above 15%, penalising discoms if they fail to pro-vide 24x7 power to consumers and on the other hand no extra legal power was given to them to try to comply the central govt. targets. What we are able to analyse about the discoms condition is that, the companies are at the hill top and they are able to work till the time they are able to balance themselves, any unwanted hit is going to collapse the company. The best example is the Maharashtra, where power bills equivalent to INR 40000 Crore is pending on consumers and instead of taking out way to col-lect money, discoms were ordered to continue providing power to bill defaulters as well as con-tinue giving new connection to the public. We at last would like to confirm that, there are certain percentages of mismanagement or inca-pability in Discoms, resulting in revenue gap but there is equivalent share of consumers and political parties in creating the issue. In childhood we all played the puzzle of how much time it is required to fill the bucket, pro-vided that the bucket has multiple holes. The situation of discoms as of now is the same, the only source of money is from consumers while the holes which is providing regular leak is high AT&C losses, nonpayment of bills, delay in getting subsidy from govt., supplying power for free to huge section of consumers, etc. So whenever we ask is discoms are financial stable, the answer is always that they are financially stressed. At last, we would like to end the article with a request from govt. which is in process of fram-ing new Tariff policy, to look after some solutions which will reduce the bill default cases and the losses so that the current step will be a win-win situation for the sector. Moving forward to prepaid meter or smart meter in near future (within 6 months or so) is much needed with fast pace of deployment at the ground. This should have been done before or with the direction of issuance of LC as payment security. Discoms might be praying for an order with payment security for discoms from consumers. Hope Ministry listens to them and come up with a plan to incorporate such measures. What are your suggestions for this? Do write in comment section. Share your views and share the same with your colleagues. ...#Inergystat #PowerSector #PowerDistribution [i] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=33096 [ii] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34410 [iii] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34338 [iv] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=33386

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[v] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34674 [vi] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34716 [vii] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34682 [viii] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34658 [ix] http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=34136

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National Discom: Implications on Power Sector

FOCUS AREA

On 21st June 2019, NTPC and PGCIL have signed a MoU for establishing National Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (NEDCL) in Joint Venture on 50:50 equity basis. The main objective of the venture is to undertake the business for distribution of electricity in distribution circles in various states and Union Territories and other related activities. JVC shall be incorporated only after obtaining necessary approvals of the Government.[1] As per a media report, company would be involved in the consultancy business and not exactly intervene in the business of state-owned power distribution companies (discoms). [2] To start with, let us try to understand the present financial conditions of power distribution companies in India. Electricity in India is in the concurrent list, however power distribution is a state subject. Barring few areas in some states, Delhi, and Mumbai, discoms are owned by the state governments but are financially unhealthy. Losses of state-owned discoms grew over 40 per cent to Rs 21,658 crore at the end of FY19. Dues of discoms to power producers stood at Rs 38,023 crore at the end of FY19, up 60% year-on-year.[3] Now, moving forward, let us understand what role a “National Discom” can play in Indian Power Sector. GoI is trying to bring an amendment in Electricity Act 2003, which calls for segregation of carriage (distribution network) and content (power supply business) in power distribution. Hence, the idea is to come up with a large number of supply licensees in the distribution, and thereby bring competition in the sector. Bringing a National discom in supply business can be an objec-tive, for which NEDCL might sign MoU with state discoms so that there is no or little opposi-tion from state discoms‘ unions. Improving the existing infrastructure is an important pre-requisite for ensuring power quality and power supply for 24*7 and power for all. The discom can be working in this regard by utilising latest technological advancement like Outage management system, distribution management system, smart metering, etc. Private discoms are working on these but state discoms lack behind in this regard, and hence, national discom can give required thrust on this sphere and build a robust power distribution system. Despite many interventions and attempts, AT&C losses in some states are still high, thereby, keeping the state discoms in poor financial condition. Even the scheme of UDAY is seen as fail-ure due to lax behaviour of state discoms. Hence, NEDCL will give an option to assign such ar-eas to them for improving AT&C losses and reduce state-specific political intervention in the functioning of state Discoms.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/national-discom-implications-power-sector-inergystat-india/


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So, basically NEDCL can help GoI bring reforms in power distribution sector and also carry out required improvement in operational efficiency through technological interventions like smart grid, smart metering, big data analytics, etc. Apart from this, it is well known fact that one of the reasons behind increasing stressed assets in power sector is due to late payment by discoms to power generators. It can be solved by NEDCL, which being a JV of NTPC and PGCIL, will have sufficient financial cushion to absorb initial losses and work in long term to make its operational financially viable. This can give some kind of payment guarantee to private and public owned power generators and hence, reduce stressed assets in the power sector. One more thing that it can ensure is that NTPC plants can provide their extra power to this dis-com and hence, they can run at better PLF. This will ultimately result in better financial condi-tion for NTPC plants, and ultimately NTPC as an organisation. Will it promote installation of solar rooftop in India? Just a thought on it can enlighten us in this regard. Being a new discom, NEDCL will not have anything to lose if consumers can interested to go for solar rooftop. Instead, considering NTPC‘s boost and willingness to solar business, it might promote solar rooftop and hence, allow its consumers to go for solar rooftop in faster pace. It might bring in new model of public-discom collaboration for setting-up solar rooftop plants. One of the most important things is load estimation and demand forecasting. Almost every dis-com has faced this problem, but this JV can come up with better load estimation and demand forecasting tools using big data and data analytics. This can pave way for other discoms as well to come and use such advanced technology to remain in the competition. One more possibility is that this will give way to NEDCL to acquire state-owned discoms with very poor financial condition, might be under UDAY 2.0 scheme. GoI might come up with a scheme in which it will ask for trajectory for AT&C losses and if it is not fulfilled by any discom for some 4 or 5 years, discom might be acquired by this national discom. If such a scheme is brought out, a new era of increasing responsibility on discoms will come. Although we believe that NEDCL will bring in competition, but are private players happy with this? Sanjay Kumar Banga, CEO, Tata Power Delhi Distribution (TPDDL) has questioned this based on their insignificant experience in power distribution, but has instead suggested that they should have joined hands with some private firms.[3] However, ICRA has applauded this and expect that it will introduce certainty of payments for power purchase among many other things. ―This is a bold and useful attempt if the new entity is able to address real challenges of the distribution sector viz, under-investment in network, regu-latory uncertainty and political economy,‖ said Kameswara Rao, leader – energy, PWC India.[3] It is a new beginning in the field of power distribution sector, and hence, raises many questions in mind of people. Will this discom just operate existing power distribution system or will it cre-


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ate infrastructure and operate the same? Will states welcome such a step and not see this as a step to interfere in state‘s monopoly in power distribution sector? Will state discoms be ready to give up some of their area of supply to NEDCL? Will NEDCL get struck in spiral of regulatory nods from state ERCs for various things, like retail tariff, getting distribution licence, etc.? Or, will CERC become appropriate ERC for such a national discom and overtake some roles and functions of state ERCs for smooth path for NEDCL? Power distribution will require a different kind of skill set, and therefore, how will NEDCL cater the issue of capacity building? Only time will tell what will be the fate of this initiative by two of the pioneer companies in the power sector, but a lot of good decisions at the right time can change the course of the sector in short as well as long term. What do you think about this, do let us know in the comment section.

1. https://www.ntpc.co.in/en/investors/announcements 2. http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=32999 3. http://www.inergystat.com/view-news.php?id=32873

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EV moving on solar way

FOCUS AREA

Adoption of new technology is important but with in limit.

Adoption of Electric vehicle is an important way to tackle the pollution issue which not only

provide sustainable mobility but also emit zero pollution. The central and some state govts have

taken the bold steps and came out with policies and targets to adopt the EVs. It is important to

note that the current state policies are very balanced one with respect to promote all verticals of

electric mobility like electric vehicle, charging infrastructure, batteries, components and others.

The central as well as state policies focused not only to adopt EVs but also focused on local

manufacturing to reduce future dependence on other countries which in one of the lessons

learnt from the solar sector.

Indian solar sector is a classic example on how govt run behind one thing without any ground

work and without many thoughts.

Some of the lessons we need to learn from solar segment are:

1. Setting target- Over a night the target of solar was increased to 100 GW from 20 GW, which

is indeed a great step but no discussion paper was floated in public for comments and sugges-

tions. The target was set but nothing was decided regarding how this will be achieved, from

where the raw material/ solar modules will come, does country need that much capacity by

2022, etc.

We are not against setting huge target but we are against setting target which has no need, as of

now we are utilizing only half of our installed capacity and thermal power plants are running at

an average of 60% PLF against the govt benchmark of 85%. It is good to utilize the natural re-

sources wisely and as per requirement, but should not to be utilized just because we have set

target. Every decision has its own impact, the govt target of 100 GW solar by 2022 has put all

the under construction thermal projects in limbo and a long term issue of NPA. This in long

term not only impacts the generation sector but also the investment into the power sector as the

private players have lost its confidence in sector. Sudden impact is that discoms are paying

huge amount as fixed charges to gencos without getting any electricity because they have lower


78

demand and given breakdown instructions to power plants.

2. Local manufacturing- The Govt has not focused on creating local manufacturing instead has

focused on creating assets, which not only impacted the sector but also the country‘s foreign re-

serves. A country with huge solar potential and one of the most lucrative market which is install-

ing around 8-10 GW annually has module installed capacity of only 3 GW and now even when

country has a huge target no company is planning for setting manufacturing facility to cater the

demand as low-cost import has made the market non-competitive and non-lucrative for domes-

tic manufacturing.

Safeguard duty on imported PV modules has been imposed, but its impact on promoting local

manufacturing is yet to be estimated and realized.

3. Quality Standard- A country which has huge solar target has no quality standards for solar

sector till 2018, which not only dented the segment but also risked the consumer and environ-

ment with solar waste. No rules and guidelines for quality of solar panels and other components

impacted the sector and consumers, as many consumers have felt burnt of this and wasted

money on low quality projects and now they have also lost the confidence on the same.

No quality standards also promoted the non-serious players, which are manufacturing low qual-

ity solar products, dump their product in the country at lower cost and also killed interested lo-

cal industries.

4. Running blindly in early stage of adoption- In starting years, the sector had seen huge re-

sponse from discoms as well as from govt, as a result the solar tariff in 2010 is of the range of

INR 18 per unit and even then the discoms signed PPA without any negotiations. Now, as the

sector has grown and number of companies have entered the market, the tariff are even lower

than thermal power projects and many of the old companies are feeling heat of this reduction as

now discoms are looking for negotiations or for termination of those old PPAs.

Now the scenario is like bids where lowest tariff is INR 2.89 per unit also got cancelled as dis-

coms are feeling this as high tariff.

As a matter of fact, since solar was focused no other sources have seen much progress be it wind

sector or small hydro or other sources. To get energy security it is important for a nation to util-

ize all possible sources in such a way that its dependency will not be confined to any one source.


79

But current scenario is like: remove focus from coal to solar and forget others, which is not cor-

rect.

5. Not consumer oriented- We believe that adoption of new technology depends on the public

eagerness to adopt. Govt cannot force consumers to buy new technology without educating

them and telling its benefits and making them affordable. Solar rooftop is one such example in

which consumer‘s awareness of solar power benefit is the key of its adoption. Govt. has set the

target of 40000 MW from solar rooftop project, which in current scenario is a dream. The central

govt is providing 30% subsidy, while some state govt are also providing additional subsidy of

20%, still the govts are finding difficult to achieve the target or bring focus of consumers towards

it.

It is a fact that govt have done many awareness campaigns on benefit of solar rooftop plant for

consumers, but the sector still lack behind.

6. Lack of skilled manpower- Skilled manpower plays a vital role, as new technology or equip-

ment need supports like maintenance and services. Govt. put focus on solar sector without creat-

ing skilled manpower, resulting in lack in maintenance facility in sector and low quality installa-

tion resulting in lower output. Skilled manpower helps in bringing quality and competition in

sector, which is presently missing at large scale.

7. Use afterlife- Every product has a set useful life beyond which the product cannot work, so it

is important to think what is to be done with the waste, whether the waste is hazardous to envi-

ronment or it can be reused or recycled. Govt., which is facing the issue of solid waste manage-

ment and e-waste, just targeted to install solar panels but have not focused what to do with the

waste it create at the end-of-life like panels and batteries.

Now let’s have a look of above points with respect to Electric vehicles. It seems that in some

aspect govt. has learnt some lessons but still many have to be learnt, like

1. Setting target- Central govt has set the EV target for 2030 way back in 2013, but without focus-

ing on basics, like creating charging infrastructure, having manufacturing facility, availability of

raw material, public opinion on adopting it, etc. The govt also has not taken any steps till date in

reducing the sale of petrol or diesel vehicles, which in short shows the lack of interest of govt in

achieving target. But now it seems that govt has learnt lesson and started focusing on creating


80

basic infrastructure and also limiting sale of petrol or diesel vehicle. Recently, NITI aayog has

asked two-wheeler manufacturers for submitting proposal to phase out ICE vehicles by 2025.

2. Local manufacturing- No sector can flourish by depending on import, as it creates risk of get-

ting continuous supply of product and price. Local manufacturing not only provides self de-

pendency to countries, but also brings competition in market and saves foreign reserves. We

think that govt learnt the lesson from solar sector and in new scheme I.e. FAME -II, govt focused

in localization of products and set the deadline for each component. This will help the sector to

grow in faster way and will provide new companies to come up in the market.

3. Quality standard- In our view still the govt has not learnt much about importance of quality

standards, as till now no steps was taken. In a recent event, even Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari

focused on the same. First impression is the last impression, this line fit the sector, and any foul

play by companies will dent the whole sector for a longer time.

4. Running blindly in early stage of adoption- Govt is replicating the solar model in EV also.

Govt is blindly running after EV without focusing on other technologies which are as good as EV

in terms of emission like hybrid cars, natural gas based cars, hydrogen based cars, fuel cell based

cars, etc. In other countries companies as well as govt are doing R&D on the same, but in India

no one is focusing on it. Recently many companies‘ officials stated that India must focus on other

environment friendly mobility options. This type of approach in long term not only hampers the

prospects of other industries but also confine the future R&D in sector.

5. Not consumer oriented- Again we would like to mention that EV in India is only due to govt

push under which govt are converting their fleet with EVs. As a matter of fact, the early EV car

suppliers in market i.e. Mahindra and Tata are not selling those cars in market to general public.

This is one of the reasons that many companies which are offering petrol and diesel cars in India

for years are showing low interest in bringing their EVs in India as consumers are not that inter-

ested in purchasing EVs for personal use.

High upfront cost and no subsidy for personal vehicles (4-wheelers) under recently issued

FAME-II scheme are perfect reason for lack of consumer's interest.

6. Lack of skilled manpower- In this vertical, govt has learnt the lesson but still late and now as

per latest news, govt is planning for special courses for the sector under Skill development pro-

gram.


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7. Use afterlife- With growth in EVs in country the issue of old and scraped batteries are raising

and will be more critical than the solar waste. Although country has many battery recyclers but

that is for lead based batteries not for lithium-ion based. Till now govt has not come out with any

rules or guidelines with respect to battery waste associated with EVs. Since, most of the raw ma-

terial used in batteries is imported and any reuse or recycle of batteries will be an additional

benefit for the country.

At the end we would only like to mention that it is important to focus on bringing new technol-

ogy, but each thing has its own pros and cons. We request govt. to bring more focus on public

participation and focus on creating awareness about the product before bringing in the market.



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Company Updates Infosys distributes biogas unites to 1 lakh rural benefi-ciaries Infosys Limited has constructed household biogas units and distributed efficient cookstoves to replace tradi-tional cooking methods in rural areas. As of 31st March, over 1 lakh families continue to benefit socially and eco-nomically through these projects, says company sus-tainability report 2018-19. According to the report, as part of the community-based offset projects focusing on sustainable develop-ment in line with the United Nations Sustainable De-velopment Goals (SDGs), since 2016, Infosys has taken a step forward to reduce carbon emissions. Tata Power to shed its global player tag to reduce debt and focus on India Tata Power Company (TPC), which struggles to service debt obligations of Rs 47,552 crore, is looking to sell its stakes in two joint ventures in South Africa and Zambia in order to cut its financial liabilities and focus on do-mestic market. It is scouting for buyers to divest its 50 per cent stake each in wind energy company Cennergi in South Africa and Itezhi Tezhi Power Corporation (ITPC) in Zambia. The company has signed an agreement to sell its 30 per cent stake in PT Arutmin Indonesia and associated companies in coal trading and infrastructure for an ag-gregate consideration of $401 million. Birlas invest Rs 1,450 cr more in unlisted private entity Essel Mining The Birlas have infused Rs 1,450 crore more in their unlisted private entity Essel Mining, which in turn, has made various strategic investments in different Aditya Birla group companies. Essel Mining, which was hit by cancellation of mines, is now targeting the renewable energy sector by investing in the wind and solar power sector in a big way. As per sources, the firm has signed a power purchase agree-ment with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribu-tion Co for wind and solar power contracts. The company has also entered into PPAs with Telan-gana State Southern Power Distribution Co, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam and Rajasthan Renewable Energy Co. Waaree Energies launches financing facility for solar power projects India‘s largest solar PV module manufacturer and Engi-

neering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) player Waaree Energies launched a financial lending facility for solar power developers. The financing solution focusses on the residential and the small-scale industries segment and will cover up to 70 percent of the total project cost repayable though EMIs. The company has partnered with Metafin Clean-tech, a Non Banking Financial Company active in in renewable energy and clean tech space, for providing this facility. Sunil Rathi, Director, Waaree Energies stated that despite increasing awareness and demand of solar solutions in small and residential segment ,the adop-tion of such technologies is slower due to the high cost of solar projects. The ease of financing through Waaree in association with NBFCs is intended to bridge such gaps. InvIT AUM may grow 5-fold in 2 years: Crisil A slew of new infrastructure investment trusts (InvIT) may hit the financial markets in the coming years after the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) changed regulations in April this year. Sectors such as power transmission, roads, gas pipe-lines, telecom infrastructure and renewable energy may benefit the most from the upcoming InvITs. Crisil, which projected that InvIT issuances to grow fivefold to over Rs 2 lakh crore in the next two years, said that the long-term offtake contracts and strong counterparties provide revenue visibility, making five sectors attractive to investors. Adani Green Energy plans to add 800 MW of renew-able energy projects Adani Green Energy in a press release stated that the company plans to add over 800 MW of new capacity of wind and solar projects during the current financial year. Adani Green is India's one of the fastest-growing renewable energy firms with over 2000 MW of operational assets and 3300 MW capacity to be commis-sioned in two more years to become 5,000 MW renew-able entity by 2022. It is considering fundraising drive through suitable instruments to finance this expansion. Adani Group company has a current project portfolio of 4,560 MW including 46 operational projects and 18 projects under construction. The company management has sought shareholders' nod to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore to fund its existing and upcoming renewable energy projects.













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Avaada Energy to set-up 2 GW open access solar power plants in 5 states Avaada Energy is in the process of implementing 2GW of open access solar plants in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, and Odisha. According to the company, the plants were being built for corporates who are looking to optimise their operat-ing costs and meet their energy needs through solar, rooftop and hybrid energy solutions. Company this year raised over Rs 1,000 crore from Asian Development Bank, Germany‘s Deutsche Entwicklungs- und Investitionsgesellschaft, Dutch De-velopment Bank, Netherlands Development Fi-nance Company and promoters. The company claims to have commissioned over 1.8 GW of renewable energy plants and has a portfolio of over 500 megawatt (MW) of open access solar plants in com-mercial category. JSW Energy plans to raise $750 m in forex debt JSW Energy plans to raise around $750 million from in-ternational bond sale to fund expansion plans as well as to repay some of its existing debt of over Rs 10,050 crore. The company has also set a target of achieving 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020, a quarter of which will be contributed by renewable energy sources. As per company annual report, JSW Energy has sought shareholders' approval for the fund raising plan and said the proposed $750 million of long-term debt will be raised by selling non-convertible foreign currency de-nominated bonds or masala bonds. Usha Shriram Expands Footprint in Solar with On-Grid Inverters Usha Shriram, a multi-product company, has launched a unique range of smart on-grid inverters under the brand ‗Eurolex‘. Through the launch of its Eurolex Smart On-Grid Invert-ers, the company is ready to disrupt the market. The company‘s on-grid inverters advanced features include, bluetooth connectivity, easy to install features, and more. ZunRoof Expands Footprint to 3 More Cities; Mulls to Reach 100 Cities by FY20 ZunRoof has expanded its footprints to three more cities i.e. Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi. Now, the company‘s pan-India presence reached over 50 cities and is planning to expand its footprints to more than 100 cities across twelve states by the end of current financial year i.e. FY2020. Company Release- GE Renewable Energy has unveiled worlds most powerful offshore wind turbine

GE Renewable Energy revealed the first manufactured components of the Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind tur-bine at its production site in Saint-Nazaire, France. The new offshore wind turbine boasts unparalleled dimen-sions and the use of advanced technologies. The prototype will be installed on land to simplify ac-cess for testing. This initial phase is designed to allow GE Renewable Energy to obtain the data required to re-ceive its type certification—a key component prior to commercializing the product in 2021. Greenko raises $950 million through Asia largest green bond In one of the largest overseas green bonds raised by an Indian clean energy producer, GIC Holdings Pte. Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) backed Greenko Energy Holdings raised $950 million. Greenko owns operating assets of 4.2 gigawatts (GW) and under-construction assets of 7 GW. It had raised $1 billion through dollar denominated bonds in 2017. NTPC to seek shareholder nod to raise Rs 15K crore, hike borrowing limit NTPC will seek shareholders' approval to raise Rs 15,000 crore through issuance of bonds or debentures and to raise borrowing limit to Rs 2 trillion. The funds raised will be used for capex, working capital and general corporate purposes. NTPC will also seek shareholders' approval to increase borrowing limit of the company from Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 trillion. BHEL expands footprint in nuclear business Government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured a prestigious order for erection work of reactor side equipment of 2x1000 MWe at Ku-dankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu being set up in cooperation with Russia. The Rs 486 crore order has been placed on BHEL by Nu-clear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). For the same project, BHEL had earlier secured an order for erection work of turbine generator (TG) island. BHEL has also successfully executed the erection work of TG island for units 1 and 2 at Kudankulam. As per company statement, it is the first time BHEL is lending its capabilities for erection of reactor side equip-ment manufactured by another supplier. With this, the company has expanded its footprint in the nuclear sec-tor. A total of 12 out of 18 operating pressurised heavy water reactors in the country are equipped with BHEL-supplied steam turbine generator sets, accounting for 74 per cent of the installed capacity. Gegadyne Energy recognized as Energy Startup of the Year 2019


















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Gegadyne Energy, homegrown pioneers of Battery tech-nology - developing the world‘s fastest charging batteries was recognised as ‗Energy Startup of the Year 2019' at the 9th Annual Entrepreneur Awards 2019. Jubin Varghese, Co-founder and CEO of Gegadyne En-ergy stated that India has the potential to become the au-thority in EV technology in India, and we are in the fore-front of this evolution as battery is the heart of any motor vehicle. Founded in 2015, Gegadyne energy is developing a Pro-prietary Battery Technology that can charge from 0-100% under 15 mins all of this while compiling to highest safety standards compared to any existing battery technology across the globe. Amplus Energy to invest Rs 500 crore for 100MW solar project in UP Amplus Energy Solutions has announced investment of Rs 500 crore for its second open access solar project of 100MW in district Deoria of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to this, Amplus had committed investment of Rs 250 crore for setting up a 50MW open access solar project in Mirzapur. The project is under construction and expected to be commissioned by September 2019. CESC to focus on franchisee distribution Power utility CESC Ltd stated that the company will fo-cus more on franchisee distribution licencing opportuni-ties and there was no major plan to ramp up renewables. CESC has power distribution franchisee business in Kota, Bharatpur, and Bikaner in Rajasthan, Malegoan in Ma-harashtra besides being the license holder of Greater Noida and cash-cow Kolkata circle. CESC has renewable projects with solar plant in Gujarat's Kutch generating 9 MW solar energy, Hydro Power Venture (Papu Hydro-power Projects Limited & Pachi Hydropower Projects) in Arunachal Pradesh, generating 146 MW energy and Wind Power Operation, a 24 MW project at Dangi in Rajasthan.

Sungrow reaches 4 GW milestone in Indian market Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, has announced recently that the company‘s performance in India has reached 4 GW (roughly 3.5 GW utility + 500 MW commercial and industrial), establishing it as a major contributor to the decarbonization of fast-growing Indian economy.

REC raises $650 million through bonds to finance power projects Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) raised $650 mil-lion, around Rs 4,450 crore, through bonds under the Global Medium Term Programme of $5 billion. Proceeds of the bond will be used to finance power pro-jects in accordance with the approvals granted by the Re-serve Bank of India and in accordance with the External

Commercial Borrowing guidelines. Adani Transmission seeks shareholders nod to raise Rs 5,000 cr Adani Transmission will seek shareholders' approval to raise Rs 5,000 crore through the issuance of equity shares, securities and other instruments. Hanergy MiaSolé Sets Large Area Flexible PV Efficiency Record at 17.44% One of the world‘s largest thin-film power solution com-pany, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group has announced that Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, has rated CIGS PV module as the world‘s most efficient. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has independently confirmed a 17.44 percent aperture area efficiency on a commercial size flexible PV module (aperture area 1.08m 2 ). This achievement was recog-nized as a new certified record large area CIGS module in the latest Progress in Photovoltaics compendium of PV records.

Amplus Wins APVIA Award for Contribution to PV In-dustry Amplus Energy Solutions has won the APVIA Award 2019 for its contribution to the photovoltaic (PV) industry. The award ceremony was held in Shanghai, China on the sidelines of the SNEC 2019 PV Power Expo. In the Asia-Pacific area, APVIA awards, which was launched by the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) in 2013, is one of the most influential awards for the photovoltaic industry. AIIB to provide $100 million loan to L&T Infrastructure Finance The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will gve a $100-million loan to L&T Infrastructure Finance Com-pany for wind and solar infrastructure projects in India. This is the first time AIIB is extending a loan to a non-banking finance company. L&T Infrastructure Finance‘s collaboration with AIIB is also expected to help the company tap international mar-ket for finance.

GIC, ADIA invest $329 mn more in Hyderabad-based Greenko In one of the largest funding rounds by an Indian clean energy producer, sovereign wealth funds GIC Holdings Pte. Ltd and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) have agreed to pump in an additional $329 million in Greenko Energy Holdings. This fresh tranche follows the $495 million investment in June by the sovereign wealth funds in Greenko to build power storage projects. While GIC and ADIA hold 61% and 15%, respectively, in


















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Greenko, Kolli and Chalamalasetty own the remaining 24%. Greenko has a total renewable energy operational capacity of 4.2 gigawatts (GW), with 7GW under con-struction. ABB to Quit Solar Inverter Business, FIMER to Take Over Switzerland-headquartered ABB and Italian company FIMER have signed an agreement under which FIMER will acquire ABB‘s solar inverter business. The transac-tion is expected to enhance the prospects of the solar in-verter business and enable ABB to focus its core business portfolio on other growth markets. This acquisition includes the solar inverter business from Power-One which was acquired by ABB‘s Discrete Auto-mation and Motion division in 2013.

Sterling and Wilson Solar gets Sebi nod for Rs 4,500 crore IPO Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltd (SWSL) has received ap-proval from markets regulator Sebi to float its Rs 4,500-crore initial public offering. Kalpataru seeks shareholders nod to raise borrowing limit to Rs 12,000 cr from Rs 10,000 cr Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KPTL) has sought shareholders' approval to raise the borrowing limit to Rs 12,000 crore from the existing Rs 10,000 crore.

REC board to consider proposal to raise Rs 75,000 cr via bonds State-owned REC Ltd stated that its board would con-sider a proposal next week to raise Rs 75,000 crore through bonds or debentures on a private placement ba-sis in one or more tranches in the next one year.

Kalpataru to sell three power transmission assets for ₹3,275 crore Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd stated that it has en-tered into binding agreement with CLP India Pvt. Ltd to sell its stake in three power transmission assets for an enterprise valuation of ₹3,275 crore. The three assets in which Kalpataru is selling its stake include Kalpataru Satpura Transco Pvt. Ltd (KSTPL), Alipurduar Transmission Ltd (ATL) and Kohima Mariani Transmission Ltd (KMTL). The transaction is subject to requisite approvals and compliances. Power Mech Projects bags orders worth Rs 412 cr Power Mech Projects bagged two orders worth Rs 412 crore in the domestic market. The company has received letter of intent/work order for civil, structural and architectural works for main plant

area at 1x660 MW Bhusawal Thermal Power Station, Ma-harashtra for around Rs 285.50 crore to be completed within a period of 40 months. Power Finance Corporation raises $300 million loan from overseas State-owned Power Finance Corporation raised USD 300 million (Rs 2,070 crore) loan from overseas. The loan has been jointly approved by State Bank of In-dia, Hong Kong and MUFG Bank Ltd, Singapore. This is PFC's second foreign currency borrowing in the current fiscal.

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86

Update from Web

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87

Regulatory Update

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State/

Agency Type

Date of notifica-

tion Sector Regulation

MNRE Scheme 3.07.19 Renewable

Issued letter for “Scheme Modalities and Role of DIS-COMS in MNRE’s CPSU Scheme Phase-II/ Government Producer Scheme for 12,000 MW Solar PV Power Pro-jects”

Ministry of Coal

Office memo-randum 1.07.19 Coal

Constitution of a Committee under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Coal under Rule-3(2) of the Coal Blocks Allocation Rules, 2017 to specify the manner of al-location of a coal or lignite block through auction or allot-ment route.

Himachal Pradesh

Final Regula-tion 29.06.19 Power Sector

Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Deviation Settlement Mechanism and Related Matters) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2019

Ministry of Power Order 28.06.19 Power Sector

Opening and maintaining of adequate Letter of Credit (LC) as Payment Security Mechanism under Power Purchase Agreements by Distribution Licensees

Himachal Pradesh Order 8.07.19 Renewable

Determination of generic levellised tariffs for Solar PV Pro-jects for first six months of FY 2019-20 under Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (Promotion of Generation from the Renewable Energy Sources and Terms and Conditions for Tariff Determination) Regula-tions, 2017

MNRE Notification 16.07.19 Renewable Benchmark cost of Grid connected rooftop solar power plants for year 2019-20

MNRE Other 17.07.19 Renewable Updated specifications and testing procedure for stand-alone solar PV water pumping system

Ministry of Power Order 17.07.19 Power Sector

Procedure for Scheduling of Power to Distribution Com-pany in the event of Non-maintenance of Letter of Credit

MORTH Circular 17.07.19 Other Sector

Incentivisation of Electric Vehicles and Induction of EVs in shared mobility and public transport operations, circular dated 17.07.2019

Manipur and

Mizoram Final Regula-

tion 9.07.19 Power Sector

Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for Manipur & Mizoram (Electricity Supply Code) (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2019.

Manipur and

Mizoram Final Regula-

tion 17.09.19 Power Sector

Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for Manipur & Mizoram (Electricity Supply Code) (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2019

MNRE Guidelines 22.07.19 Renewable

Guidelines for Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme

Ministry of Power Guidelines 16.07.19 Renewable

Amendment to the Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Con-nected Wind Power Projects


88

Upcoming Events

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EMobility Week 2019 India

August 22, 2019

SolarRoofs Andhra Pradesh 2019

August 23, 2019

3rd Master class of Energy Storage Technologies, Applications and Manufacturing

August 23, 2019

14th Sustainability Summit

August 28, 2019

SolarRoofs Kerala 2019

August 30, 2019

2nd International Conference on Large-Scale Grid Integra-tion of Renewable Energy in India

September 04-06, 2019

You can also help us in adding new event in the list if we missed by mailing about the event info at [email protected]

https://www.emobilityplus.com/index.php?option=com_eventbooking&view=event&id=9&utm_source=newsletter_129&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-insights

https://solarquarter.com/index.php/events4/all-events/business-events/46-solarroofs-andhra-pradesh-2019

http://www.inergystat.com/indiaesa.info

http://www.inergystat.com/indiaesa.info

http://www.inergystat.com/cii.in

https://solarquarter.com/index.php/events4/all-events/business-events/47-solarroofs-kerala-2019

http://regridintegrationindia.org/

http://regridintegrationindia.org/


89

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