egov September issue 2012

Nandan Nilekani Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India

ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON E-governance ` 75 / US $10 / ISSN 0973-161X

September 2012 | VOLUME 08 n ISSUE 09 n ISSN 0973-161X Haroon Yusuf Minister for Power, Industry, Food & Civil Supplies Department, Delhi Government

national solar mission p34

student academic management system p10

eGov Magazine

smart solutions for power Tarun Kapoor Director, National Solar Mission

Madhusudan Padhi Commissioner & Secretary, Department of IT, Government of Odisha

Anurag Goel Commissioner & Secretary, IT & Power Departments Government Of Assam

Arup Roy Choudhury CMD, NTPC Ltd

Ritu Maheshwari District Magistrate, Shahjahanpur, UP; Ex- Managing Director, KESCO

Neeta Verma Country Lead, Data Portal of India, NIC, DeitY, Government of India

V P Raja Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Authority

egov.eletsonline.com

Contents SEPTEMBER 2012

second grid grid name issue 09 n volume 08

52

interview Pratik Chube On green and intelligent power equipments

18 | cover story

57

interview BCK Mishra

Power Sector in India

On generation of hydro electricity

Significant advances have been made in the power sector during the last five years, but there continues to be a huge mismatch between demand supply. Our per capital consumption of electricity is 778 KWH. However, this is fairly low when we compare it to the world average of 2600KWH.

59 12

interview Rahul Agarwal

On reforms in the power generation and transmission space

16

32

On better IT enabled transport solutions

22

interview Anil Sardana On Tata Power’s aggressive plans for power sector

On importance of deploying Smart Grid systems in India

34

interview Tarun Kapoor On developing the use of solar power in India

38

On importance of Concentrated Solar Power technology

On Essar’s plans for integrating technology with power generation

26

interview Shalabh srivastav On Accenture’s solutions for Smart Grid

28

interview Lalit Jalan On Reliance Infrastructure’s plans for Smart Grid

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

On supplying high-tech cables to power industry

60

interview Haroon Yusuf On ensuring resonably priced power to citizens of Delhi

interview Dr Sergio Rossi

25

interview Christoph Fark

4

interview V P Raja

On Lenovo’s business strategy in India

interview Amit Mehta

interview Hiten Khatau

30

interview KVB Reddy

42

interview Arup Roy Choudhury On NTPC’s plans for increased power generation

46

interview Dhamodaran Ramakrishnan On building Smart Cities

10 online admission

SAMS: From ‘College Centric’ to ‘Student Centric’

14

open data Open Government Data & its Potential in India

36 solar power

India needs to get Serious about its Solar Industry!

40 Franco Tosi Meccanica Creating Large Power Projects

48 APGCL

Power Sector in Assam

54

KESCO e-Governance Initiatives in KESCO

India’s power sector on cusp of change

A

s it is essential to the functioning of most important technological systems, it should come as no surprise that electric supply is often viewed as an essential public good. During the last decade, the government has initiated a series of reforms to address the issue of power shortages. Today the Indian power industry stands on the threshold of de-regulation after having completed a phased move in that direction for so many years.

However, despite the reform measures, the power sector remains stymied by problems. Recently we had a massive power outage across the country due to grid failure. More than 600 million people were out of power for many hours. According to reports, the power failure occurred because some states overdrew power from the grid. If we had a Smart Grid system in the country, this kind of grid failure due to overdrawing could have been avoided.

The skewed tariff structure often leads to unsustainable cross subsidies by the central and state governments. The T&D (Transmission & Distribution) losses, largely due to poor infrastructure, outright theft and instances of unmetered supply continue to bleed the power sector. It was in 2001 that the government launched the Accelerated Power Development & Reform Programme (APDRP), for strengthening the transmission and distribution related networks, and in July 2008, the APDRP was restructured and launched as a central sector scheme for Eleventh Five Year Plan.

Meanwhile the flip side of rapid economic growth is that it only adds to the burden on power infrastructure. Power deficit is one of the factors that could severely impede India’s economic growth.

The policy makers in the country recognise this, and concerted efforts are being made to accelerate infrastructure development. India’s power consumption is likely to cross 300 GW during the next ten years. Meeting this demand will require a seven to ten fold increase in current power generation, transmission and distribution capabilities.

In this issue of eGov we have interacted with a range of important stakeholders in the power space.

In an exclusive interview to eGov, Haroon Yusuf, Delhi’s Minister of Power, explains the plans that the Delhi government has to ensure round the clock availability of optimally priced power to the citizens.

We have interactions with Tarun Kapoor, Director, National Solar Mission; Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC Ltd; and many others.

We have carried out interactions with the leaders of top private companies– Tata Power, Reliance, GE, IBM, Accenture, Applied Materials, Franco Tosi Meccanica, Essar, etc. Other than the power sector, we are also featuring articles on other aspects of deployment of ICT for bringing e-Governance.

Madhusudan Padhi, Commissioner & Secretary, Department of IT, Government of Odisha, has contributed an article on the deployment of online education in the state of Odisha. Neeta Verma, Country Lead, Data Portal of India, Head, data centre & web services, National Informatics Centre, DeitY, has written on the subject of Open Government Data and its implications for India.

In addition to this, there are the usual array of regular features. As always I look forward to having your feedback.

Email at subscription@elets.in to get previous issues

June2012

July2012

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August2012

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

5

september 2012 issue 09 n volume 08

President: Dr M P Narayanan Editor-in-Chief: Dr Ravi Gupta Consulting Editor: Ashis Sanyal

Editorial Team Group Editor: Anoop Verma (editorial@elets.in) governance Manager – Partnerships & Alliances: Manjushree Reddy Assistant Editor: Rachita Jha Research Assistant: Sunil Kumar education Sr. Research Analyst: Sheena Joseph Senior Correspondent: Pragya Gupta Research Assistant: Mansi Bansal Health Product Manager: Divya Chawla Research Assistant: Shally Makin

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news & updates

e-governance

e-procurement

SAP partners with IIM-Shillong to deploy e-Governance solution

e-Procurement System in Kerala PSUs

Enterprise solutions provider SAP has partnered with IIM-Shillong (IIM-S) to deploy its cloud-based e-Governance solution, which will help in improving citizen services and village administration in the Shillong region. This project is an extension of a similar model that SAP has deployed in Rajasthan. The project aims to bring in transformation at the grassroots level by providing village administration with technology and ensuring a more effective, transparent and accountable delivery of citizen services. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (IIM-S) will act as the facilitator to the project, helping identify project sites and liasoning with local bodies when required, he added. As part of the project, SAP will automate operational areas like tracking and control of funds, budget and expense management, accounting, management of local assets, project and scheme implementation and citizen services.

All public sector undertakings under the department of industries will be migrating to the e-procurement regime, which has become effective fromAugust 1, 2012. The e-procurement system had been launched by Kerela’s Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikkutty. E-procurement has been launched with the view of making available to the PSUs the full complement of raw material, essential construction-related and other services in a transparent and efficient manner, an official said. This will be made possible through the e-procurement portal of the National Informatics Centre.

telecom

security

Telecom Sector too could face a blackout: COAI

National Automatic Identification System launched

Highlighting that mobile services were not impacted by the worst ever blackout, GSM industry body COAI today asked the government to address the issues faced by operators to avoid a situation similar to what happened in the power sector. “The major failures in the power supply grids of the North and East zones had brought the daily lives of more than 60 crore people and businesses across 21 states to a near standstill. In the midst of such conditions, the entire private mobile network remained functional and available,” COAI said in a letter to Telecom MinisterKapil Sibal.

With the view of enhancing maritime security, the Centre has launched the Rs 132-crore National Automatic Identification System (NAIS), which will ensure effective search and co-ordination besides broadcasting warnings to merchant ships.

Describing the project as the “most important component of coastal surveillance’’ by the Union Government, Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan said that the new initiative would go a long way in enhancing safe navigation along the 7,500-km long Indian

coastline. The NAIS is a set-up connecting 74 AIS sensors installed on lighthouses along the entire coastline. The system will be able to track vessels to a distance of 50 km from the coast.

police modernisation mine management system

Information Technology to rescue Goa from illegal mining The Goa government has decided to implement an information technologybased system to prevent its valuable resource being exported illegally and evading royalty.

The draft mining policy, tabled on the floor of the House during the recently concluded state Assembly session, has said a ‘Mines Management System’ will be put in place to arrest the illegal iron ore exports.

Goa Mines and Geology department has decided

to implement this Information Communication and Technology (ICT) based system, keeping in view the magnitude of the scale of operations involved in mining of iron ore and its exports.

08 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Under the new policy, the existing system of administration and regulating mining in the state would be replaced by the ICPbased ‘Mines Management System’.

GPS equipped bikes for Punjab Police GPS equipped motorcycles, CCTV- fitted cars and reflective jackets are some of the steps being taken by the Punjab government to modernise the state police. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has already given the green signal for an ambitious Rs 112 crore modernisation plan for the state police. Under the project, Rapid Rural Police Response System will get 585 GPS equipped motorcycles, 289 GPS and CCTV camera equipped Multi Utility Vehicles. 100 sniffer dogs have also been approved for the dog squad of Punjab Police.

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online admission

SAMS: From ‘College Centric’ to ‘Student

Centric’

Implementation of SAMS has led to radical efficiency and transparency in the process of admissions in Odisha’s higher education institutions Madhusudan Padhi, Commissioner & Secretary, Department of IT, Government of Odisha

T

he existing system of admission in Odisha (prior to 2009) was a manual process under which an applicant had to travel to the college(s) where one wanted to study, buy a pre-printed application form for a stream from the concerned junior/degree college(s), fill up the same , deposit it in the college(s) along with relevant documents and wait for selection. Many students had to travel to another town to buy and submit these forms in college of their choice. As a student was not sure of his/her selection to a particular course in any college, on an average he had to apply for 3 to 5 colleges/streams.

The Concept of SAMS In the fall of 2008, the Higher Education department, Government of Odisha commissioned a study of few colleges in and around Bhubaneswar. The study revealed several problems regarding what goes on beneath the admission processes in Odisha. This paved the way for developing the concept of SAMS (Student Academic Management System).

Two workshops were held with College Principals. They were appraised about the concept of the new project and their opinions were sought.

These key stakeholders gave the go ahead signal for the project. Some key process ingredients like Common Application Form (CAF), Common Prospectus (CP) and the procedure for intimation to selected applicants were decided and some novel ideas like intimation of selection through SMS (mobile phones) emerged from these workshops.

This served as part of the Process Reengineering for

10

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

the SAMS project. This helped the Principals and Admission (I/Cs) to own SAMS project as most of their ideas had gone into shaping the project.

SAMS is a web based comprehensive, integrated, centralised admission and academic management system for students. It is designed to overcome the challenges faced during the college admissions and post admission processes.

SAMS has two components, one provides a platform for college admissions through e-Admission and the second provides several services to students in the colleges after admission through e-Administration. SAMS changed the whole paradigm of admission process from being “College centric” to be “Student centric”. One of the key ingredients for successful implementation of SAMS was the development of a unique 8-digit code for each college. This code was based on geographic location, source of funding and the type of college as indicated in the following chart.

The Coverage of SAMS In four years from 2009-10 to 2012-13, the

Main objectives of SAMS • To bring transparency in the process of admission by use of Information Technology (IT) • To reduce the cost of admission for students/guardians • To improve efficiency to the college machinery with respect to academics • To provide several services to the students and colleges after admission

Madhusudan Padhi

concept of SAMS has been implemented in 669 degree colleges and 1331 junior colleges in the state in 4 phases. In Phase-I, corresponding to the academic year 2009-10, 60 junior colleges across 30 districts were taken up for implementing the SAMS project. The conscious decision was to cover all the 30 districts, so that applicants of every district had access to at least one SAMS Junior College within their district. As SAMS was a new concept, the deliberate decision to limit it to 60 Junior Colleges was meant to test its utility and efficiency at a pilot level of deployment. Rest of the Junior Colleges in the state followed the normal manual procedure for admission and academic administration.

In Phase-II, 169 junior colleges (including the 60 of the phase-I) and 53 degree colleges were taken up under SAMS during the year 2010-11.

In Phase-III, all the 1307 Junior colleges of the State and 162 Degree colleges have been included in the project in 2011-12. Phase-III universalised

online admission

the SAMS across all junior colleges of the State.

In phase-IV of the project (2012-13), SAMS has covered all the 669 degree colleges of the State .Thus the project target of universalising SAMS across all junior and degree colleges of Odisha has been achieved in the stipulated time.

Developing unique 8 digit code for colleges in Orissa Example: Code for government Autonomous college Anugul 01041903 0

The technology behind SAMS To make this possible, all the stages of SAMS were required to be implemented on the net starting from online application form, validation, selection, intimation and admission. For this a formidable hardware and connectivity architecture had to be created. This model required every college to have a SAMS Lab (a server, two desktops and two printers) with broadband connectivity. The college having the SAMS Lab was later termed as the SAMS Resource Centre (SRC). It handled all kinds of jobs, including the processing admissions of few nearby tagged colleges which could not afford to have a lab. e-Admission facility in SAMS enabled students to apply online through one Common Application Form (CAF) for any stream of any college in the state, thereby reducing the hassle of travelling to 3 or 4 colleges to apply. Pre-fixed dates of various activities of the e-Admission process reduced the anxiety of applicants and ensured timely completion of the entire process. The applications are validated online by college teachers and are processed through application software, which generates selection lists for each of the colleges and streams as per options and marks, subject to reservations and

1

0

4

1

SAMS has brought transparency to the process of admission to colleges.

The public has access to vital information through online methods. The website of the Higher Education Department (www.dheorissa. in) ensures that students not only apply online, they also get a quick and correct update on their applications.

Wide reach …

SAMS covers academic administration of 2000 colleges (1331 junior and 669 degree) in whole State of Odisha. The project provides a 360 degree approach to all

9

01 Anugul 0101 Government 1 JR College 1 Anugul College(HE) Balesore 02 Banrapal 0102 Aided College 2 JR Women 2 College Baragarh 03 Chendipada 0103

Unaided 3 College

Degree 3 College

0

3

College Serial No

College Name

Codes

Anugul Mahila 1042203 Mahabidyalaya Evening College

1043104

Government 1041903 (Auto) college

Bhadrak 04 Anugul 0104 Block Grant 4 Degeree 4 Kashi 1053101 (NAC) Collage Women Bishwanath Collage Mahavidyalaya Bolangir 05 Aababhona 0301 Self Financing 5 Composite 5 College College —

ATABIRA 0302 Other Govt 6 Composite 6

Dept Colleges College To Women

— — Sanskrit 7 Alphabetically this is 3rd college in Anugul MPL College —

— Professional 8 College

— Autonomus 9

—

College Sund- 38 Sundargarh 302

aragarh .

MPL 1

weightages. Intimation to selected applicants is sent through IT enabled mediums like email, SMS etc. and admission of the selected applicants are done in the colleges and updated in the master database. e-Administration uses this

The outcome of SAMS Transparency …

District Code Block/ULB Code Funding Source College Type (30 District) (418 Block/ULB)

District Codes Block/ULB Codes Source of Codes College Codes Funding Type

the stakeholders namely – the students, parents/wards, colleges, college authorities, department officials in matters of academic administration.

Replicability…

SAMS has been replicated throughout the state of Odisha over the last four years across all junior & degree colleges. It has broken the myth that a student from the remote part of the State cannot have access to internet, the system has opened eye for many administrators that Online applications are possible the State.

.

database to facilitate services to the students like issue of Admit Card/library card, allotment of Sections/ subjects/ hostels, Long roll preparation and preparation of Return of Matriculates for submission to Council of Higher Secondary Education, Odisha.

The forward linkage of SAMS Process Efficiency…

Process efficiency of SAMS can be judged from time bound admissions taking place since 2009. The number of choices processed under SAMS has increased from 96310 in 2009 to over 11 lakhs in 2012 with no change in date schedule of various activities. SAMS has achieved its stated objectives and outcomes during its 4 phases. It has made the entire process citizen centric and transparent. It is a fact that over 60 percent of the applicants get their first option of college/stream through SAMS.

Steps have been taken to integrate the SAMS database with that of the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) for junior colleges. In 2011, all the CHSE’s registration used this database thereby eliminating the additional data entry efforts being done earlier. It was further integrated with form fill up for the +2 Board examinations in 2012. Similar integration of SAMS database with the Universities for degree colleges is being done to streamline the registration and examination.

The final word on SAMS SAMS has radically improved the academic administration in higher education sector in Odisha in last four years. More and more value is being added to the system by continuous innovation by the stakeholders every year and this process will continue.

Septeber 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

11

in person

Rahul Agarwal

Executive Director, Commercial Business, Lenovo India

Lenovo bets

on India for growth

T

ell us about Lenovo’s plans for Indian market. What is the next milestone for Lenovo as far as the Indian operations are

concerned?

Reports by IDC (Asia Pacific PC shipment tracker, Q2, 2012) suggest that Lenovo still leads the overall PC market in India with a market share of 17.1 percent. We will continue to work towards further growing and sustaining the momentum in the Indian market through our highly successful – Protect and Attack strategy. As a part of this strategy, we aim to protect our key business, which is Enterprise, and simultaneously attack market opportunities to drive hyper growth in the Consumer and SMB business. We aim to extend the lead of the Enterprise Business into government and education businesses, especially with projects such as Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), and will bid for similar projects in near future. We also achieved another significant milestone in India this year, with the successful opening of 1000 Lenovo Exclusive Stores (LES). We are bringing in some of the best designed PCs, investing high on building a powerful brand and supplementing it with a robust retail experience.

There is rapid rate of obsolesce in the personal computer industry. What are you doing to ensure that your devices are always up to date?

“As the Number 1 PC maker in Education in India and globally, we are committed to enhancing learning via our platform of PC solutions designed for students,” says Rahul Agarwal - Executive Director, Commercial Business, Lenovo India

12

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Given the fact that there is rapid rate of obsolesce in the personal computer market, Lenovo continues to invest in developing innovative products that will help drive the convergence of these technologies and services across all four screens - smartphones, tablets, PCs and smart TV - delivering a great user experience that allows for the enjoyment of content across all platforms. Accordingly, we will modify our offerings in the personal computer segment with ultra portables and tablets to remain relevant to customers.

For instance, we recently launched the Lenovo U310 and U410 ultra portable notebooks in India and have received great feedback from customers. We also made our foray in the tablet segment and launched two tablets, the Lenovo A1 and K1 tablets for the consumer segment last year.

We will also be launching new products based on the latest- 3rd generation – Ivy Bridge chip sets from Intel shortly. Lenovo’s latest Ultrabooks, Tiny form factor desktops and tablet devices illustrate ThinkPad’s innova-

in person

tions in 20 years of leading the PC technology industry, because we understand that customers value product quality and reliability above everything else. Innovation is the key to success and constant evolution in the design of products is what really makes Lenovo stand out in the market as its leading PC vendor.

Tell us about your best selling laptops in the Indian market.

All our notebooks are doing well in the market, though trends indicate that notebooks in the price range of INR 35-40,000 are sold in larger numbers in India. We also saw excellent demand and feedback on our recently launched consumer Ultrabook range and plan to extend the product portfolio to our enterprise customers in the near future. Our Thinkbrand range of products continue to evoke tremendous respect and demand among enterprise customers.

These days many vendors are launching cheaper handheld tablets that are mainly meant for students. Is Lenovo planning to enter the Indian educational space through its devices?

The education industry worldwide as well as in India, is rapidly evolving to become more student-centric and this is an opportune time for solution providers to leverage this opportunity. As the Number 1 PC maker in Education in India and globally, we are committed to enhancing learning via our platform of PC solutions designed for students. At the end of the day, customers (students and their families alike) will want a device that is able to handle their computing needs with ease.

We anticipate the demand to only grow bigger

as more and more schools are expected to adopt technology solutions including mobile computing products in the next 5 years. We have already introduced a range of computing devices for the education sector in the form of our tablets (Lenovo A1 and K1) as well as other notebooks like the Lenovo Classmate+ PCs and Think Centre Tiny Desktops (M72e and M92p). The new range of products will aid students with easy access to class materials and other resources that expand the classroom virtually beyond the school walls for a more dynamic learning experience.

What kind of policies should the government come up with to further increase the size and scope of the Indian computing market?

A McKinsey report predicts that over the next 2 decades, India’s middle class will grow from 5 percent of the population to 40 percent. With the 2nd largest population in the world, the growth opportunity for Lenovo is tremendous since the market penetration for PCs in India is around 7 percent only. It is definitely heartening

to see education and information technology at the top of the agendas in political manifestos.

We expect that demand from the government, ITeS, BFSI and educational sector will continue to drive PC adoption in India. The Indian PC industry needs a firm impetus not only on the infrastructure and manufacturing front, but also in areas like tax and legal systems. We welcome the initiative by the Indian government to encourage firms to set up electronics manufacturing units in the country by setting aside Rs 30,000 crore worth of incentives and subsidies.

Start-ups and established manufacturers alike will benefit from the government’s decision to set up electronic manufacturing clusters and tax sops will go a long way in improving the size of the Indian computing market.

What is the future of personal computing? What kind of personal computing devices will we have, let’s say, 10 years from today?

We believe in a PC+ era where PCs will sit at the heart of an ecosystem that includes tablets, smart phones, ultra portables, other smart connected devices, as well as all major operating systems, chipsets, apps and cloud-delivered services. With the new trend of consumerisation of IT, we see that many consumers now opt for mobile computing devices like Ultrabooks and Tablets compared to traditional desktop PCs. However, we believe that the traditional PC will not be replaced.

People still want a real keyboard and larger screen. We believe that cutting edge designs on innovative products like the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga hybrid PCs will be the preferred computing devices in the near future and such devices will set the standard for their convertible form factor that combines the best of the tablet and the Ultrabook PC. September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

13

Open Data

Open Government Data & its Potential in India

O

pen data is ‘non-personally identifiable data’ collected, compiled or produced in the process of organisation’s routine functioning and later on released under an unrestricted license. Open data is freely available for everyone to use, reuse and distribute, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other means of control. Open Data is catching a lot of attention with organisations all over the world. The objective of the open data movement is similar to those of other “Open” movements such as open source, open content, and open access. Though the concept of Open data is not new, it is gaining prominence with the proliferation of the Internet, World Wide Web and most importantly availability of huge amount of data in digital form.

Governments also collect, compile and generate a vast amount of data - right from geographical data, statistical data, scientific data, financial data to social sector data, development and demographic data. It is felt that this data has lot of untapped potential for reuse to develop new products and services around government

14

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“While Government prepares to release datasets, the civil society, developer community, business entrepreneurs and even citizens can join together to develop wide variety of innovative apps around government datasets that can facilitate better delivery of government services,” says Neeta Verma, Country Lead, Data Portal of India, National Informatics Centre, DeitY, Government of India

functioning to serve the citizens better. Therefore interest in reusing government data has been increasing in recent years. Civil society groups, businesses, individual citizens, academia and of course media are showing keen interest for access to government data in open formats. Many believe that public data should be open by default, as it is pertaining to the public domain and has been collected using public finances.

Open Government Data Governments across the world are increasingly making their data available online in open formats and under licenses that permit free reuse. Open government data has lot of social and economic Value. It is seen as a means of promoting transparency and accountability in the functioning of government. Understanding government data through visualisation and interpretation promotes citizen engagement and community collaboration with the government. There is also significant economic potential in the open government data, which can be used by businesses to create value added services. European Union has estimated that overall economic gains from opening up data could

amount to Euro $40 billion a year in European Union. Thus by opening up data, government facilitates creation of service models that deliver social and economic value.

Open Government Data (OGD) is today considered to be an important initiative by governments across the world. A number of national and international data portals have been deployed to release datasets online. Concept was initiated by United States government, by launch of their data portal. After that UK government launched similar portal. Today over 20 countries have already launched their data portals, including countries from developed and developing world. The list of countries to have opted for OGD includes the likes of Kenya, Moldova and Chile. Large numbers of state and city level administration or municipal corporations have also published their datasets in open format.

It is estimated that as of now we have over one million datasets available from governments in open domain. These datasets span over a wide range of data significant to civic issues like, location of toxic waste dumps, regional healthcare costs and local government spending to crime statistics, transport data, school statistics etc.

Open Data

World Bank data portal provides download access to over 8000 development indicators from World Bank datasets. It also provides access to data relating to its Finances, Project & Operations in each country.

Situation in India

Making data usable

In India, National Data Sharing

shall soon release their

government departments

Releasing datasets in open format is one dimension, but making this data usable, consumable by citizens is altogether different. Different countries have devised different techniques to achieve this. They conduct hackathons with a group of developers, owners as well as prospective consumers of data to brainstorm and develop apps to put data to work. “Code-a-Thons” are being conducted in some academic institutions bringing together developers, designers, innovators and entrepreneurs at one place for couple of days to build exciting new applications and tools for different development sectors. Boot camps are being organised to exchange experiences, deliberate on opportunities and challenges that result from open government data. In some countries community of developers have joined together to code for country.

Data evangelists, data journalists and data scientists have come across various government and non-government establishments to demonstrate innovative uses of data for variety of purposes. Different schemes of competitions, awards, recognition have been announced by different countries to get good apps developed around datasets released by the government. In some countries government departments have themselves got apps developed around their datasets to increase its usage. Apps are developed for various devices right from desktops, laptops to mobile devices, which increase their utility as well as reach across larger group of citizens.

and Accessibility Policy

datasets in open formats. To

and organisations to publish

(NDSAP) has been recently

make these datasets easily

their datasets online in open

notified by the Government

accessible by citizens, policy

formats. Beta Version of Data

through a gazette notification.

has also mandated NIC to

Portal India can be accessed

According to this policy, all

set up a data portal for India

at http://data.gov.in

government departments

to provide a platform to

Data usage through apps Apps pose as an interesting way of putting data to work. Lot of innovative apps have been developed around the datasets released. Apps are usually created through mash-ups from a number of different datasets. Combining datasets with maps is one of the common applications of mash-ups.

While putting data to work in apps developers face a lot of challenges. Since these datasets are released from different sources and published on different platforms, they often do not comply with any particular standard leading to issues of interoperability, scalability and usability. Another challenge is that datasets are typically published on an as is basis, i.e., in heterogeneous structures and formats,

requiring substantial human effort to clean them up for machine processing and to make them comprehensible.

Over the last three years, variety of Apps have been developed in the domain of civic issues, crime control, traffic management, health, education, government budget, spending, polity etc. The biggest benefit of OGD is in the aspect of improving transparency in governmental functioning. Citizen Engagement is another important dimension of open government data.

Citizens are now able to access the raw government data behind the pre-packaged reports from various e-governance applications. Rather than being merely “read-only” users, citizens can now participate in collaborative access to government data, including “mashing up” distributed government data from different departments and organisations, discovering interesting patterns, customising applications, and providing feedback to enhance the quality of published government data. For governments, the cost of providing information is reduced when the data is released through these OGD portals as opposed to rendered into reports or applications.

Expanding the reach of data With the release of NDSAP in India, it is expected that government departments shall contribute datasets in open format. But this alone shall not be sufficient to derive above benefits. Datasets are generally huge and complex. It is not possible for stakeholders such as citizens, civil societies to directly consume these datasets. Developers community is going to play a key role in putting datasets released by government to use. We in India are blessed to have a rich community of young developers who once motivated can develop a whole lot of innovative apps.

One can develop apps to create variety of visualisations across government datasets for better understanding by various stakeholders such as citizens, civil societies, interest groups etc. Datasets can be integrated with geo spatial data to create mash-ups to help government departments in better planning and decision making. Mash-ups can be further combined with live pictures for better understanding of development schemes, social audit of welfare schemes. Lot of innovative apps can be developed around these mash-ups to facilitate effective planning and implementation of government programme. These apps can be made available for simple mobile phones for wider reach across all strata of citizens. This will also help citizen engagement and community collaboration in the process of governance.

One can also combine the datasets released from different government departments to develop innovative set of services for citizens. There is huge component of innovation here. Existing services can be customised or localised to local context to enhance user experience. This shall also give rise to entrepreneurship. Different groups can provide customised services in different regions.

There is an economic angle as well. Entrepreneurs, development agencies can build an economic model around customisation of government services, provisioning through different channels such as mobile devices, voice phone, short text etc. This is a win-win situation for both government and citizens, since government’s investment on inclusive provisioning of government services shall significantly decrease while citizens shall have much better experience availing government services leading to better relationship between citizens and government.

Septeber 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

15

In Person

Amit Mehta

Director, Evolute Systems

“Innovative

e-solutions for transportation” neglected by the software industry, but now people are realising the importance of such systems. We are working at the forefront of the embedded electronics industry. With the much awaited policy on electronics industry having become a reality in India, the embedded technology and applications industry have a much brighter future. This industry is going to have a discernible influence on the e-Governance space as well.

One of the focus areas of our products is transportation sector, which is in dire need of integrated and intelligent systems to streamline the transport management, especially in major cities of India. We have designed our devices to serve some of the most crucial needs like ticketing, payments and GPS systems. Our solutions can also be customised for other public information systems relating to transport sector. “m-Governance solutions are playing an important role in transportation, banking and public distribution systems,” says Amit Mehta, Director, Evolute Systems, in conversation with Rachita Jha

T

ell us about the importance of embedded electronics in e-Governance and transport sector?

Embedded electronics lie at the heart of IT applications. So far they have been somewhat

16

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Tell us more about the intelligent hand-held devices designed for the transport sector?

Our cities struggle with traffic management and our transport systems of railways, roadways and airways with load management.

We need to have an intelligent and integrated system in our buses, so to enable us to map, allocate and manage our peak load with the fleet available.

Our front end solution designed for transport sector is like a mobile computing device that has the capability to do online and offline ticketing, transactions, GPS positioning technology and pubic information systems. The future will see most of the transactions being connected to the banks directly, along with compliance with UID or Adhaar numbers.

The advantage of all-in-one device is that all the information can be stored and managed by a single point device and this reduces the chances of manual errors.

What is the importance of public information system for the transport industry?

The role of public transport systems has come about considering the needs of sustainable development and energy conservation.

The front-end application of the software is integrated with back end servers that can be hosted on the servers of the transport authorities and they can track daily operations, ticketing, tracking of passenger load on a particular route and many such features are embedded.

These features and intelligent use of information encourage more people to start using public transport systems and so there will be less traffic due to personal vehicles on the road. Correct and reliable real-time information should be available to transport authorities. We usually work with system integrators and offer our multi-tasking front-devices as a user-interface component to their overall transport information systems.

What kind of growth does Evolute see in Indian market in the coming years?

These hand-held devices are poised to change the way NREGA disbursements are done, as they come with UIDAI authentication linked to a bank, and the payment feature of the hand held can disburse payments at construction site itself. Thus we are bullish on all financial inclusion schemes. The demand today is also coming from countries such as Africa and Bangladesh where we have many ongoing large-scale schemes for disbursement of aid.

The needy can access banks through efficient payment gateways and withdraw their entitlements. With our application being compatible on any device, be it mobile, tablet or online platform, there is lot of demand. We are in a major expansion phase to fulfil the needs of the market.

速

Ingenious Systems

Transit

Touch and Go MONORAIL

BUS

TOLL

M AT

IN D IA '

O

S

NTEGRATE LY I D L M U st F IC 1 R

TM

METRO

PARKING

BANK CONVERGENCE

Evolute Systems Pvt. Ltd. Email: info@evolute-sys.com

B3, Unique House, Chakala Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400099, India.

T: +91 22 28263722 | F: +91 22 28263723

www.evolute-sys.com

cover story

Power

Sector in India Challenges and Opportunities Sunil Kumar & Nayana Singh, Elets News Network (ENN)

Significant advances have been made in the power sector during the last five years, but there continues to be a huge mismatch between demand supply. Our per capital consumption of electricity is 778 KWH. However, this is fairly low when we compare it to the world average of 2600KWH. According to the government’s own estimates, approximately 80.9 million households are still to electrify. In the rural areas, 42 percent of rural masses continue to use kerosene based lighting, which is highly inefficient and a major factor in environmental pollution 18

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

cover story

P

improve metering efficiency, and have in place proper energy accounting and auditing and improved billing and collection solutions.

ower for All

The government of India has launched an ambitious mission of “Power for all by 2012.” This dream of power for every Indian can only come true if we can take our installed generation capacity to at least 2,00,000 MW by the end of this year, from the present level of 1,14,000 MW. A huge expansion in the power generation sector, must also lead to corresponding expansion of the transmission networks. Resources are distributed unevenly in the country, and power needs to be carried over great distances to areas where load centres exist.

The bulk transmission has increased from 3708 ckm in 1950 to more than 265,000 ckm today. The Ministry of Power has divided the country into five regions for transmission systems, namely Northern Region, North Eastern Region, Eastern Region, Southern Region and Western Region. Even though the predominant technology for electricity transmission and distribution has been Alternating Current (AC) technology, High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has also been used for interconnection of all regional grids across the country and for bulk transmission of power over long distances.

Managing Distribution Some improvements have been made in curbing T&D related losses, but this still remains high as compared to the global benchmarks. The T&D losses reached the level of 32.86 percent in the year 2000-01. The government of India has tried to address the issues in this segment by undertaking a range of reforms. Many of the State Electricity Boards have been unbundled into separate Generation, Transmission and Distribution units. Privatisation of power distribution has also been initiated, either through outright privatisation or the franchisee route.

The technical losses of power can be primarily due to lack of better systems or unplanned extensions of the distribution lines, overloading of the system elements like transformers and conductors, and lack of adequate reactive power support. Low metering efficiency, theft and pilferages are primarily to be blamed for losses of commercial nature. Hence government has initiated a range of measures to

Power sector reforms With the idea of improving the scope of ICT in power sector, the Ministry of Power, Government of India, has launched the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) in the Eleventh Five year Plan. The APDRP programme was restructured in July 2008, as a central sector scheme for XI plan. The scheme comprises of two partsPart-A & Part-B. The Part-A of the scheme is dedicated to establishment of IT enabled system for achieving reliable & verifiable baseline data system in all towns with population greater than 30,000 as per 2001 census (10,000 for Special Category Status).

The task of managing and enhancing the scope of the Sub Transmission & Distribution

The Ministry is also subsidising the installation of solar lanterns, home lights and small capacity PV plants through NABARD, Regional Rural Banks and other Commercial Banks. During 2011-12, the Ministry sanctioned a project for installation of standalone SPV power plants aggregating to 8740 kWp capacity in 4115 schools and 9 examination centers. During the current financial year, the Ministry has sanctioned a project for installation of 560 SPV water pumping systems in six districts of Bihar.

Twelfth Five Year Plan The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan says that “the increase in energy requirement depends on the elasticity of energy demand with respect to GDP, which has been falling over time and is currently around 0.80.

Allowing for some further decline in the elasticity, a GDP growth rate of 9.0 percent per year

The annual growth in power generation during 11th Plan period is as under: 11th Plan

Growth

2007-08

6.3%

2008-09

2.7%

2009-10

6.6%

2010-11

5.56%

2011-12

8.11%

system falls under the Part B of the R-APDRP scheme. The focus for Part-B is on AT&C loss reduction on sustainable basis. Loans ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent of the project cost are being provided under the scheme. Ministry of Power has earmarked sanctioning of funds up to `40,000 Crores under R-APDRP Part-B. Out of this amount up to `20,000 Crore will be converted to grant depending on extent to which utilities reduce AT&C losses in project areas.

Renewable energy Under the leadership of Dr Farooq Abdullah, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has taken many major initiatives to promote renewable energy. Renewable power projects using wind energy, biomass energy, hydro power and hybrid systems are being established in the country to meet the energy requirements of isolated communities and areas which are not likely to be electrified in near future. The government is providing subsidy of up to 30-50 percent to companies engaged in solar power generation.

over the Twelfth Plan will require energy supply to grow at around 6.5 percent per year. The ability to meet this energy demand depends on our ability to expand domestic production in critical energy sub sectors, notably petroleum, gas and coal, and meeting the balance requirement through imports.”

During the period of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), there is a plan for having a 100 GW power capacity addition. There is an IEA (International Energy Agency) report that concludes that India needs around 800GW-1200GW by 2050 as compared to present 199GW capacity.

The only environmentally friendly way by which India can meet its energy needs is by increasing the efficiency of the entire power generation, transmission, distribution and also the consumption space. The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan proposes that efficiency can be brought action on two fronts: rationalising energy prices to incentivise energy efficiency and taking non-price initiatives to push the economy towards greater energy efficiency.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

19

Leader Speak

Transforming Power Sector Through Technology “Smart and Intelligent have now become the buzz words for Indian Power Sector,” says Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

I

n 2002, the Ministry of Power set up an IT Task Force to develop synergy between the information technology (IT) and the Indian power sectors. This task force was chaired by Nandan Nilekani. The report presented by the task force discussed the challenges of the power sector and presented many important ideas through which a confluence of technology, policy and regulation in the power sector could be engineered.

New ways of developing information technology as a catalyst and consumers as change agents were presented.

The Key takeaways of report from the IT Task Force were as follows: • While digital technology provides a framework for an efficient system through the technical design of a Smart Grid, it cannot impact supply and demand, tariff structure and power quality • Utility companies can effect a business transformation by adopting technologies such as Geographical Information System (GIS), Customer Information System (CIS), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Maintenance and Material Management System, and Network Management System • New models of consumer participation must be explored as the consumer is at the center of this transformation • Open architecture can effect a transformation in the power sector and insulate it from evolution in technology • Distribution companies must take a holistic and top-down approach; while creating a business strategy to drive the technology roadmap • This transformation can be catalyzed by setting up a national institution that will work along with stakeholders from across the industry, to implement these plans in an accountable and methodical manner.

20

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Smart Grid Technology eGov magazine caught up with Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), to discuss the implementation of Smart Grid systems in the country. Excerpts...

What is the importance of Smart Grid in India?

Smart and Intelligent have now become the buzz words for Indian Power Sector. Deployment and adoption of latest technologies will help it to leap forward into a new orbit. The Smart Grid will bring the Communication, IT and Power Technologies in unison and establish a comprehensive power infrastructure. Now that we have started focussing in a big way on many different resources for power, renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro, the role of Smart Grids become even more important. It is only through the use of smart IT technologies that we can bring efficiency to the transmission and distribution of power collected from different geographies.

What is your view of the cyber security threats that a Smart Grid may face?

Anything that has technology and networking will obviously face cyber security threats.

So you have to manage that. The thing is that the Smart Grids of tomorrow will have millions of consumers logging onto the system and to a certain extent managing their own electricity requirements. The system will lead to immense benefits. However, the cyber security system needs to be flawless.

Branch Offices: Ahmedabad : 85111 76312, Bangalore : 99720 12993, Bhopal : 73899 26505, 73899 26502, 98270 68700, 98260 93707, Bhubaneswar : 78944 28860, 94370 04176, Chandigarh : 92167 63793, 92163 53793, 92164 63793, Chennai: 77080 62661, 77080 62662, 99400 49677, 98841 42866, Dehradun: 81717 10572, 81717 10575, 98972 72449, Guwahati: 88110 03605, 88110 03579, Hyderabad/Secunderabad: 77022 02201, 98491 64048, Jaipur: 80032 92888, 80032 92889, 80032 92890, 98290 60772, Kolkata: 84200 36490, 84200 36492, 84200 36499, 84200 36500, 94330 33855, 98833 59262, Lucknow: 88530 98061, 88530 98063, 88530 98064, 88530 98066, Kanpur: 88530 98065, Mumbai: 86910 74444, 86910 74445, 98217 55290, Patna: 97714 44671, 97714 44670, 94311 70756, Ranchi : 94301 45934, Raipur: 73899 26513, 73899 26514, Panipat: 98968 37578

in person

Anil Sardana

Managing Director, Tata Power

Empowering

India with Electricity

W

hat is your outlook on the power sector as a whole?

While the power sector in India has witnessed a few success stories in the last 4-5 years, the road that lies ahead of us is dotted with innumerable challenges that result from the gaps that exist between what’s planned versus what the power sector has been able to deliver. The challenge as one sees in the recent times specially compared to previous years is deteriorating coal supply on one end of value chain and poor financial outlook of Discoms where the losses have been mounting to levels far higher than previous years. This is a matter of great concern as the buyer of merchandise has to be solvent and efficient, failing which the fiscal health of all associates in the value chain will get impacted and it would lead into vicious and unviable circle of uncertainty. Power distribution still remains a segment that needs significant reform-intervention.

Going forward, a combination of tariff increases, distribution reforms, open access and enforcement of the ‘obligation to serve’ is required.

Are you planning to invest more on Renewable energy business? What kind of opportunities do you see in this business?

“Tata Power’s partnership for distribution with the State Government of Delhi for its North Delhi customers, the North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), is the only success story of privatisation in India,” says Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power, in conversation with Nayana Singh

22

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Tata Power has aggressive plans of generating 26000 MW by 2020 and intends to have a 20 – 25 percent contribution in energy generated at all times from “clean power sources” which will include a mix of Hydro, Solar, Wind, Geothermal and Waste Gas generation. The Company has been working in different areas of renewable power generation- both grid connected as well as distributed. This will be through a combination of Hydro, Solar, Wind, Geothermal and Waste Gas plants. In order to address the issues pertaining to shortage of domestic fuel and rising prices of imported fuel, the Company is looking at a significant international presence as elaborated earlier.

Tata Power is one of the leading solar power companies with a total operational capacity of 28 MW+. The Company recently commissioned 25 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project at Mithapur, Gujarat and 3 MW at Mulshi, Maharashtra. It’s subsidiary Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd has also commissioned a 1 MW grid-connected roof top solar plant in Delhi. A 60.48 KWP solar power plant has also been functional on top of one of the building at its office in Carnac Bunder, Mumbai. Tata Power has partnered with Sunengy, Australia to build the first floating solar plant in India by end of FY2013.

in person

The Company is the leading private wind generation company with an installed capacity of 375 MW which is spread across four states- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka. Tata Power is a pioneer in hydro generation and has an existing capacity of 447 MW in Maharashtra that feeds clean power to the city of Mumbai. Tata Power and Norway-based SN Power entered into an exclusive partnership to develop hydropower projects. Currently, the JV is constructing the first 880 MW project in Tamakoshy, Nepal. Further, the consortium bagged the “Dugar Hydro Electric Project” in Chenab Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Tata Power also has a JV with the Royal Government of Bhutan under which it is implementing a 114 MW from Dagachhu Hydro Project with Druk Green Power Company.

Tell us about your Geothermal and waste gas based plants.

Geothermal energy is a key focus area for us, as it has the potential to create large-capacities co-exist with a much lower carbon impact and is available 24x7 unlike other renewable energy sources. Tata Power is pursuing this through an investment of $50 million for a 10% stake in Australian company- Geodynamics. Recently, Tata Power along with its consortium partners-Australian company Origin Energy and PT Supraco Indonesia won the bid for a 240MW geothermal project in Indonesia which is under development.

Tata Power has set up various plants at Haldia and in Jamshedpur ( Power 6) based on the blast furnace and coke oven gases which are waste gases from steel making process which help in reducing greenhouse gas emission significantly. Further, the Company is also in the process of evaluating different business models for distributed power generation and supply to the rural areas. It is important to join hands with the policymakers and regulators to make advancement in technology, strengthen the renewable energy portfolio, accelerate the development of cost effective energy efficiency programs and manage consumers’ demand for electricity such that it can be turned into reality. It still however needs to formally influence our vendors and partners to calculate the carbon foot print. Tata Power has joined hands with different national institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology, University Department of Chemical Technology in developing pilot and demonstration projects in the renewable resource power generation.

Tata Power’s gross generation capacity has touched 6099 MW. The energy mix is as follows: Thermal-5247 MW Hydro-447 MW Wind- 375 MW Solar-30 MW

footprint. We are continuously working towards innovating and implementing eco-friendly technologies, and undertaking various projects under the Clean Development Mechanism, including wind power projects and various small-scale energy efficiency projects.

Over the next five years, Tata Power plans to increase its generation capacity exponentially. Tata Power has executed a number of measures in order to reduce emissions. Tata Power’s power plant emissions are well within the norms laid down by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Sourcing clean coal is another significant way of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency. Tata Power has been consciously exploring clean coal sources, including imports, for its thermal power plants. Committed to complying with all regulations pertaining to the preservation and enrichment of the environment, Tata Power uses world-class innovative and environmentfriendly technologies.

Some of the world-class air pollution control measures taken by the Tata Power’s Trombay Thermal plant to ensure clean and reliable power are: • Flue Gas Desulpharisation plant, first to be installed in any thermal power station in India - Fly-ash aggregate plant for recycling of fly-ash • High efficiency Electrostatic Precipitator • 275m chimney for minimising groundlevel concentration of emissions • State-of-the-art continuous emission monitoring instruments • Large-scale afforestation projects in the catchment area of its Hydel Reservoirs

What steps does Tata Power take to ensure that the environment around its power plants is safeguarded?

Tell us about the initiatives that Tata Power is taking in power distribution space.

As India’s largest private sector power utility company, we at Tata Power are conscious of our role as sustainability stewards and embrace the challenges of climate change. We strive to lead the path towards growth with responsibility. Our commitment to this sustainable future has been categorical and consistent. Our sustainability initiatives comprise investments in clean coal technologies; several well-planned projects that generate power from wind, solar, and geothermal energies that are renewable sources; an unflinching commitment towards biodiversity conservation; streamlining water use; and planting thousands of trees in the vicinity of our power plants to reduce our carbon

In the distribution space, we will continue to do advocacy for Public Private Partnership Model of distribution. Yet, we will consider Franchisee options if the laws and period stipulated are favourable to a transformation and sustained viability. We strongly believe that a substantial part of the demand supply gap can be curtailed if the distribution side of the business is well managed and a case in point is the management and success of NDPL in bringing losses from 56% to close to 13% in just 5 -6 years. The distribution business in Mumbai is growing at a rapid growth rate. We aim to be the largest distributing company in Mumbai (in terms of MUs sold) by end September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

23

in person

of this year and have outlined an investment of Rs 1000 crores spread over 3 years wherein we will further expand our network in Mumbai and give our consumers better power supply and service subject to regulatory approvals. Our Delhi Subsidiary, NDPL is continuing to perform well and is an example of benchmark distribution and transmission in the country.

Transmission Business Tata Power has a 51:49 joint

to Mandola in Uttar Pradesh

has been implemented through

venture with PowerGrid

(near New Delhi) a total

the Public-Private-Partnership

Corporation of India for the

distance of 1,200 km. Ten States

route. Powerlinks has also

How has your experience of distributing power in Delhi been so far?

1,200 km Tala Transmission

(West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand,

balanced the ratio between

Project: Powerlinks Transmis-

Sikkim, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar

thermal power and hydel

sion Limited (Powerlinks) is

Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,

power in the eastern region of

Tata Power’s partnership for distribution with the State Government of Delhi for its North Delhi customers, the North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), is the only success story of privatisation in India. This company serves over 1 million customers (from a population of 4.5 million) spread over in an area of 510 sq. kms and has a peak load of 1050 MW. Since its formation in 2002, the company has launched a series of technological improvements for upgrading reliability and other customer services.

Measures like energy audits, replacement of old meters with theft-proof electronic meters, automated meter reading, aggressive enforcement and public awareness drives have reduced the current ATC loss percentage to Delhi Distribution well below the target loss level percentage that has been committed to the regulatory authorities. To create greater operational efficiencies, better load management and improvement in consumer services, NDPL has invested over Rs.1,350 crore in capital expenditure during the past five years. NDPL is automating its grids, mapping the network (for quicker fault location and isolation) and automating the outage management system on the Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) platform.

In the retail power distribution business, innovative customer service measures are criti-

India’s first transmission project

and Delhi) benefit from this

India. Tata Power’s transmission

to be executed as a Public-

project, which transfers about

operations in Mumbai License

Private-Partnership. Powerlinks

3000 MW of regional power.

Area stretch from Colaba in

transmits power from the

Maintaining an average avail-

South Mumbai to Bassein

Bhutan based Tala Hydroelec-

ability of 99.7%, the project is

Creek in North Mumbai and to

tric Project (in Nilgiri, West

an important link in the national

Vikhroli in North-East Mumbai

Bengal), through the Eastern/

power grid and is the first inter-

(bypassing Bhandup and

North-Eastern Region of India

state transmission project that

Mulund).

cal to success. In a measure adopted for the first time in India by a distribution company, NDPL ensures that its representative visits a new customer’s premises and completes all formalities required for providing a new connection, without the customer having to visit NDPL’s office. Tata Power is now poised to participate in power distribution opportunities in other Indian states.

In your opinion, what systems and technologies need to be deployed to cut down on electricity theft and minimize the transmission and distribution related losses?

Presently, the country is burdened with an overall peak power shortfall of about 11 percent and a situation where the distribution framework is almost at the brink of a collapse.

Power sector reforms therefore are critical for

Some of the world-class air pollution control measures taken by the Tata Power’s Trombay Thermal plant to ensure clean and reliable power are: • Flue Gas Desulpharisation plant, first to be installed in any thermal power station in India - Fly-ash aggregate plant for recycling of fly-ash • High efficiency Electrostatic Precipitator • 275m chimney for minimising ground-level concentration of emissions • State-of-the-art continuous emission monitoring instruments • Large-scale afforestation projects in the catchment area of its Hydel Reservoirs

24

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

providing the impetus to economic growth.

The way forward for power sector is to accelerate distribution reforms as this would have a direct impact on the sector’s commercial viability and ultimately affect the consumers and generators.

Distribution PPP model is a good route to bring private investments in the distribution business and should be implemented in other states. The sector has been plagued by high distribution losses (as high as 35-40%) and low billing recovery, which has resulted in poor financial health of the utilities.

We believe that at least 25 percent financial savings can be accrued by reducing distribution losses. This can help offset increase in fuel and energy costs. Reduction of Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses should be attempted through metering, feeder separation, introduction of HVDS, metering of distribution transformers and strict anti-theft measures.

Distribution Public Private Partnership and ESCO based structures should be considered for efficiency improvement. Unbundling needs to be carried out on priority basis and open access to transmission strengthened. A nominal tariff increase will also be a significant step.

Alternate models of distribution particularly decentralized generation using renewable energy sources could be effectively used to address the needs of the country’s rural and semi-rural communities.

In Person

Christoph Fark

Managing Director, SCHOTT Solar CSP

Concentrated Solar Power electricity. What’s unique about CSP electricity is its dispatch ability. In the form of heat, the energy can easily be stored and electricity generated and fed into the grid when power is really needed.

Which CSP projects are you pursuing in India?

“India by virtue of its huge energy needs, a growing economy and availability of abundant sunshine, is a strategic market for us,” Christoph Fark, Managing Director, SCHOTT Solar CSP

T

ell us about Concentrated Solar Power (CSP).

CSP stations with parabolic trough technology are steam-driven power stations that generate electricity from heat. Parabolic mirrors arranged in long rows concentrate the solar radiation onto a receiver inside which a carrier liquid is heated to almost 400 degrees Celsius. The heat, in turn, is used to raise steam that drives a conventional turbine and thus creates

Our CSP expertise makes SCHOTT Solar a growth partner for India’s solar power industry.

We recently set a new milestone in the country’s solar energy sector by completing shipment of more than 17,000 SCHOTT PTR 70 receivers to Godawari Green Energy Limited. These high technology components form the backbone of India’s first ever Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant. The 50 MW project is located near Nokh village, Pokhran tehsil in Jaisalmer district. It is well on track for completion in 2013. This will make it India’s first utility to generate electricity by using sophisticated CSP technology.

What future does CSP hold in India?

We are convinced that CSP has a very bright future in India. The Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission acknowledges CSP as a critical technology. Within phase one, seven CSP plants equalling 500 MW are supposed to be realised. CSP represents a highly promising business opportunity and we are confident of using it to expand our footprint in this important market.

What advantages does CSP have over traditional photovoltaic (PV) technology?

With photovoltaics, bands of clouds immediately reduce the level of power production rather noticeably. CSP power, however, is particularly important because it contributes to grid stability since it’s dispatchable. This not only spares us from having to build expensive conventional backup power plants to compensate for power shortages, it also makes it easier

to grant the necessary commitments to investors and grid-operators.

What is unique about SCHOTT PTR 70 receiver?

With our receivers, we contribute one of the most important components of CSP power plants. The more effectively they do their work, the higher the efficiency of the entire plant. The receivers must be capable of absorbing as much sunlight as possible and yet emit hardly any heat. Moreover, it must withstand severe environmental circumstances – extreme differences in temperature for example – for more than 20 years. The SCHOTT PTR® 70 is four meters long and consists of a stainless steel absorber tube that contains the heat carrier liquid, surrounded by a glass tube, and a vacuum between the two of them. The vacuum has an isolating effect, just like a thermos jug. SCHOTT has developed special coatings that allow transmission of almost all of the sun’s radiation through the glass. It also allows one to maximise absorption of solar radiation while emitting extremely low heat radiation. SCHOTT has always been specialised in glass-to-metal sealing that connects the absorber tube and the glass tube while keeping the vacuum stable.

Tell us about some global CSP projects where SCHOTT Solar has supplied receivers.

SCHOTT has a strong voice in this market from the very start. We have been a leading component supplier since the early 1980s when the first commercial parabolic trough power plants were built in California, supplying glass tubes to these projects. Ever since, we have been part of many prestigious projects all over the world, supplying receivers, which SCHOTT started to develop early this century. This includes the Andasol plants in Spain as well as the Nevada Solar One plant in the U.S. To this day, more than 900,000 of our receivers have been delivered to CSP power plants all over the world.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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in person

Shalabh Srivastava

Principal, Accenture Utilities, India

Bringing efficiency to the power sector

“We at Accenture have implemented large smart grid solutions for multiple distribution utilities globally,” Shalabh Srivastava, Principal, Accenture Utilities, India

T

ell us about the solutions that Accenture is providing to power companies in India for improving their efficiency.

Accenture Smart Grid Services (ASGS) is an integral part of our utilities offerings. Accenture has been involved in various Smart Grid initiatives globally, and can play a crucial role in strategy formulation, IT enablement and programme management of these complex initiatives. We provide comprehensive solutions to handle the “data tsunami” caused by the Smart Metering/Smart Grid interventions. Our strength lies in managing the information explosion into a coherent business benefit plan using our capability for analysing and integrating this data along with required IT enablement.

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In India, Accenture works extensively with generation as well as T&D companies. In the field of generation, we have helped multiple companies with IT enablement initiatives on the one hand, such as ERP implementation, and organisational interventions on the other hand, such as L&D (learning & development) strategy. We propose to bring some of our global offerings such as Remote Monitoring & Diagnostics to Indian gencos.

In the field of T&D, we have helped multiple discoms in a variety of ways. We have helped high loss making discoms to completely turn around their business through direct assistance in strategy reformulation, annual business planning, commercial loss reduction, business process re-engineering, organization restructuring, performance management and leadership development. We help utilities sustain their business performance through IT enablement for functions such as billing, customer care, energy audit and ERP. Besides consulting and IT implementation, we undertake outsourcing services also.

Are developing countries like India better prepared to adopt and install such technologies?

The evolution towards a smart grid-enabled network infrastructure can have a number of drivers, some of which may apply to varying degrees. However, the priority of these drivers will vary from country to country, region to region and even circuit to circuit, based on the legacy network that exists and the underlying objectives of the policymakers and regulators.

Implementation of a smart grid needs to be a step-wise process and tailored to fit the specific needs of the region/country, rather than a onesize-fits all solution. In some cases, reliability may dominate the list of outcomes due to challenges faced by an ageing infrastructure and/or expensive manpower, while for some emerging countries it could be driven by the need to improve efficiency and reduce AT&C losses. In these various instances, different physical architectures might evolve that are optimised to the

local need. Over time, needs may change and therefore the design philosophy will need to embrace the concepts of flexibility, modularity, scalability and forward compatibility.

Managing electricity grids is an area of concern for a geographically large country like India. Provide us a brief overview of the ICT solutions that go into smart grids.

Smart grid delivers reliable, sustainable, economical and high quality power with optimised asset planning, monitoring, health determination and utilization. We at Accenture have implemented large smart grid solutions for multiple distribution utilities globally, with a substantial part of Accenture’s skilled manpower being based within its Indian offices. Accenture has the capability of implementing IT solutions focused on Smart Metering (Meter Data Management), Network Management, Outage Management, Energy Management, Demand Forecasting, integration of distributed (renewable) generation, etc – these software applications form the key ICT solutions that go into Smart Grid. We also have the capability to make integrate these sophisticated applications with the ERP backbone pre-existing at the Utility.

Have you developed solutions for providing e-Governance in the power space?

Accenture has worked extensively with distribution utilities for deployment of ICT tools for the service of the consumers, that too within welldefined SLAs that tend to get stricter by the day.

There was a time when it was a matter of innovation for Discoms to set up 24/7 Call Centres, which was the first mode of remote customer touch-point (beyond walk-in at Discom offices).

Today, it is quite normal for most Discoms (including Accenture’s clients) to present online bills and accept online payments, accept online new connection applications and other complaints and service requests from consumers, set up email ids for received tips on theft / corruption or escalating complaints, etc.

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in person

Lalit Jalan

CEO, Reliance Infrastructure

The Smartening of grids

T

According to many power sector analysts, the Smart Grid project will change the paradigm of power generation and supply in India.

Tell us more about the role that Reliance Infra is playing in the Smart Grid project.

For Reliance Infrastructure, Smart Grid is not a one-time project. The smartening of grids has already been happening constantly from time to time. We regularly undertake large-scale, system-wide demonstrations to determine solutions that can be deployed at full scale, integrating the full set of Smart Grid technologies with existing electricity infrastructure.

Our investments in AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) started way back in 2005 and we have already deployed a state of the art SCADA system, GIS, OMS, ERP systems which are well integrated with all of our current operations.

What kind of technologies go into the Smart Grid project?

“Reliance Infrastructure has been ahead of the curve in the smart grid sector in India,” says Lalit Jalan, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure

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Reliance Infrastructure has been ahead of the curve in the Smart Grid sector in India. Reliance Infrastructure has deployed close to a quarter million units of automated meter reading modems (AMR modems) and MDAS system for its premium, high value and LT consumers starting in 2005 and for other utilities under the RAPDRP programme for customers like MSEDCL, JVVNL, JDVVNL, AVVNL, etc. Reliance Infrastructure is the only Asian company to have partnered with Google for their Google Power-Meter project in 2010. Apart from that, as mentioned earlier, the company has already deployed the ultra-modern SCADA technology, which serves as the backbone of its control system. Use of real time SCADA/DMS (DMS – Distribution Management System) interface with GIS has resulted in a 60 percent reduction in power interruption time and better power quality. Our Outage Management System (OMS) reflects the outage areas in GIS which ensures faster Response time for consumer complaints. We have also developed an in house network monitoring system, Equipment Monitoring System (EMS) which carries out remote condition monitoring of parameters of critical network equipment to ensure timely corrective action.

in person

How do you see the power tariffs structure changing in the coming years in India? Will Smart Grid have an impact on the tariff?

Smart Grid holds immense potential to transform the power sector in India if implemented across the entire value of chain of the sector. But even though the Smart Grid has the potential of revolutionising the way we produce and consume electricity, its core value proposition remains untested due to the presence of many new elements. In order to understand the effect of Smart Grid technology on tariffs, it is essential to understand what constitutes them. On an average, power purchase costs typically constitute up to 80 percent of the total cost of the distribution operation.

The remaining 20 percent is mostly attributed to other costs such as Operation &Maintenance, financing etc. Implementation of Smart Grid will help in reduction of losses due to up gradation and modernization of network, better management of peak load, better energy efficiency which will also be significant drivers for tariff reduction.

In addition, it is widely understood that the new services enabled by the Smart Grid will include different rate designs that encourage curtailment of peak loads and are more energy efficient. Some key examples include dynamic pricing and inclining block rates. These innovative rate designs will be enhanced by various automating technologies such as Energy Orbs, programmable communicating thermostats (PCTs), whole building energy management systems (Auto DR), and in-home displays (IHDs).

These days modern technology plays a major role in getting efficiency and productivity in power plants. Give us your views on the challenges in implementing Smart Grid technology in India?

The Smart Grid can be described as the merging of two networks. These two networks are the power network, which consists of the generation, transmission, and distribution grid and has been considered the engineering wonder of the 20th century, and the modern communications network, which is considered the Internet marvel of the 21st century. The first step is to understand the Smart Grid communications network as a truly integrated network, rather than as parts of separate, vertically integrated application silos. This parallels the evolution of enterprise and telecommunications networks over the last 20 or 30 years into a single, integrated voice/video/data network.

“Implementation of Smart Grid will bring efficiency and help in reduction of losses�

Traditionally, wired communication systems offered a reliable method for data transmission.

However, the deployment cost for fibre or copper, trenching or running conduit, and maintenance costs can quickly add up. As the demand for distribution automation continues to increase, wireless technologies have stepped up to the plate.

With most substations being remotely located, operators come across many communication challenges. In order to communicate with a substation, operators can quickly run out of choices with wired communication, as the cost for wire placement to remote locations is extremely high and sometimes it’s simply not plausible to run a wire to a remote location. As a result, many people are finding that they must rely on wireless.

Wireless technologies, such as public cellular networks or standards-based technology for private networks (WiMAX, WiFi), can be faster and less costly to deploy. Due to the above stated advantages, these technologies will increasingly find more and more takers and will

help the power sector of India step into the next orbit of operational excellence.

In what ways will the Smart Grid technology open up pathways for India to tap green power for consumption?

Green energy is certainly the future of power and world over, efforts are being made to make it an inherent part of government policy roadmaps.

The Indian government has set the target of the level of green power in the country to 10 percent of the power generation by 2015 from the previous target of 5 percent. The state regulators have started implementing it proactively. Moreover, in a Smart Grid system, customers are equipped with smart meters that help to understand and manage their energy usage time. This will therefore enable the customers to shift part of their consumption to support availability of green energy. Hence, Smart Grid technology is pegged to be a crucial driver for green energy.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

29

in person

V P Raja

Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Authority

Electricity

is good for political economy

P

ower has a direct co-relation with GDP. Please share with us your views on the impact that power sector reforms have had on the country?

Reforms have been attempted in power sector for more than 20 years. But it has always been two steps forward and one step backward situation. The recent population census of India shows that the country is home to more than 1.21 billion people, and more than 50 percent of this population is below the age of 25 years. This makes us one of the youngest countries in the world. We can enjoy a huge demographic dividend if we can provide this young population with good education, healthcare and employment opportunities. However, if we fail in any of them then it can lead to stress and strife. The kind of employment that needs to be generated for this growing population is also important as majority will be absorbed in the secondary and tertiary sectors-such as the manufacturing and services industry. Since we are talking of inclusive growth, the real employment should come up more in manufacturing, as the sector requires skills.

Now these sectors are highly dependent on commercial energy for their growth and sustenance. Hence the availability of electricity and GDP has a direct co-relation between them. If the country has to grow at 8 percent every year, electricity growth should be 10 percent per year. We have to consume our electricity more efficiently, and some beginnings have been made at the national level with introduction of bureau of energy in India.

According to you what are the main challenges to rural electrification?

V P Raja, Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Authority, walks us through the pivotal areas of electricity generation and electricity distribution. In conversation with Rachita Jha, he sheds light on the challenges that India needs to overcome for attaining energy security

30

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

The green revolution brought back the agriculture sector into the economy, however, with the new varieties of grains came the huge dependence on continuous water supply. As the water had to be pumped for a longtime, rural India witnessed the large scale use of motor pumps that ran on electricity. Thus rural electrification became an essential component of the power sector and free electricity became a part of the political economy and food security. The tradition of free and subsidised electricity is continuing till now and we are caught in the subsidy conundrum as farmers have got used to free electricity and attempts to change have had

in person

adverse political ramifications. The new irrigation systems based on free continuous supply of water is pumping excess of water resulting in leaching of pesticides and water pollution.

There is a need to re-look on the rural electrification paradigm and how it can be changed to make it viable for generation and distribution.

Please share your views on the power generation and distribution conundrum.

Investments are critical for the energy sector and there should be a good mix of government and additional private investment that is profit-based.

In the last 10 years, 18-20 percent of investments have been made by the private sector and this has increased in the 12th five year plan. However, at the moment there is crisis, this is because of the sudden mismatch in primary fuel supply and demand - as shortage of coal and gas has hurt the industry. So reforms and increased productivity in the coal sector has become very important.

In June 2012, all the thermal power plants put together were working on 58 percent of plant load factor and there is a 42 percent idle capacity due to limited availability of coal. Now the irony is that even if coal was made available, the states lack the purchasing power to buy electricity. As electricity cannot be stored, the moment it is generated it has to be purchased and sold. The major customers of electricity are state discoms and they don’t have the money to buy electricity as they are reeling under

The functions of the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission as stated under the Section 86 of the Electricity Act (EA), 2003 are as following •

•

To determine the tariff for generation, supply, transmission and wheeling of electricity, wholesale, bulk or retail, as the case may be within the State To regulate electricity purchase and procurement process of distribution licensees including the price at which electricity shall be procured from the generating companies or licensees or from other sources through agreements for purchase of power for distribution of supply within the State

•

Facilitate intra-State transmission and wheeling of electricity

•

Issue Licences to persons seeking to act as transmission licensees, distribution licensees, and electricity traders

are doing very well amongst all the states. It has always been an additional component, as these sources are not available in full power all the time. For example, a wind energy power station of 100W will have only 16 percent available power at any given point of time. India has set its target that at least 15 percent should come from renewable by 2020. It will be a big achievement, but it means the rest of 85 percent has to come from traditional sources. Coal sector is

“Coal has lots of ash content and we have to import gas, so nuclear is the way forward” losses due to mismanagement of metering of electricity and subsidies, so reforms in the state discoms is a matter of great concern and need urgent attention of the policymakers. In the distribution channels we need to have more of unbundling of political involvement to have 100 percent metering of all the electricity sold.

What are your views on the role of renewable energy in India?

We have made lot of headway in the wind energy domain, after Tamil Nadu, it is Maharashtra that is the leading state in wind energy. Solar is a sector in which there has been more focus from the government recently. Gujarat and Rajasthan

the second biggest employer in India, and is currently in dire need of reforms to bring-in better management and productivity in its use. There is also significant focus needed to introduce structural reforms in the electricity generation sectors to have more energy efficiency.

Share with your views on nuclear energy and energy security.

Nuclear energy can power the future of our country. However, currently there is lack of knowledge and scientific know how, moreover fear of the unknown is working against it in India. We need to build a strong scientific base of knowledge and awareness to add more nuclear component in our

•

Promote cogeneration and generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy

•

Adjudicate upon the disputes between the licensees and generation companies and to refer any dispute for arbitration

•

Levy fee for the purposes of this Act

•

Specify State Grid Code

•

Specify or enforce standards with respect to quality, continuity and reliability of service by Licensees

•

Fix the trading margin in the intra-State trading of electricity, if considered, necessary

•

Discharge such other functions as may be assigned to it under this Act

•

Advise the State Government as mandated under Section 86(2) of the EA, 2003

energy supply. In terms of tariff, it does not make sense to put up nuclear power plants in areas where there is availability of coal mines. Most coal mines are located in the Eastern regions of India.

If we consider an 800 km distance from a coal pit, the nuclear tariff and the thermal tariff will be almost the same. Therefore the real benefits of nuclear will be for those states that do not lie in the coal belts. In nuclear energy, the capital cost is very high and the running cost relatively lower. So the initial investments are high, however, the variable costs will be low. Nuclear is an important energy resource for India because of vast resources of Thorium available – currently we have almost one-third of the world’s Thorium resources in the country. And, these are available on beach sands along the coastlines.

As a nation, we can achieve energy security using nuclear energy through a three stage nuclear power programme. We are currently at the beginning of the second stage. In the first stage, we use natural Uranium and the spent fuel of Plutonium generated from the first stage is used as fuel in the second stage. India is building its first fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam that will be commissioned in 2013. Following, several similar plants will be set up and the third stage will use Uranium-233 will be used. The vast resources of Thorium we can easily move forward towards this three stage nuclear energy generation process and attain energy security. Coal has lots of ash content and we have to import gas so nuclear is the way forward.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

31

in person

Dr Sergio Rossi

Head of Smart Grid and Peripherals, Infineon Technologies AG

Creating

smart power distribution network

G

ive us an overview of the Smart Grid technologies that are being developed in the world. What kinds of synergies are possible between the Internet and Smart Grid?

Smart Grid is a very broad concept which is perceived differently by different individuals and companies.

Basically a Smart Grid is all about managing distribution of electricity more efficiently in order to safeguard the environment. The Smart Grid brings much needed efficiency to the power sector. There is improvement in the overall structure of power generation and distribution. We also have better energy consumption and energy management. However, the overall implementation of the Smart Grid solutions is based on a range of cutting edge technologies, which are capable of controlling the energy flow and allowing seamless communication between all the stakeholders involved.

What kind of synergy is possible between the internet and the Smart Grid?

“I feel that during the next couple of years India will be able to lay down the basic foundation for Smart Grid implementation,� says Dr Sergio Rossi, Head of Smart Grid and Peripherals, Infineon Technologies AG

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The communication infrastructure of the internet can be leveraged by Smart Grid, so that the level of interactivity between different stakeholders gets enhanced. Consumers can control the amount of electricity they consume by staying connected to the Smart Grid. As one way communication was made more democratic by the internet, in the same way, energy is no longer delivered from one major source to the citizens. Rather, it is much like there are many

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different energy centres, as every citizen has the ability to share energy with other citizens.

Tell us about the Smart Grid Semiconductor Solutions that Infineon has developed.

Infineon has been involved with Smart Grid for past ten years. Our semi conductors and our transistors have been used in several major projects, around the world. Our semi conductors have been placed in 400 MW BARD Wind Park, in Germany. When it comes to solar energy, the solutions from Infineon are displaying very high efficiency in power conversion from DC to AC. This is necessary to inject the power generated from the solar tunnel into the grid.

In North America Infineon semi conductors are being used in major solar parks. Systems for smart metering and smart forms might be more relevant to India at this point of time. We have invested a lot on the development of low cost energy measurement and monitoring systems.

What would be the probable market size of Infineon solutions in India during the next four or five years?

Infineon has just entered the Indian market, and we are positive about the business prospects. The market size of our products depends upon the government’s policy on the implementation of Smart Grid technologies. Taking into account the vast potential of a country like India, where the majority of the population is young and the economy is booming, we are definitely eyeing revenues of more than $100 million in a year.

Internet is prone to hacking, so do Smart Grids present a security threat? What kind of security should be there to safeguard Smart Grid from cyber-attacks?

Security is definitely a major area of concern, for consumers as well as private entities. The issue of security in Smart Grid can be looked at from three different angles – privacy protection, tampering of metres and hacking related incidents. There is no doubt that the privacy of the consumers has to be protected. Meters have to be foolproof so that there is no scope for tampering. However, in case any hacking takes place, the effect of it will be much more alarming than the electricity bill of any particular household. There is also

the possibility of misuse of grid components by hackers associated with terrorist groups. A study reveals that if a terrorist group gets the ownership of smart meters of even two blocks of households, they can cause a massive blackout in much wider area. Till date, the world has been able to avoid any major destruction due to Smart Grid technology. However, there is always the fear that the terrorists might be able to hack the system and cause massive problems. I am of the opinion that the governments should be very strict about the tight security settings of the Smart Grid.

In your opinion, what would be the greatest benefit(s) of implementing a Smart Grid system in India?

In India, there is a huge gap between demand and supply of energy. In order to make energy accessible to all citizens, energy should be deployed more efficiently. A more reliable energy distribution system and reduction in distribution related losses will be conducive for a much better economic environment.

How important is 4G broadband access to Smart Grid technology? 4G is now spreading across India; will this give a new impetus to transmission companies to switch over to Smart Grid systems?

Communication is the key to Smart Grid. A few parameters have to be kept in mind while implementing smart grid technology. Amongst

them are factors like reach and responsiveness, reliability and cost. These parameters can be fulfilled by 4G systems, as they can facilitate communication and data exchange at very high speeds. Hence 4G will definitely have a positive impact on Smart Grid.

What kind of initiatives should the government of India come up with to enable further growth in the business potential of Smart Grid companies like Infineon? Tell us about your expectations from the government.

Under the Chairmanship of Sam Pitroda, a Smart Grid taskforce has been created. This is a very good starting point. India has the advantage of learning from the mistakes of other countries. The mistake that most countries made was implementing Smart Grid technology in a haphazard manner and not abiding by any systematic master plan. However, before India makes major moves in the Smart Grid sector, it has to find a cure for the weakness in the distribution space. The Government has to come up with practical policies to enable a speed implementation of Smart Grid systems.

In your opinion what will be the year of Smart Grid in India?

I feel that during the next couple of years India will be able to lay down the basic foundation for implementation of Smart Grid. And during the next two to three years, there will definitely be a much wider implementation.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

33

in person

Tarun Kapoor

Joint Secretary (Solar), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India

Making Solar

Power Affordable for India

W

hat is your vision for the National Solar Mission?

The National Solar Mission is thoroughly dedicated to ensuring that there is huge increase in generation of solar energy in the country. The nation has abundant sunshine and with right kind of technology and strategy we can use sun’s power to fuel a large percentage of the nation’s power related needs. Another important focus of the National Solar Mission is to develop India as a manufacturing hub of solar energy. We are working on Research and Development in order to come up with indigenous technology to provide solar energy to those who do not have electricity facilities.

The success of solar energy sector within the country largely depends on favourable government policies, which should be designed to foster growth of the sector.

What steps would you suggest to overcome the challenges?

There is a lot of technological development taking place worldwide. We need to adopt some innovative technology and also work upon R&D on our own, so as to fit the technologies according to our needs. In India, the atmosphere is a little dustier, direct radiation of sunlight is a little less, temperatures are high and also, maintenance costs are relatively higher. Keeping these factors in mind, the technologies should be designed to adapt to Indian conditions. We must strive to bring down the price of solar power further.

If we can increase the scale of projects, take to larger projects, the prices are doing to come down. From our end, we are trying to intervene directly from the government’s end and trying to buy big volumes of power.

What policies is the Mission coming up with to set up an enabling environment for solar power?

We already have with us a few ongoing policies. The Renewable Purchase Obligation for solar power begins at

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egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

“The cost of solar power is coming down. Even without government subsidy solar power is available at `9 per unit,” says Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary (Solar), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, in conversation with Nayana Singh

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2.5 percent, and goes up to 3 percent by 2022.

We have set up a monitoring cell in the Ministry to ensure that this is enforced by the State Governments. The Govt. is doing its our best to ensure that the distributors take it seriously.

We are in the process of finishing Phase I of the Solar Mission. We had set certain targets for this phase, which have been fulfilled well before time. The Phase II has a target of 3000MW of grid connected power. At persent, this target is being worked upon. The government is trying to come up with some direct or indirect subsidies and other mechanisms to bring down the cost of solar power and make it affordable for the distribution companies to purchase.

What are the major challenges to the development of solar power in the country?

High cost of solar power is major cause of concern. India is a price conscious market and it is not possible for us to burden consumers with high charges. The cost of solar power is coming down gradually. When we started the Solar Mission, the price of every unit of power was `18, which has now come down to Rs. Seven per unit. We hope that the price of solar power will come down further and grid parity will get attained quite soon. Lack of awareness is yet another challenge for us. Diesel generated power is available at `14 or 15 per unit, whereas, solar power, even without government subsidy is available at `9 per unit. The industry is not coming forward in a big way, because they have not yet understood the sector. Definitely, we have lot of convincing to do.

What steps are being taken to bring down the cost of solar power?

We are pursuing the strategy of indigenisation; we are encouraging manufacturing at home. We also need to cut down some of the prevalent taxes. These are the key things that we are working on right now. The government is already taking initiatives to promote solar energy. Certain measures that the government is adopting, such as accessory depreciation being provided for solar power plants, tax cuts on import on import of raw materials and machinery for the solar energy sector. We can hope that as companies within India gets more and more competent, and the manpower gets trained, the efficiency level will soar up and the costs will get curbed.

Application No

Segment

Target for Target for Target for Phase-1 (2010-13) Phase-2 (2013-17) Phase-3 (2017-22)

1. Solar Collectors

7 million sq meters

15 million sq meters

20 million sq meters

2. Off grid solar applications

200 MW

1000 MW

2000 MW

1,000-2,000 MW

4,000-10,000 MW

20,000 MW

3.

Utility grid power, including roof top

The National Solar Mission envisages having a generation capacity of 20,000 MW by 2022.

What kinds of technologies are being considered for fulfilling this ambition of having a generation capacity of up to 20,000 MW through solar means?

In harnessing solar energy, photovoltaic and solar-thermal are the key technologies involved. Within these two parent technologies, there are many sub categories. We do not profess the adoption of any particular technol-

charging station project, which will have 100 solar charging stations with 50 solar lanterns and 10 mobile charging posts. This project will lead to creation of 6000 solar charging stations. We also support setting up of mini grids though our schemes. We provide subsidies of up to `150 per watt places like Chattisgarh and UP. We are also implementing programmes through NABARD by which tube lights and solar panels are given.

Collaboration with NABARD can lead to 40 percent subsidy and the remaining amount can be secured as loan.

“High cost of solar power is

major cause for concern, but it is coming down gradually�

ogy. It is for different organisations to choose which one fits them the best. Our projects encompass a wide range of technologies. In solar thermals, certain technologies are being left out. We are coming up with pilot projects to find out what fits best in India.

Solar power can also lead to lot of off grid opportunities, especially in the rural areas.

Do you think that India should seriously pursue the idea of offgrid power?

In the Indian context, off grid energy is very important, even more important than grid power. With very little off grid power, we can cover large number of families. Keeping this in mind, we have taken out major programmes for supporting off grid. We need to fulfil the immediate electricity needs using solar energy. We are giving direct 30 percent subsidy; for special cases the subsidy rates go up to 90 percent. We are working on a solar

USA has imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese Imports. The global trade was extended this month to Europe. Even Indian Solar Manufacturers’ have petitioned for safe-guard duties against Chinese, US, Malaysian and Taiwanese imports. What is the department position on it?

The commerce ministry is looking after it. As far as we are concerned, we always support domestic manufacturers. The domestic manufacturers should be able to get good value to their products and services, and there should also be a healthy competition in the market.

When is the National Solar Mission Phase 2 public consultation process likely to start?

The National Solar Mission Phase 2 is on its way.

We are organising meetings and taking to our various stakeholders and we will be setting off with it shortly.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

35

solar power

India

Needs to get Serious about

Solar Industry “There is an ample case for having solar renewable energy as a key component of the energy mix that India is looking at,� Ashwini K Aggarwal, Director Government Affairs, Applied Materials India Pvt Ltd

F

ew weeks ago we had the massive power outage due to grid failure. Majority of the states in the country were crippled and more than 600 million people in the populous northern and eastern

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egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

regions including the national capital Delhi and major cities like Kolkata were without power for many hours. Around over 300,000 passengers were stranded in over 300 trains across eight states after the northern and eastern grids failed, crippling operations across six railway zones in the country.

Purportedly, the grid failure happened because of excess power withdrawal by some states. It underscores the energy crisis that India is sitting on.

There is an ample case for having solar renewable energy as a key component of the energy mix that India is looking at.

solar power

recommendations for Solar Industry • Develop technology neutral policies – and let market forces address the technology issue.

• Promote free and fair trade. Safeguard duties sought by Indian Solar manufacturers’ Association is a sovereign issue – and will be largely influenced by the global trade war reality. However, safeguard / Anti-dumping duties are not the best way to promote an industry and should at best be a short-run step.

Banking on sun Solar renewable is inexpensive and uses a freely available natural resource for most parts of India. It is affordable and getting cheaper – the solar module rates have dropped 70 percent and the technology is scaling up efficiencies and moving rapidly towards grid parity. And it is a green option – unlike the coal burning powerstation or the diesel guzzling generating set!

Solar energy powered 50 percent of Germany’s midday electricity needs on May 26, 2012 – producing more 22GW of energy. That’s the equivalent of 20 nuclear power plants. If solar can supply half the energy needs of the world’s 4th largest economy on a given day, it could certainly play a bigger role in India’s energy future.

Definitely, the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission (NSM) has laid a roadmap to a 22GW solar capacity in India by 2022. The response to the programme in phase 1 has made the ministry project a 10 GW of installed capacity in India against its original plan of 3GW gridconnected+1GW off-grid. The 6GW growth is primarily visualised from state led initiatives.

On ground, Gujarat anchored the largest installed base of 450MW by end May – a visible success at the dedication of the installed capacity at the Charanka Solar Park earlier this year. However, NSM falls behind with a modest 140MW installed in the phase 1. Batch 2 Phase 1 NSM projects (total capacity allotted is 350MW in Nov 2011) received attractive feed-in tariff rates starting from Rs.7.50 to Rs.9.50/- per unit.

However, batch 2 phase 1 NSM project developers had a double whammy hitting their projects – Rupee depreciated from Rs.43/ Dollar to Rs.56/Dollar! Also, the March fiscal budget marginally increased the service tax to 12.5 percent. The reverse bidding program in the National Solar Mission had dropped the FIT rates down in anticipation of progressive fall in the module prices – however, the rupee depreciation neutralised any commercial advantage there. At this stage, the financial closure deadlines for the batch 2 projects are just finishing and only a handful of projects have publicly reported closures. This lack of visibility is ominous and of some concern.

Can Indian Industry compete?

A typical argument from the proponents of imports is that India cannot deliver the quality or quantity required to power the solar goals of the NSM. However, they do omit the fact that the Indian solar industry came into existence by exporting products to Europe and USA. In fact, the 65 solar factories in India represent a capacity that delivers the visible demand for India and more.

What is relevant is that the Indian manufacturers will export and there will be competition locally from imports – and this is healthy both for the nation and for the industry. The issue, as per Mr S. Venkatramani, Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association, is not imports (free trade) but a free and fair trade! When peer nations subsidise capital and offer subsidies, it drives the local industry – and the banking system sick!

Actually, it is now established that we have a significant advantage in our cost of HR capital – our labour is decidedly cheaper than China.

• It should define standards in the sector and restrict imports that do not meet the standards.

• Review appropriate enablers for the industry to neutralize disabilities for the industry in India.

• Review financial enablers for the sector – both for the developers and the industry. Limited finance is the single biggest hurdle to the 12th plan period vision of 10GW capacity.

Our weak rupee is strength for Indian manufacture. C-Si PV module making is a relatively labour intensive process as is EPC execution at the developer site. India clearly has a fighting chance in the solar value-chain.

There is some concern on the lack of solar supply-chain in India, our regulatory disabilities and cost of financial capital. Actually, a smart policy design that enables selective indigenisation can give India the best of both worlds.

Policy Options and recommendations India has to decide whether it wants to drive Solar industry through imports or enable local industry to come up. If we are looking at a pure play import model, we have to look at $20 billion of foreign exchange for 12th plan 10GW till 2017! Also, there is the larger issue of India’s self-sufficiency in solar sector and the loss of jobs in an incrementally tech intensive area to imports.

The US and European anti-dumping petitions will mean that there will be opportunities for Indian manufacturers’ abroad. Not only will this increase the effective addressable market, it will also bring investments into the Indian Solar industry. Therefore, with the right policies the government can see the Indian solar industry rise phoenix like – and shine again!

Ashwini K Aggarwal Director - Government Affairs Applied Materials India Pvt Ltd

Septeber 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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in person

KVB Reddy

Executive Director, Essar Power Ltd

generating

power at low cost

T

ell us more on the current production capacity of Essar Power. Also tell us about the new projects that the company is planning.

Essar Power currently has six operational power plants in India and one in Canada with a total installed capacity of 3055MW. This capacity is increasing to 4510MW by end of March 2013 and to 6,700 MW by March2014. Essar Power also has access to approximately 500 mt of coal resources across seven coal blocks in India and overseas. Essar Power is expanding its current generation capacity of 3055 MW to 4,510 MW by end of current fiscal.

How do you see the power tariff structure in India changing in the coming years?

“Integrating technology with power generation can enable energy players to achieve economies of scale and efficiency,� says KVB Reddy, Executive Director, Essar Power Ltd, in conversation with Rachita Jha

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The prevailing structure, based on one-part tariff system, does not give adequate flexibility to the energy companies to optimise customers or consumption patterns. The other types of tariff setting methodologies prevailing in India are rate of return methodology performance-based tariffs and competitive bidding for mega-power projects.

Reforms in power sector are underway and regulatory commissions have been set up to determine tariffs, based on economic rationale, in order to promote competition, investment and efficiency.

Global experiences show that a multi-year tariff regime, where the guidelines, rules and methods for determining tariff are well established, would be beneficial in minimising risk and building confidence for the investors. It also helps to promote efficiency. For consumers, improvement in effi-

in person

ciency translates into more cost-effective tariff, thus ostensibly a better option.

Tell us your views on the potential for using green power for fulfilling India’s energy needs?

Clean energy will be increasingly important but we expect conventional sources of power, particularly coal, to continue to be dominant considering the needs of India to bridge a large deficit and provide power at reasonable cost.

Technology will play a major role in getting efficiency and productivity in power plants.

Tell us about your views on the use of cutting edge technologies for bringing efficiency to power generation.

Integrating technology with power generation can enable energy players to achieve economies of scale and efficiency. Additionally, cutting edge technology eases the matrix of power generation and transmission and also helps enhance quality by ensuring a systemic process. Essar Power has been able to generate and supply power at very competitive price points by using the latest technology and equipment. Our power plants employ a high level of

Essar’s 515 MW Combied cycle power plant at Hazira, India

automation, which translates to India’s lowest manpower-to-megawatt ratio. Having executed all of its power plants, Essar Power has built expertise ranging from project conception to

Essar Power’s commissioned projects Project

Location Capacity

Hazira

Gujarat 515MW

Vadinar

Gujarat 120MW

Bhander

Gujarat

Algoma

Canada 85MW

500 MW

Vadinar P1

Gujarat

380MW

Salaya 1

Gujarat

1,200MW

Vadinar P2, 510 MW

Gujarat

Unit I commissioned, unit 2 to be commissioned in 2012

The status of Essar Power’s ongoing projects: Project

Location status

Mahan 1, 1200MW

Madhya Pradesh

To be commissioned in 2012

Hazira 2, 270 MW

Gujarat

By march 2014

Paradip, 120 MW

Orissa

By march 2014

Tori I – 1200MW

Jharkhand

2014

Tori II – 600MW

commissioning, including engineering, procurement and construction.

What is your opinion of the ambitious Smart Grid project?

What kind of impact will it have on power sector in India?

It is a welcome move on part of the government to implement the Smart Grid project.

We understand that a pilot project is currently underway in Puducherry and it will be soon expanded more cities across India. With Smart Grid consumers can, at any point of time, know the exact billing amount and they are in a position to seamlessly manage their own power usage. At the same time, the electricity department is also able to monitor energy usage patterns on a real time basis. They can trace malpractices and energy theft, and if the need arises, they can connect or disconnect power supply online. It will result in improved efficiencies by assisting the department by billing power tariff online, collecting dues and help reduce distribution and line transmission losses. In phases, Smart Grid is also expected to enable the integration of renewable energy sources with the grid, reduction of aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses and peak load management.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

39

Franco Tosi Meccanica

Creating Large Power Projects “In India, Franco Tosi Meccanica is fully geared to supply power plant equipments to large utility companies,” says J Srikant, Director – Marketing, Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A., A Group Company of Gammon India Ltd

F

ranco Tosi Meccanica (FTM) is in the business of design, engineering, manufacturing, testing, installation and commissioning of equipments for large power projects. Boiler, which is another major part of power project is manufactured by Ansaldo Caldaie - which is another Gammon Group Company. Major components of large Thermal Power Project consist of BTG (Boiler,

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Turbine & Generator) and BOP (Balance of Plant). BTG being major part of power plant, Franco Tosi is associated with Turbine and Generator manufacturing. FTM has very large and high end manufacturing and testing facilities at Legnano near Milan, Italy.

Technology for Steam Turbines and Hydraulic turbines FTM has strong R&D set up which is continu-

ously under development in last 130 years. In 1949 FTM tied up with Westinghouse for turbine technology. Over the years this has been further developed and improvised.

One century of experience in designing, manufacturing, erecting and commissioning steam turbines is the best proof of Franco Tosi Meccanica’s capability to meet the market demands for highly efficient, highly reliable and operationally flexible steam turbines with low maintenance

Franco Tosi Meccanica

costs. Turbines are designed, manufactured, quality-controlled and tested in compliance with the highest industrial standards including ASME, ASTM, DIN, ANSI and IEC.

Efficiency • High aerodynamic efficiency blade airfoils • Large exhausts and effective diffusers to minimize hood losses • Structurally simple, symmetrical stationary parts that expand concentrically with the rotor to allow design radial clearances to be maintained during operation • Enhanced efficiency through reduction of parasitic losses and lower speeds in the steam chests, valves and inlet piping.

Reliability • Control stages designed and built to withstand partial admission operation at low loads • Successfully field-tested standardized components, such as blades, journal and thrust bearings, seals, valves, couplings etc.

• Tilting pad type journal bearing for highspeed turbines and self-balancing thrust bearing.

Projects around the world Being European company, it is not very easy to conduct business in cost sensitive market like India. By far, most European companies incur high design, manufacturing, testing and R&D costs due to high labour, material and other related costs. Since quality is never compromised, cost gets added significantly.

Despite all the constraints, FTM has supplied power plant equipments to large utility companies like Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Captive Power Projects for fertiliser and chemical companies. We are presently working on mid size coal based power plant and hydro power plants.

Presently FTM has no plans to invest in renewable energy business. However, this sector has potential to grow far higher than other sectors like thermal or nuclear. With world warming up to Green Technologies, renewable sources like hydro, wind, solar are the key for future energy needs. India has long coastline giving ample opportunity for wind energy and abundant sunshine for major part of the year ensures solar power to become viable option. Though there are some issues with hydro energy due to ecological reasons and large tract of land getting submerged, yet hydro power has potential over

STEAM TURBINES • Utility range – up to 800 MW – Supercritical Steam Condition – High Efficiency Reaction Blading – Straight Condensing / Co-generation Type • Industrial range – up to 200 MW – Conventional or Package Layout – Reheat type – High Efficiency impulse or reaction blading HYDRAULIC TURBINES • Francis – up to 400 MW • Kaplan – up to 100 MW • Pelton – up to 150 MW • Bulb – up to 20 MW

150,000 MW in India and even if small percentage of this is converted to energy, there would be significant reduction in carbon emissions.

Policies and reforms Energy requirement in India is continuously growing and capacity addition is not matching with growth rate. The gap between demand and supply has widened, particularly in last two decades. There is no doubt that electricity is a major driver for economic growth and increasing gap is affecting other industries.

In my view following major policy shifts need to be considered by government if government wants to seriously address these issues.

• Provide higher level of tax incentive for power projects • Provide land, water, fuel linkages to all approved power projects instead of IPP’s running around for these linkages • While preserving ecological and environmental balance is of utmost importance, these clearances are delaying almost every project being conceived. There are host of other clearances needed which has to be brought under one roof for expeditious clearance

•

Pump-turbine – up to 250 MW

AGGREGATE PLANT SUPPLY • Thermal Applications – Steam Turbine / Generator/Condenser – Thermal cycle – Turbine island – Balance of plant – Mechanical, Electrical and C&I • Hydro Applications – Hydro Turbine / Generator – Balance of plant – Hydro-mechanical, Electrical and C&I – Complete Hydro Electrical Mechanical Package

• Availability based tariff has to be implemented for all projects to ensure that plants are run efficiently and with high productivity • Tariff has to be in two parts – first part to cover fixed cost with certain percentage of increase every year and – second part to take care of fuel cost which will compensate for changes in fuel prices since cost of fuel price is not in control of IPP’s • Stringent laws to be formulated for power theft – which is now getting added in Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses. The unbilled power which is lost as theft gets added to law abiding people thus increasing power tariff • Instead of giving tariff subsidy to public, provide subsidy for imported coal – for which prices have increased by more than 150 percent in last 3 years.

J Srikant Director – Marketing, Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A., A Group Company of Gammon India Ltd

Septeber 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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in person

Arup Roy Choudhury CMD, NTPC Ltd

NTPC

great success story of our times

W

here does NTPC, the country’s largest power utility, fit into the future scheme of things? Is it doing enough to continue to play a stellar role both in the short and long terms?

NTPC is India’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 39,174 MW through 16 coal based, 7 gas / liquid fuel and 7 Joint Venture power stations. Presently, NTPC is generating much of its electricity through coal and gas. It is also diversifying into hydro-electric generation and wind power. According to the Corporate Plan of NTPC, the power utility major will have a total generation capacity of 128,000 MW by 2032. As much as 28 per cent of this capacity will be based on non-fossil sources. They are: 11 per cent nuclear, 8 per cent hydro, 6 per cent wind and 3 per cent solar.

Sounds very encouraging. Can you elaborate on this?

“NTPC is committed to introducing and expanding the use of renewable energy and plans to add 1000 MW capacity addition through Renewable Energy sources by 2017,” says Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC Ltd

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NTPC is committed to introducing and expanding the use of renewable energy and plans to add 1000 MW capacity addition through Renewable Energy sources by 2017.

The company plans to participate in the national objective of developing and promoting clean energy technologies through the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) set up by the Government of India in 2010-11. It is planning to begin with three projects, including

in person

one solar thermal hybrid plant, with the help of the fund. Hydro capacity of 1,328 MW is under construction at Koldam (800 MW) in Himachal Pradesh, Tapovan Vishnugad (520 MW) in Uttarakhand and Singrauli (8 MW) in Uttar Pradesh. In addition to this, 291 MW capacity is being taken up at Lata Tapovan (171 MW) and Rammam (120 MW) in West Bengal.

During the year 2010-11, the Company formed a joint venture company Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd with 51 percent stake of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL). Site selection is in progress for a 2X700 MW project to be developed by the JV. NTPC’s nuclear power engineers are already being trained at NPCIL sites. NTPC’s trading arm, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd, (NVVN) is the nodal agency for implementation of the first stage of Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission, one of the eight national missions of the Government of India under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). The objective of the mission is to create conditions, through rapid scale-up of capacity and technological innovation to drive down costs towards grid parity.

Coal-based power is a major cause of atmospheric pollution.

How does NTPC’s future generation programme in this sector plan to address this issue?

We have been extremely careful about this aspect and always invested in latest tech-

NTPC Ltd is India’s largest power utility. It has a total installed capacity of 39,174 MW through 16 coal based, 7 gas / liquid fuel and 7 joint venture power stations. NTPC added a record capacity of 2820 MW during the year 2011-12 surpassing its earlier best capacity addition of 2490 MW during 2010-11.

In the year NTPC brought on stream two units of 660MW at Sipat (Chhattisgarh), 500 MW units each at its

power stations in Jhajjar (Haryana), Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh) and Vallur (Tamilnadu).

With this addition the company surpassed the 11th plan target of 9220 MW by achieving total capacity addition of 9610 MW. The company has a presence in the entire value chain of the power generation business, having diversified into consultancy, power trading, ash utilisation and coal mining.

nologies and best practices in the industry to control the emission levels. Over the years, they led to avoidance of more than 30 million tonnes of CO2. During the year 2010-11, 2.8 million tonnes CO2 has been avoided.

Here I want to mention that Research and Development (R&D) plays a major role in our corporate objective. Promoting R&D for efficiency improvement and climate change related advancements are a very important function in all our NTPC establishments. The company’s R@D platform is very strong. The NTPC Energy Technology and Research Alliance (NETRA) has been working on specific

“NTPC is a great success story of our times. It is imbued with the spirit of ‘Can Do It’. My best wishes for this magnificent national enterprise,” Dr Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.

projects pertaining to climate change, waste management, scientific support to stations and reliability of stations. Working under the guidance of eminent scientists and experts who constitute the Research Advisory Council, NETRA is engaged in research projects for CO2 fixation in collaboration with leading academic institutions. NETRA is also moving towards establishing Solar and PV research facilities in collaboration with KFW Germany.

NTPC is also into building international partnerships in this regard. NTPC is actively engaged in the Asia Pacific Partnership to combat CO2 emissions and is the country coordinator for the Power Generation and Transmission Task Force.

A project concerning ‘Study on efficiency of operating thermal power plants, was completed with Japan International Agency for Cooperation (JICA) where a consortium of three major Japanese utilities provided technical assistance. Our Company has pioneered some of the methodologies for the Clean Development Mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

What steps NTPC is taking to ensure that the environment around its power plants is safeguarded?

Concern for the environment is integral to NTPC’s growth strategies which are driven by its environment vision of ‘Going Higher on Generation – lowering GHG intensity’. It is committed to the objectives of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

43

in person

is also at work on futuristic technology development. Under the National Mission on Clean Coal (Carbon) Technologies, it is engaged in development of advanced ultra super critical technology in association with Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and BHEL. This technology would have cycle efficiency in the range of 45% to 47% resulting in 15.77% lesser CO2 emission compared to conventional sub critical plants. NTPC is keenly pursuing a commercial scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology demonstration project suitable for the high ash Indian coal.

NTPC has a powerful community development record in the form of community development or local area development. What is your vision about CSR as per the new CSR Guidelines of the Government of India for the corporates?

“NTPC has developed a

long term Technology vision for efficient power generation”

of the Government of India. It is a leader in creating carbon sinks NTPC has created green wealth of nearly 2 crore trees which provide a number of environmental benefits and are also proven carbon sinks around the power stations.

Towards promoting environmentally sustainable power development, NTPC has adopted a multi pronged approach consisting of technology upgrades, research in CO2 fixation and low-carbon energy options, increasing the share of non-fossil sources in its energy-mix, afforestation, efficiency improvement and partnerships in international efforts for efficiency, mitigation and adaptation. Technology is a key driver of competition and environmental

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sustainability. NTPC intends to invest up to 1% of distributable profit for R&D activities, climate change studies and adoption of new technologies. NTPC has developed a long term Technology Vision 2032. The vision is driven by the objective of promoting efficient power generation which produces much less CO2 than in conventional plants. Adoption of super critical technology for almost all the power plants coming up in the 12th Plan and beyond is driven by the twin concerns of efficiency and environmental sustainability.

NTPC is going only for super critical units in all its future projects. Barring a few exceptions necessitated by some site specific constraints, it

During the early seventies, when CSR was still at a nascent stage, companies carried out welfare activities which were of a philanthropic nature. Companies are reaching out to the underprivileged and initiating policies that aim at the overall socio-economic development of the individual. Welfare activities are being carried out in every sphere be it education, health or community development. Today, the environment is facing threat from industrial development and many corporates have launched schemes that aim at the preservation of environment.

As far as NTPC is concerned, we have always believed that CSR must not be seen as mere philanthropy. In fact we believe that it needs to be merged with the core business vision and goals. Ever since its inception, NTPC has been a responsible Corporate Citizen. Right from the beginning, we have been involved in Community Development activities. Most of our projects are at remote locations of the country. These undeveloped regions have abysmal basic amenities and poor social infrastructure. So, we have initiated numerous CSR activities that have helped to raise the standard of living of the people.

NTPC concentrates on overall Community Development and improvement in the quality of life of neighbourhood population with focus on providing support in infrastructure, education and health in line with our vision to Power India’s Growth.

viewpoint

Look East...Growth Stories…Reverse Brain Drain...and 2050

Y

ear 2040 A.D. A globally positioned corporate company is taking job interview with a global citizen in a city in North America. After successful interview the Corporate HR VP asks the candidate about his preferred choice of country of assignment. Pat comes the reply: India. Any second choice: India. Not surprised, VP again asks: Any third choice: India. Comes the firm reply.

Dear readers, this is no day-dreaming. In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), currently India is the fourth largest economy, after USA, China and Japan. By a Deutsche Bank report, by 2014 India is expected to take the third position. Some wise men in the 1896 London-based global property consultancy firm Knight Frank and Citi Bank, have indicated in The Wealth Report 2012 released recently, that by 2050, India will be largest economy with total GDP of 85.97 trillion USD, with China trailing at 80.02 trillion USD and USA in the third position with 39.07 trillion USD ( note the gap between India and USA). The further report predicts that China will take the top spot from the United States by 2020, India crossing USA in year the 2043, the North American and Western European share of world real GDP falling from 41% in 2010 to just 18% in 2050 and developing Asia’s share expected to rise from 27% to 49% in 2050.

The Look East campaign started in western countries more than a decade back, perhaps soon after the economic downturns were successfully countered by some Asia-Pacific countries better than the developed economies. In April 2009 an Australian firm Servcorp conducted a survey on International Business Confidence, by interviewing 7500 international business people from more than 24 nations, to identify the countries

they believe had dealt with the downturn best.

Out of 36 countries listed by the Agency for the opinion, 21 developing economies, with China first, Australia second, India and Singapore joint third position, emerged favourites with the interviewees, for their ability to withstand future recession. No western country, except Canada, was named in the first 10 positions. Looking closer, IMF, in its Regional Economic Outlook report for Asia-Pacific released in April 2012, projecting 6% regional growth in 2012 and 6.5% in 2013, indicated that China and India continue to lead Asia’s growth in the near future with China’s GDP growth slowing down to 8.2% in 2012 from 9.2% in 2011 and India’s growth projection rising from 7.1% to 7.3%in 2012.

The simple reason to discuss all these statistical jargons and predictions here is that the Information and Communication Technology is going to play a significant role in this future growth scenario. With all the slowing down around, NASSCOM still observes that in 2012-13, IT sector would sustain overall 11-14% growth, domestic services to grow by 13-16% (in rupee term), aggregate revenue for IT-BPO would cross USD 100 billion to reach around 60% share of global market, y-o-y growth of 16%, current IT sector export share of 25% would have a growth of 7.5% and so on. Remember that while the world’s macroeconomic situation remaining a bit volatile, current technology spending in India is pegged at less than 5% of global spending only, suggesting tremendous untapped potential for growth of the IT sector, in both core as well as emerging opportunities.

Are all these having anything to setting up a trend of a reverse brain drain? Interestingly, for an IT professional, the perceived gap on living conditions between India and other western countries, especially UK or USA, is coming down, living cost to salary ratio becoming now comparable, enabling a professional to now live in a better

living standard in India than USA and UK. This is reflected in rising numbers of professional Indians coming back to India. M/s Indus Ventures (a Bangalore-based infrastructure industry house) indicated that 60,000 professionals working abroad earlier have settled for housing on Indian cities in 2011 itself. Why is this happening? Out of Forbes Fortune 500 companies, more than 130 companies have R &D bases in India, almost 400 companies have outsourced software development in India or opened their units in India with high salaries for IT professionals. According to NASSCOMM, there exists shortage of IT professionals by around 30%, leading to much better growth opportunities than UK or USA, while 2,30,000 additional jobs estimated to be created in 2012-13, making direct employment to about 2.8 million and indirectly employing 8.9 million people for this sector. There is also a great satisfaction to get back to the roots where the support system from family and relatives is outstanding and nowhere comparable to western countries.

Indian business environment is now better supportive for entrepreneurship and what lacking in India few years back was the boardroom access, that is also happening now, with every other day Indian IT corporate greats, shading off their vendor tag, are purchasing one company or other, in abroad, be in cloud computing, business intelligence and analytics, IPR and so on.

If all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle promise to fall in place as predicted above, we would all love to walk on a difficult road for the next 37 years, to watch dawning of year 2050 over Bay of Bengal…for sure!

Ashis Sanyal Consulting Editor, egov

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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in person

Dhamodaran Ramakrishnan Director, Smarter Planet Solutions, IBM India/South Asia

Building

a smarter world

T

ell us your concept of Smarter Planet?

Huge amount of data is being captured today as never before. It encompasses everything, from large, systemic patterns—of global markets, workflows, national infrastructures and natural systems, to the location, temperature, security and condition of every item in a global supply chain. At IBM, we want intelligence to be infused into the systems and processes that keep daily activities going across the world. We want to cover everything, including those which no one would recognise as computers, viz cars, appliances, roadways, power grids, clothes, even natural systems such as agriculture and waterways. Companies, cities and the world in itself are complex systems-indeed; rather we can define them as systems of systems. Increasing the efficiency of these systems and helping them to become more instrumented, intelligent and interconnected requires a profound shift in management and governance toward far more collaborative approaches.

IBM’s Smarter Planet strategy is all about taking the petabytes of new data that gets created every day and mining that for insights to build competitive advantage.

What is a Smarter City?

“Using resources in a smarter way boosts innovation, a key factor underpinning competitiveness and economic growth,” says Dhamodaran Ramakrishnan, Director, Smarter Planet Solutions, IBM India/South Asia, in conversation with Nayana Singh

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In a Smarter City, technology is optimally used to transform the core systems and optimise the return from largely finite resources. Using resources in a smarter way boosts innovation, a key factor underpinning competitiveness and economic growth. Investments in smarter systems also ensure sustainable employment. More than half of the people on Earth live in cities, and the urban population worldwide is projected to double by mid-century. Smart use of technology helps in transforming the core systems. It can help create an efficient transport management system, improve healthcare facilities and develop a robust communication network to connect all businesses, people and systems. In the next 20 years, every minute 30 Indians will leave rural India for urban areas.

At this rate, India will need some 500 new cities in the next two decades.

By 2050, it is estimated that urban population will constitute nearly half of the total population in India. The smarter the cities become the better it will be for humanity.

in person

IBM’s success stories in India Saving Lives through Tsunami Warning System India had no advanced early warning system in 2005, when tsunami had claimed about 18000 lives and displaced about 650,000 people. In the Bay of Bengal, floating across hundreds of nautical miles, are about 1800 small buoyant sensors, which record wave height, speed and changes in ocean current. These sensors transmit the information to a satellite, which relays to the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services in Hyderabad, helping it alert coastal towns to the likelihood of any tsunamis. Put in place by IBM, the system can send out alerts 2-3 hours before catastrophes strike. Right from helping fishermen in the coastal zones in the country with better yields and optimizing fishing time to predicting storms, earthquakes and serving as tsunami warning system, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services or INCOIS is leveraging technology provided by

IBM to offer ocean-related intelligence that has a very critical societal and business impact.

Creating Smarter, Energy-Efficient Towers The tower companies are the second largest users of diesel in India. Bharti Infratel, Airtel’s tower arm runs about 33,000 out of 400,000 towers in India. IBM’s sophisticated technologies monitor diesel usage in these towers and also sends out a real-time alert when any tower goes down. IBM does the asset management in real time for Bharti Airtel in India, which in turn, improves energy efficiency, and makes our cities more sustainable and green.

Towards Smarter Grid A new generation of solutions that capitalizes on instrumented, interconnected and intelligent capabilities is emerging and can be applied against virtually any of a city’s core systems. Further, they can help illuminate the interactions among different systems, giving leaders better

What is IBM Intelligent Operations Centre for Smarter Cities?

Cities around the globe face emergencies that require real-time communication and collaboration across departments and agencies each and every day. Unfortunately, critical information is often stored in multiple disparate systems. This hinders situation awareness

understanding of what’s happening in their cities and allowing for more effective action as a result. For instance IBM, is installing a smart grid at Malta — a group of islands in the Mediterranean sea — which will integrate both water and power systems and be able to identify water leaks and electricity losses in the grid. IBM is intent on using information technology to create many such ‘smart grids’ all over the world, including India.

Bridging the Divide Spoken Web The Spoken Web technology is designed especially for those who have little or no literacy or are visually impaired; get the benefits of the World Wide Web by creating a parallel system similar to the Internet. This voice enabled technology enables physically challenged people to have access and share information, do business transactions, or create social networks by creating “VoiceSites” through their mobile or landline phones.

and makes it difficult for various departments to coordinate response efforts. A city may fail to warn citizens of danger or rescue people quickly without a single, integrated view of a crisis and the ability to share information. IBM Intelligent Operations Centre for Smarter Cities provides a unified operational intelligence and insight and a single view of all city services which help in the prediction

of events and its subsequent quick response.

It helps cities, government agencies, and enterprises to optimise operational efficiencies and improve planning.

How IBM is enabling this smarter transformation across the world?

Over 2,000 city projects leverage on IBM to help them transform into 21st century cities.

For instance, smart metering in Malta helps citizens pay only for the energy they use. Predictive analytics helped slash Richmond’s crime rate by 40 percent in one year. In Taiwan, 99 percent of smarter trains run on time. Data analytics helped reduce crime up to 35 percent in NYC. In downtown Stockholm smart traffic systems helped reduce gridlock by 20 percent. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol move 20 million more bags every year with a smarter baggage system.

Peak energy loads fell by 15 percent when IBM helped homes in the Pacific Northwest talk straight to the grid. All these real life examples reflect the efficiency of sophisticated analytics.

Underneath this runs a complex pattern of insights leveraging discreet flow of information, anticipating problems, coordinating resources like a cognitive system of a living organism.

What are the various IBM Solutions for better outcomes in Smarter Cities?

We believe in adopting a holistic, collaborative, proactive, engagement-driven approach in evolving smarter cities and enabling citizencentric services through the use of sophisticated technologies. This include Smarter Buildings (Schools, Hospitals, Homes, Office & Plants and Energy, water, waste, emissions management), Smarter Public Safety (Emergency response and communications, Digital video surveillance, crime analytics), Smarter Water Management (Water infrastructure management, Resource planning optimization), Smarter Government Services (Social services, citizen and business interaction and Case management, visit optimisation), Smarter Transportation (Road user charging, congestion pricing and Integrated fare management, traffic prediction), Smarter Energy Management (Smart Grid, Electric Vehicles, Renewable Energy and Intelligent Utility Network Communications & Security), and Smarter Cities – Operations Centre (Improved services, operations, safety, sustainability, Incident Mgmt, Domain Correlation and Emergency Response, Citizen Dashboards).

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

47

apgcl

Power

Sector in Assam Electricity demand in Assam is likely to rise to the level of 2293 MW by the end to Twelfth Five Year Plan from the present demand of 1200 MW

T

Anurag Goel, Commissioner & Secretary, IT & Power Departments, Government Of Assam, Dispur Lakwa Thermal Power Station

tion, NTPC is implementing a new 3 x 250 MW coal based Thermal Power Station there.

APGCL has taken up 150 MW Lower Kopili Hydro Project. The TEC (Techno Economic Clearance) for the project from CEA is under process. 6 MW Lungnit SHEP and 9 MW Myntriang SHEP are being implemented with a target date of completion within the current five years plan.

Project development activities for other small hydro projects have already commenced.

he own generation of the Assam Power Generation Company Ltd. (APGCL) is around 320 MW and from the share of the Central Sector Generating Stations (CSGSs) viz.

NEEPCO, NHPC along with bilateral power, the total import is around 750 MW, thus the total availability of power now stands at only 1070 MW.

Initiatives from APGCL To meet the above gap between energy demand and supply, APGCL at the initiative of Government of Assam, has emphasised on development of large capacity thermal power projects based on coal and natural gas available in the region.

This will in a way minimise overdependence on hydro power, particularly during periods when there is lean hydro generation. Further, to harness renewable source of energy as per policy of GOA for development SHP, APGCL has identified 37 locations in Assam. Process has been initiated for engaging nationally/internationally reputed professional consultancy to prepare Techno Economic Studies including preparation of DPRs. At present, APGCL operates three power stations to generate power: (1) 119.5 MW Namrup Thermal Power Station (2) 157.5 MW Lakwa Thermal Power Station and (3) 100 MW Karbi

48

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Projects being planned A 500 MW coal based power plant at Margherita is envisaged through JV/Own. The acquisition

Anurag Goel Langpi Hydro Electric project. APGCL has also taken steps to revive its 60 MW Chandrapur Thermal Power Station. The plant was closed down in June’99 due to exorbitant rise of liquid fuel (LSHS/ LSFO). The high cost has made the cost of generation unviable. Further, in place of uneconomic, 4 x 60 MW earlier Bongaigaon Thermal Power Sta-

Following central sector generation projects in the NE Region are under various stages of progress: 1. 2000 MW Lower Subanshiri (NHPC) 2. 600 MW Kameng HEP (NEEPCO) 3. 110 MW Pare HEP (NEEPCO) On timely completion of above power projects under state as well as central sectors, the power supply position in the state will improve considerably to mitigate the shortfall in the state in the coming years.

Website of Assam power generation Corporation Ltd: www.apgcl.org

apgcl

Developmental Projects Completed During 2011-12 During 2011-12, AEGCL executed following developmental projects: 1. In April 2011, 132/33 kV, 1 x16 MVA sub-station Balipara was commissioned under deposit scheme of AIDC. 2. The 132/11 kV, 2 x16 MVA Dispur sub-station was also commissioned to feed quality power to the state capital.

3. Under Assam Vikash Yojana & State plan of GoA, capacity addition was done at Sisugram, Boko, Agia with 40, 80, 40 MVA respectively.

4. Under NEC, capacity addition of Panchgram sub-station was done with 2 x 25 MVA by replacing the old 2x16 MVA transformers.

5. With AEGCL’s own R&M fund, capacity addition is also under progress at Tinsukia & Dullavcherra has been completed with 16 MVA transformers.

Namrup Thermal Power Station

Karbi Langpi Hydro Electric Power Project

Heat Exchanger, Waste Heat Recovery Unit, LTPS

Dam with Desilting & Diversion Canal of Lower Stage, Myntriang Small Hydro Electric Power Project (9 MW)

Gas Engine Based Power Plant

of project land and coal linkage matters is on.

Further, with a view of exploiting the vast natural gas stock in Assam, it is envisaged to set up large capacity gas based power project at Amguri. However, currently, the project activities are stalled due to non-availability of gas linkage. A 100 MW Namrup Replacement Power Project (NRPP) is also being implemented to replace the oldest gas turbine units of Namrup Thermal Power Plant operating since 1965.

Septeber 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

49

apgcl

AEGCL is currently executing the following projects under different schemes 1. ADB project (Tranche I: Loan 2592IND): Under this project one number of 220/132 kV sub-station at Rangia, 5 numbers of 132/33 kV sub-station at Dibrugarh (Behiating), Rupai, Sonari, Nowgong & Kamalpur has been taken up for construction. Besides, there will be addition of 180 km of 220 kV line & 99 km of 132 kV line. Contracts for these projects have been already inked and these will be commissioned by end of 2013.

2. ADB Project (Tranche II: Loan 2677IND): Works related to this project is also under progress. Under this project, two number of 220/132 kV sub-station at Sonapur & Sonabhil (Balipara), 6 numbers of 132/33 kV sub-station at Kamakhya, Jorhat, Bordubi, Matia, Bilashipara, Hailakandi have been taken up for construction.

Besides, there will be addition of 163.5

On implementation of thermal projects in central sector like 750 MW NTPC’s Bongaigaon Power Project & 740 MW Pallatana Project by

3.

4.

a.

b.

km of 220 kV line & 63 km of 132 kV line. 110 MVAR of capacitors will be also installed at 7 critical locations.

These projects are also scheduled to be commissioned by Dec. 2013.

Under funding from GoA, a 220/33 kV, 2 x 50 MVA GIS substation is also under construction at Jawaharnagar with state of the art technology and will be commissioned by 2012.The Guwahati city is entirely dependent on 220/132 kV, 300 MVA Sarusajai substation and has no redundancy at present.

Under Ministry of DoNER & NEC funding, the following projects have been taken up for construction: 220/132 kV, 2x50 MVA Mirza substation & 132/33 kV, 2x16 MVA Azara sub-station near Guwahati airport targeted for commissioning by 2013.

132/33 kV, 2x16 MVA Kokrajhar substation, which will be commissioned

OTPC in near future, the state’s allocated power share from these projects shall also go a long way in meeting ever growing demand of energy in

Upcoming Projects Under Trade Development Fund, recently the government has sanctioned construction of four (4) 132 kV Grid substations at Karimganj, Barpeta, Sonapara (South Salmara/ Hatsingimari) & Dhekiajuli.

A World Bank financed project is also under planning; details of which are yet to be finalized.

A. Optical Fibre Communication Network Under ADB project, Tranche I, an ambitious communication network project has been taken up for execution.

The project will not only fulfil all the communication requirement of AEGCL; besides AEGCL is looking for commercial tie up with other

50

utilities for their communication needs. AEGCL has already approached PGCIL, BSNL and Railways. In 2010, an Expression of Interest was also issued in this regard.

B. System Yardsticks AEGCL’s percentage availability of transmission lines system for the last three financial years (2009-12 blocks) was 99.42, 98.85 and 99.01. AEGCL has returned 6.01 percent, 4.76 percent and 4.22 percent transmission system losses during the same period against wheeling of 4590, 5054 & 5699 MU of energy.

C. State Load Dispatch Centre Till date, the state load

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

dispatch centre (SLDC) is a part of AEGCL. Under ADB loan 2037, the communication network was strengthened so that SLDC can monitor all events and occurrences throughout the state on line at all time (24 x 7). The OPGW scheme will further strengthen the control system.

D. Website of the corporation AEGCL is maintaining two websites, www.aegcl.co.in & www.sldc.co.in. All current project tender details including bidding document are uploaded in the web sites for greater transparency.

by 2013 c. 132/33 kV, 25+16 MVA Umrangshu sub-station, scheduled to be commissioned by 2013 5. Under GoA funding, a 400/220 kV, 2 x 315 MVA Azara sub-station has been taken up for construction near Mirza township and will be fed through the 400 kV Pallatana-Salakati line of NETC through a short LILO. This project is scheduled to be commissioned by December 2013.

This project is vital for evacuation of power from both Pallatana & Salakati.

6. The 220/132 kV Salakati sub-station has been also revamped & strengthened with GoA’s Assam Bikash Yojana to receive power from NTPC’s 3x250 MW Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station with a 160 & 16 MVA at 220/132 & 132/33 kV voltage levels. Both the transformers were commissioned in June’11.

the state through a suitable balance of Thermal and Hydel power.

Transmission Sector Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Ltd (AEGCL) was formed out of restructured Assam State Electricity Board in 2003 under the Company Act, 1956; was notified as the State Transmission Utility (STU) and started functioning with a separate identity from 10th of December 2004.

Its core business is to transport electrical power from electrical power bulk heads to the distribution company networks in the state of Assam in an efficient and economical way.

Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Ltd inherited 3862 Circuit km of EHV lines above 66 kV voltage class and 38 numbers of EHV sub-stations having a total transformation capacity of 1,636.50 MVA at its birth in 2003.

Since its inception, it has added 523 Circuit km of EHV lines and has added 1645 MVA transformation capacity by way of commissioning 14 new EHV sub-stations and augmenting the existing sub-stations, largely due to the financial assistance from ADB under 2037-IND. Today, AEGCL needs to wheel 1200 MW of peak power to APDCL at 33 kV, so that power may reach all sections of the public.

Smart Grid

Trends and Bends Smart Grid “Asset modernisation is a most important element of Smart Grid systems,� says Gopichand (Gopi) Katragadda, Managing Director, GE India Technology Centre

A

Smart Grid incorporates information and communications technology into every aspect of electricity generation, delivery (transmission & distribution) and consumption in order to minimise environmental impact, improve reliability, service, efficiency, and reduce costs.

Generation The generation mix has undergone a lot of change in the recent years with increased focus on renewable energy. The ability to use renewable energy is limited by the fact that renewable energy sources are intermittent. Intermittency brings the quality and reliability of power under question, if more than 20 percent of generation is dependent on renewable sources like Wind and Solar. With increased advancements in controls and power electronics technologies, it has become possible to ensure that we continue to maintain the grid stability under such conditions through effective powerfactor control and intelligent resource deployment.

Transmission Transmission occurs at high-voltages (and lower currents) so as to minimise the I2R losses.

In addition to the I2R losses, reactive losses in transmission can be significant. Another issue is that of grid congestion with increased generation capacity and demand, but with a grid that is behind times. Smart Grid encompasses existing technologies to mitigate losses such as intelligent deployment of capacitor banks to offset reactive losses and new opportunities through the visualisation and prediction of grid state to handle grid congestion issues.

The technologies monitor the transmission network continuously through Phasor measurement units coupled with the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System and provide intelligence to the grid management. It becomes possible to identify power flows, load

City B Transmission Substation

Network Operating Transmission Center Substation Distributed Generation

Wind Turbine

City A

Windfarm Distributed Generation

Distribution Substation

Network Operating Center Battery Energy Strorage Systems

Residential

Distribution Substation

Factory

tial nity

Solar Smart Lighting Smart Appliances

PHEV Lot

balancing and predict any major interruptions in the network.

Distribution In distribution the challenges are related to technical losses, managing congestion, outage management and power theft. Smart Grid for distribution requires asset (transformers, switches, and breakers) modernisation. It will provide tools for optimal asset deployment. In addition, effective visualisation and better measurement of power flow can identify and isolate theft locations.

Some of the technologies deployed to manage outages better is an automated outage management system which helps in locating the co-ordinates of outage incident and help in mobilising the crew in the shortest possible time. This leads to improvement in the productivity. End consumers are after able to keep track of their power consumption through the Smart Grid system.

Our recent implementation in one of the distribution companies in India will help the customer to manage his network better during such outages.

appliances during off-peak tariff hours by using smart meters with integrated appliance programming, control and two way communications. In future we can expect a vast increase in the scope of EV (Electric Vehicle). For EVs to be effective and not disrupt grid stability, the grid needs to turn smart and deliver power to the vehicle while optimising availability and other demands.

The consumer can indicate the quantum of power that he would require at any given period of time. Such information helps the utility in managing the demand better and avoid instances of the peak hour outages. In Smart Grid parlance this is called demand response management. There is growing interest by the distribution companies in India to implement ideas like Availability Based Tariff (ABT), Time of Use (ToU) with respect to consumption.

Gopichand (Gopi) Katragadda

Consumption

Managing Director, GE India

A Smart Grid is enables customers to provide their feedback to the grid. Consumers can deploy their

Technology Centre

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

51

In Person

Pratik Chube

General Manager-Product Development & Marketing, Emerson Network Power

Smart

Power Systems reforms in the early 1990s saw lot of changes coming into the power sector; however, these reforms were primarily centred on the central and state government players, it was around 1995 that the power sector saw arrival of private players. There are a lot of initiatives that the Indian power industry can undertake for attaining efficiency and productivity in the way it functions. Recently we had the power failure in all parts of the country due to Grid collapse.

There is too much of pilferage or theft of power, which makes it impossible for electricity companies to balance their books. The government is taking giant strides in the renewable energy sector to promote adoption and use across the country. Also, the upcoming smart grid will open new window of opportunity for the power sector.

“Future belongs to power equipments that are green and intelligent,� Says Pratik Chube, General Manager-Product Development & Marketing, Emerson Network Power

W

hat is your view of the reforms that are being done in the power sector in India?

India continues to suffer from huge power crunch. The mismatch between demand and supply is in the range of 10-11 percent. The

52

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

Tell us your views on the potential of India to tap green power for consumption?

There are lot of issues with coal. There are the issues of availability, deteriorating quality and the low calorific value of coal that is currently being used. There are also many pollution related aspects related to coal. It is a good thing that now the country has began looking at renewable sources of energy in a big way.

The next big trend in the energy sector will be solar energy. The country is looking at more than 20,000 MW to be generated using solar energy by 2020. $20 billion has been earmarked for the same. However, significant investment is required for acquisition of land. The initial capex for infrastructure and equipments is also very high. The need of the hour is to have intelligent and smart devices built into the power distribution system so that the losses associated with it are monitored and rectified on a continuous basis. This will bring-in efficiency, productivity and cost savings, while also leading to more revenues for the power utilities.

What are the most important features of Emerson solar products?

In solar, we are offering on-grid or feed-in products and off-grid connect options. The entire range of products includes up to 100 KW in off-grid and grid connect products of up to 250 KW. Currently we are working with many APDRP projects in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal with our channel products of UPS and also our solar products are in the pipeline. We have also partnered with major system integrators and many PV manufacturers.

The industry is waiting for an inflection point where solar power will start getting into a larger area of applications and adoption. Bottlenecks are still there. Currently there are 340 companies active in the solar space and many of their power purchase agreements (PPAs) are still under process.

Tell us more on how innovations on energy products happen at Emerson?

Emerson has always believed in smart and intelligent products. We follow the concept of 3Is, which stands for Integrated Intelligent Infrastructures. The smart solutions that we are creating follow this eternal theme across all the products that we design. In power products, intelligence is usually introduced through a control module along with capabilities of multimodal features. For power product lines, communication features are important as in our single UPS product one can have 390 data points – hence the product can actually share data on all these 390 data sets that can be integrated into software system that monitor and modulate the usage of the equipment and power. So surely the future in the power industry belongs to smart products that are green and intelligent.

Cyber Security

Smart Grid – Cyber Security Issues The era of traditional power grids is coming to an end. The Smart Grid has emerged as the new standard for utilities and their customers Somnath Chatterjee, Vice President, Energy & Utilities, Capgemini India

T

he Smart Grid enables utilities to manage and monitor millions of devices and sensors from a controlled, broadcast only, centralised network to a high performance, interactive “Energy Internet”. These devices and sensors enable easy identification and repair of power disturbances, but they also introduce new concerns for cyber security, as they evolve to IP- and internet based architectures.

Some of the key cyber security issues faced are: • Confidentiality (privacy) of customer data, signal, location data etc.

• Integrity of meter data, signal, control messaging and message information, usage data, rate information etc.

• Availability of meter data, System data, location data, customer payment data and usage balances, rate information etc.

• As the Smart Meter products are evolving the product features are in the nascent state and still adopting to the industry standards either security or SOA • Lack of security functionality built into the COTS and vulnerabilities which exist in the features • Few access control options are available in Smart Grid COTS, for example, Smart Grid applications which do not support authorisation so any logged user can invoke any action in the system irrespective of their role.

• Functionalities are exposed as a individual services rather than managed through a common framework which introduces vulnerabilities

• The products often do not integrate with the enterprise security tools like access manager or LDAP stores. The concept of externalized security is often missing.

• Limited logging/auditing capabilities leading to difficult positions while detecting any security anomalies • Little or new support for confidentiality and integrity requirements for data at rest, these products rely on the underlying data repository capabilities.

Mitigation Approach The evolution to the smart grid requires not only a major commitment of resources but also a shift in thinking from conventional physical security to a sharper focus on cyber security. It is essential to look into the following concerns of the stakeholders which need to be given a higher priority for defining a security solution for the Smart Grid • Energy Consumers – Privacy • Utility Operator – Integrity of information and system control • Regulators – Integrity of system and compliance with regulations • Telecom Provider – Compliance with contractual obligations and regulations The need for cyber security applies for the Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Energy Consumers domains and a variety of elements need to be protected in each of those domains.

Given that the nature of Information Security and its mission to integrate disparate systems, the notion of secured messaging becomes even more important than the traditional models.

A comprehensive approach to cyber security is not driven by any single methodology or solution but rather it is a risk-based. It utilizes open cyber and physical security reference standards to create a flexible and extensible

security solution to adequately mitigate the targeted security risk. This begins with a detailed risk assessment, using the results to implement the required procedural and IT system controls to mitigate or minimize identified risks. Security requirements are reviewed, captured, documented, and managed in the same manner as other business, functional, and non-functional requirements.

Over-arching tenets of cyber security’s approach include: • The use of open standards like AMI-SEC, IEEE-PES, NIST IR 7628, NIST 800, NERC-CIP and TOGAF 9, • Defence in depth, • Multiple trust mode privilege authentication, • Data classification, • Flexibility , • Support of legacy systems, • Auditing, logging and reporting capabilities, • Integration with existing operations, • Reduced complexity, and • Cost-effectiveness Smart Grid systems are still very new, their functionalities and technological solutions are still being tested. Security must be built in from the beginning to be truly effective. As cyber security threats are still evolving, it is essential that cyber security policies, standards, processes and technical solutions be frequently updated so strong cyber security measures remain in place at all times.

Somnath Chatterjee Vice President, Energy & Utilities Capgemini India

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

53

kesco

e-Governance

Initiatives in KESCO Services like Urja Mitra have been a path-breaker in terms of improving the consumer linkages in KESCO Ritu Maheshwari, District Magistrate, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh; Ex- Managing Director, KESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation)

54

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

500

455 416

450 360

400 350

200 150

315

280

300 250 160

167

125

100 50

2010-2011

150

105

2011-2012 44

25

% increase

distribution sector is beset with poor billing (only 55 percent) and collection (only 41 percent) efficiency in almost in all States.

Reduction of ATC losses The reduction of ATC losses is generally done through a system of anti-theft raids and their scientific end to end tracking. There has to be flawless electronic metering at consumer premises. There has to be improvement in collection efficiency through a system of effective disconnection of non-paying consumers. M-drishti has been developed as a mobile phone based, real time tracking system that ensures end to end tracking of in- field revenue oriented activities of:

Revenue Increase (res in lacs)

No Mtr Change Advice/division

No of FIR

0

No of Raids

K

ESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply Company Ltd.) caters to power supply needs of around 5 lakh consumers of Kanpur city (Uttar Pradesh).

The organisation has implemented a number of tools from ICT to drive consumer satisfaction and bring about reduction in aggregate technical and commercial losses (ATC).

To ensure consumer satisfaction an innovative initiative called Urja Mitra has been launched in KESCO. Kanpur has been notorious for power related problems i.e. frequent power cuts and consequent public unrest. Urja Mitra is country’s first IVR based initiative. It provides free information about specific power rostering /cuts /breakdown / shutdown to consumers on their landline /mobile phones through voice calls/SMS. The consumers also have the option to accessing real time information through the website.

With the intention of enhancing revenue realisation, a unique initiative called M-drishti has been initiated in KESCO. The biggest challenge of the power sector as far as revenue realisation is concerned is the high Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses. The AT&C losses are presently in the range of 18 percent to 62 percent in various states in India.

The major portion of losses are due to theft and pilferage that is estimated at about `20,000 crore annually, for entire nation. The problem is compounded by the fact that no standard real time procedure exists for end to end tracking of anti-theft raids. Apart from rampant theft, the

• Raids conducted against electricity theft, • Replacement of defective meters at consumer premises, • Disconnection of power supply of nonpaying consumers • And subsequently FIRs under section 138 (lodged in case above consumers reconnect supply without paying dues.

The KESCO website, at www.kesco.co.in, has been upgraded to a highly interactive platform, which uses a number of IT and mobile technologies to provide following services: • Online electricity bill payment (both for bulk and small consumers) • Dissemination of specific, live power shut-

kesco

down/rostering/breakdown information in entire area through “Urja Mitra” • Latest Real time status of consumer services like new electricity connection, load enhancement, permanent disconnection, and consumer complaints registered on call centre • Payment of bills through mobile phones/ IVR number, registration of online complaints, downloading of forms, registration of phone numbers etc

Revenue Improvement Means Reduction of AT & C Losses Energy Available for Consumers

Input Energy

Collection Deficiency

Theft & Improper Metering & Billing

Technical Loss

A. M-Drishti

A. M-Drishti Effective Metered billing System Improvement work

Targeting 100% Realization Quality and effective disconnection Action in Sec 3,5 and Section 138 of EA-2003

Revenue oriented anti theft measures B. Load enhancement & Increasing Consumer base work

B. Increased access of customers for payment

Outcome of initiatives There has been a tremendous positive response to the initiatives. Citizens are enrolling themselves to get the information via Urja Mitra and the general complaints about behaviour of division/substation officials at the time of power interruptions have reduced along with the connected law and order issues. There has been rapid rise in the number of raids for illegal usage of electricity. The number of FIRs filed has risen by 280 percent. The rise in meter replacement advice per month is 151percent. Services like Urja Mitra have been a path-breaker in terms of improving the consumer linkages in KESCO. The numbers of substation complaints have gone

Gollected Energy

Billed Energy

Improvement in measurable indicators of Revenue Realisation through M-Drishti

down by 16 percent ever since the online and mobile based complaint filing initiatives were launched. The organisation is also using the database of consumer mobile numbers to send billing related information by SMS. This is a free service.

There has been a visible improvement in the accountability of the officers. Since all revenue related information is updated on a real time basis and tracked till the full amount is realised (MDrishti), accountability of all officers is ensured.

The web based monitoring portal (www.veldev. com/kesco_system) gives a snapshot of achievers

3

Power

ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON e-GOVERNANCE

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and underperformers and this has helped in much better revenue realisation. Similarly web portal of Urja Mitr a also gives a snapshot of power situation to administrators and enables them to ensure rectification in time.

Ritu Maheshwari District Magistrate, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh; Ex- Managing Director, KESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation)

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Renewable Energy

Why Renewable Energy is Important for India Heera Lal, Secretary & Chief Project Officer, Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development agency (UPNEDA)

C

oal, oil and gas are nonrenewable fossil fuels.

They take millions of years to form and their reserves are depleting faster than new formation. About 65 percent of electricity is generated from coal and oil. Hence it is on top in electric pattern generation in India.

Low calorific value, less production capacity and growing demand for power has forced India to import about 20 percent of its coal requirement.

India imports almost 76 percent of its oil requirement from middle-east countries and rest it meets by local production.

A rising India should give due heed to challenges posed by enormous energy needs. Oil and coal will remain the chief sources of energy for the foreseeable future. As a result, India will remain highly reliant on potentially unstable countries in the Middle East for much of its energy needs. The erratic fluctuations in prices of crude oils and fossil fuels are great concern for us.

Quest for energy security Energy security is a critical issue for us. It has political angle too and attracts the attention of eminent world thinker and politicians.

Our former president Dr.A P J Abdul Kalam says “Energy independence is the lifeline of a nation.” US President Barack Obama made it an election issue in his 2008 campaign. He wanted to get rid of dependence on gulf countries due to oil import. So, he promised $15 billion yearly investment for research on green energy. On March 30, 2011 he said “My country can’t afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out. Therefore it is time to do what we can to secure our energy future.”

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egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

India stands at 6th in energy consumption, but the country has very little fuel resources of its own. It is very interesting and strained us to think on our planning like USA efforts in last 4 years. On one hand US efforts have decreases its oil import by 12% while on other hand it is increasing in India rapidly. That is why, India must take serious endeavours to secure and control our energy future. That we can by harnessing all our resources that are available with a diverse energy portfolio.

Is renewable energy the answer?

India is fortunate enough to be endowed abundantly with renewable energy (RE) resources.

RE includes solar, wind, biomass and small hydro etc which are widely distributed across the country. And it can be utilised through commercially viable technologies to generate power.

RE technologies are based on the inexhaustible resources. These technologies offer sustainable energy alternatives to a world beset by serious environmental problems and volatile fossil fuels.

RE has started showing visible impact in Indian energy scenario. Today RE accounts for about 12 percent of total national electric installed capacity. Decentralised applications of RE have benefited millions of rural folk. Many rural folks are depending on RE to meet their cooking, lighting and other energy requirements in an environmentally benign manner.

RE has social, political and economical implications. It reduces poverty among rural masses by supplying clean energy. It also generates employment at village level and ultimately improvement in the standard of living and creation of opportunity for economic activities at village level which are not possible in absence of this power. Non-availability of power is a social issue for political actors. RE provide politicians to use RE as tool to solve this social problem in remote areas for political gains.

Solar Fan Indian RE programme is primarily private sector driven. It offers significant investment and business opportunities. New investment in renewable in India has now exceeded US $10 billion yearly. India’s huge potential is likely to be even greater than 150GW. Yet, resources from sources such as plantation on wasteland and offshore wind farms have not mapped. These have significant generation capacity and to harness this we need to a lot more. The generation of solar power is likely to increase significantly with improvement in technology.

Heera Lal Secretary & Chief Project Officer, Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development agency (UPNEDA)

In Person

BCK Mishra

Director (Operations), Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) & In Charge, Energy Cell, Government of Uttrakhand

generating

Power from rivers streams/ rivers in Uttarakhand. Total installed capacity of UJVN Ltd. is 1310.25 MW. UJVN owns 10 large Hydro Power Stations (above 25 MW) and 24 small HEPs (up to 25 MW).

Give us an overview of the small hydro plants that Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited is operating?

UJVN Ltd has following 24 small hydro power stations (up to 25 MW capacity) in operating condition. Most of these SHPs are situated in the remote hilly areas. These SHPs cater to the power requirements of the state through grid and they also supply off-grid power to the remote villages.

“With proper technology, our rivers can become a source of abundant, cheap and environment friendly power,” BCK Mishra, Director (Operations), Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL) & In Charge, Energy Cell, Government of Uttrakhand, in conversation with Sunil Kumar

T

he demand for electricity is rising in the state of Uttarakhand and in rest of the country. Tell us about the power generation capacity of Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (UJVNL).

At present UJVN Ltd is generating power through its hydro power stations on various

What initiatives are being taken to improve the power generation capacity of UJVN Limited?

Besides 10 large and the 24 small operating power stations with total capacity of 1310.25 MW, UJVNL is taking up construction of Vyasi HEP (120 MW capacity) and also constructing 9 other SHPs totaling 54 MW capacity. Further twelve large /medium HEPs having 3156 MW capacity are under various stages of survey/ investigation/ clearances. UJVNL has taken up renovation, modernisation and up-gradation works of twelve other HEPs to improve the efficiency of these power stations. Once the RMU process is completed, it will give about 28 percent extra energy (about 974 MU) to the State annually. Also UJVNL has initiated proposals for power generation non-hydro sources like – solar, gas and thermal.

Give us more details of your plans to generate power through non-hydro means.

UJVNL has planned two 700 MW capacity gas based power projects in joint venture with GAIL. These projects will be installed at Haridwar and Kashipur. However, the work

on these two projects has not been commenced so far due to scarcity of gas in the country. To augment power requirement of the state, efforts are being made with Government of India for the allocation of coal block to Uttarakhand so that a pit head based thermal power station of 2000 MW capacity can be installed. Persistent persuasions with Government of India are being made for obtaining the Coal Block and Gas for augmenting power generation in the State. UJVNL has also started preparation of DPRs for installation of solar power plants on the spare land available at its Hydro Power Stations. About 20-25 MW capacity Solar Power Projects are being planned by UJVNL.

Power distribution is a crucial area of concern. Tell us about the initiatives that are being taken for implementing latest technologies, like smart grid, and other ICT solutions for ensuring efficient power distribution in state of Uttarakhand?

Power distribution in the state is the responsibility of UPCL, a state owned power distribution utility.

To ensure efficient power distribution in the state of Uttarakhand, UPCL is currently implementing Restructured-Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) of Ministry of Power, Government of India. This programme includes establishment of baseline data and IT applications for Energy accounting/auditing & IT enabled consumer service centres. UPCL has made significant progress under the programme.

UPCL has created its own IT-backbone with its own Data Centre along with the network connectivity. UPCL is enhancing convenience of consumers by registering their complaints & answering their queries through Customer Care Centre. Core applications for metering, billing, and collections have been developed.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

57

Digital Economy Policies

An Initiative of Centre for Digital Economy Policy

Cloud Computing

The Potential Next Generation Export of IT Services Dr Jaijit Bhattacharya, President, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research; Director, South Asia, Hewlett Packard

Dr Jaijit Bhattacharya, President, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research; Director, South Asia, Hewlett Packard

c

loud computing is fast changing the paradigm of computing and of compute consumption. Rightfully, India is enthusiastically adopting Cloud Computing to solve its compute infrastructure issues. Cloud computing is considered as a disruptive IT delivery model that allows software/ hardware services to be delivered remotely through the Internet. The public cloud computing market in India is expected to grow tremendously in the coming years.

However, India and Indian policymakers are viewing Cloud Computing primarily as a mech-

58

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

anism to solve the compute infrastructure issues.

Cloud Computing services could also become a significant IT services export from India.

As India is uniquely positioned to become a low cost, high quality provider of Cloud Computing in all its forms, including IAAS, PAAS, SAAS and its myriad other iterations.

The primary constituents for setting up a Cloud Computing infrastructure are readily available in India, such as (a) hardware infrastructure, (b) infrastructure software, (c) cloud enabled application software, (d) connectivity, (e) skilled manpower (f) electricity and (g) cooling.

Given the focus on local manufacturing in hardware, India is soon going to become the hub of IT manufacturing, thus leading to reduced cost of setting up of hardware infrastructure. Also, setting up of cloud infrastructure would also increase the market demand for the associated computing equipment, thus making it lucrative to increase IT manufacturing in the country, thus forming a virtuous cycle of increasing market and reducing prices.

India is already a global powerhouse in software, both infrastructure software and application software. Hence, India would have the competitive advantage of providing Cloud Computing because of its software prowess.

Exporters of Cloud computing service, would also provide a platform to application developers to tap international markets which otherwise involves significant cost of sales through alternate sales channels. So again, a virtuous cycle will be formed with Cloud computing service exports attracting application developers to access larger global markets which in turn would reduce the cost of providing applications from India.

Thanks to the aggressive rolling out of broadband and connectivity under the programs of the Government, India would in the near future be one of the most well-connected economies in the world. This would enable India

to be highly competitive in providing Cloud Computing.

Coming to the issue of electricity, it would be prudent to locate such cloud computing infrastructure close to cheap, inflation-proof sources of electricity. The areas close to Hydel power would be ideal for such infrastructure.

Given that India has large number of such locations in the Himalayan states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Sikkim and the rest of North East, it would be a obvious to locate Cloud Computing parks in such locations.

These Himalayan locations also provide natural cooling, thanks to the perennial snow cover, thus further reducing the cost of operations for Cloud computing infrastructure.

Thus, to propel India into becoming an exporter of Cloud Computing services, it is imperative that appropriate policies are adopted to notify and create Cloud Computing Parks in the Himalayan States, with sufficient bandwidth. In addition, focus should be put on trans-border legislations that inhibit the export of Cloud Computing Services.

But what if after making considerable investments in setting up Cloud Computing parks, the exports don’t take off because of say transborder legislations ? The investment into rolling out the internet bandwidth and the associated infrastructure for the cloud computing parks will not get used as they would immediately get re-purposed for delivering education, health and other social services to the local communities.

Cloud computing is a natural monopoly as it benefits from economies of scale. Thus, the first movers of Cloud computing gain scale and thus reduce cost, making it difficult for late entrants to compete. If Government of India hesitates in setting up Cloud Computing Parks, other nations will get into this space and we will miss this bus.

In Person

Hiten Khatau

Chairman & Managing Director Cable Corporation of India

Advanced cables for power sector reforms and infrastructure will further drive growth. However there is a temporary slowdown which is likely to correct with market friendly initiatives from the government.

Give us an overview of the advanced cables that the Cable Corporation of India is manufacturing?

“We are equipped to meet the demands for cables from all areas of power sector – generation, transmission and distribution,” says Hiten Khatau, Chairman & Managing Director, Cable Corporation of India

W

CCI has been in the EHV cables segments, up to 230 KV EHV cables, for more than fifteen years. These cables are critical for power sector. The EHV cables are supplied to major Indian utilities such as Power Grid, TNEB, KSEB, KPTCL. The cables also go to countries like Bangladesh. Our product range includes underground cables with different insulations.

We manufacture Extra High Voltage (EHV) cables, High voltage cables (HT) and Low Tension (LT) cables.

What kind of role is the Cable Corporation of India playing in hydro electric projects?

hat is the market size of the cable industry in

the country?

The Indian Wire & Cable industry grew by over 11 per cent during 2009-10. This was indicative of a strong economic revival. The wire and cable industry comprises 20 percent of the entire electrical industry, which is expected to double in size over the next five years. The industry is growing at a CAGR of 15 percent as a result of growth in the power and infrastructure segments. It is expected to grow at similar rate for the next five years.

The government’s emphasis on the power sector

Two major Hydro Projects which we have executed on Turnkey basis, involving design, manufacture, lay and commission are the Kadamparai Hydro electric pump storage scheme, and the Pykara Hydro electric Project, both are in Tamil Nadu. The highlights of the projects are laying of The Extra High Voltage Cables in Vertical & Inclined Shafts for lengths of 330 meters to 600 meters including snaking designs. Also special clamping methods along the route were adopted.

The job also involved terminating of cables on Transformer tops using inverted terminations.

Tell us about the role that Cable Corporation of India is playing the power sector in general?

We are equipped to meet the demands for cables from all areas of power sector – generation, transmission and distribution. We can service all voltages from the Low Voltage 1.1 KV to 230KV sector. In all areas we can under-

take tasks ranging from design to commissioning on a turnkey basis. CCI is well equipped to meet the demands of various industrial and infrastructure related projects that are being started all over the country.

Tell us about your submarine cables.

We have equipped The Vivekanada Rock Memorial and Valluvar Statue in the south and Bet Dwaraka in west with undersea cables for drawing power from the mainland. The Vivekananda Rock is at the congruence of three seas (Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal) and as such are very turbulent areas to work.

The cable was laid in sea with protective covers and is in operation for more than 13 years. It provides power to both rock memorial and the Valluvar Statue. The cable at Bet Dwaraka links the city of Dwaraka with the Lord Krishna’s abode at Bet island drawing power with a 11KV Ht Cable. This was a 3 km single stretch of cable without joints. Both jobs were undertaken on turnkey basis from concept to commissioning.

What policies can the government come up with to bring growth to the cable industry in the country? Tell us about your expectations from the government With the opening of economy, global players are entering the arena, and are adopting aggressive pricing strategies. The Industry faces competition from Korean, Chinese, Thai and in some cases from European suppliers too. Government policies should provide fair playing field. Encouragement has to be provided to local industry by increasing the special import duty on certain products, which are brought into the country from outside at much lower prices. Local players should get preference in government contracts.

The steel industry as well as the power equipment Industry in India is facing a major challenge in terms of international competition.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

59

in person

leader speak

Haroon Yusuf

Minister for Power, Industry, Food & Civil Supplies Department, Delhi Government

Empowering

the Nation’s Capital

“Delhi has entered into long term Power Purchase Agreements through DISCOMs to ensure that the power is available at optimal cost,” says Haroon Yusuf, Minister for Power, Industry, Food & Civil Supplies Department, Delhi Government, in conversation with Nayana Singh

60 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

leader speak

T

he demand for electricity is rising in Delhi.

Tell us about the plans the Ministry has for improving the power generation capacity of Delhi. What kind of investments are being made for building more power plants?

In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power in the coming years and to reduce the dependency on other states, two new Generating Stations of 1500 MW and 750 MW capacity each are being established by the Delhi Government at Bawana and Bamnauli. At Bawana, two Gas Turbines and one STG have been commissioned. Government of India has already allocated 2.4 mmscmd of gas to Bawana Module-I. Delhi has 50 percent share of power in 1500 MW Coal based Project in Dist. Jhajjar, Haryana, 1st two unit of 500 MW has been commissioned and the remaining two units are expected to be commissioned by next March, 2012. With the commissioning of projects at Bawana, Jhajjar, Bamnauli etc. dependency on other states for power shall reduce significantly.

Please share with as your key achievements as Delhi’s Power Minister?

In my opinion, the key achievement of Delhi’s Power Sector would be the excellent AT&C loss reduction performance in the last 9 years, from 51 percent to 16.83 percent and 63 percent to 17.89 percent in BRPL and BYPL respectively since privatisation and from 53 percent in 2002 to 13 percent in Tata Power DDL as on March 31, 2012. As the supply reliability has improved by almost 99.7 percent, Delhi is now inverter free. The transmission losses of DTL which were 3.84 percent in 2002, at the time of its inception, have come down to 1.38 percent, which is one of the lowest in the country. The availability of transmission system is above 98 percent which perhaps is highest among all the state transmission utility.

Delhi’s first 400 KV GIS sub-station is being built at Harsh Vihar in East Delhi. The work on various 220 KV GIS sub-stations at Wazirpur, Rohini-II, Electric Lane and Peeragarhi is in an advance stage of completion.

in person

IT plays a very important role in Power Sector.

Following IT tools are being used in Delhi • SCADA/DMS systems to ensure high supply reliability.

• GIS (Geographical Informa-

reading) for accurate meter reading

effective management

consumers • Unitised sub-stations

of assets, resources and

tion System) for efficient

to counter challenge of

network mapping & Energy

sub-station space

audit • AMR (automated meter

cable sections • SAP – ISU system for

of

consumer billing • Integrated IT billing and

• Fault path indicators for

customer care system

speedy isolation of faulty

“Delhi government is determined to ensuring that power is available

to citizens at optimal cost” What initiatives are being adopted by the Ministry to ensure that the power is available at optimal cost?

Delhi has entered into long term Power Purchase Agreements through DISCOMs to ensure power is available to citizens at optimal cost. Currently the power generation in Delhi is 1412 MW. From Central Sector generation we get 3167 MW. So the total power is 4579MW. Remaining from Damodar Valley Corporation, bilateral arrangements, banking, purchase of power from Power Exchanges, long-term and short-term arrangements. Broadly, the Central Sector power is drawn from ChameraI & II, Dadri, Naptha Jhakri, Koteshwar, Singrauli, Rihand-I & II, BTPS, NAPP and RAPP etc.

India is a country of abundant sunshine. What initiatives are being taken to harness solar power for supplying electricity in Delhi?

IPGCL (a Generating Company of Delhi Govt.) is entering into power generation from Renewable Energy sources. Solar Power generation of 262 KWp from the roof tops of Pragati-I and Gas Turbine Power Stations and 5 MWp at the Ash Pond area of Rajghat power House are being planned.

We have target of 50 MWp power generation from Renewable Energy Sources by the end of 12th Five Year Plan. The Discoms, especially NDPL (Tata Power – DDL) has already set up 1 MW solar power plant at Keshav Puram, Delhi and BRPL & BYPL are taking initiatives in this direction too.

What initiatives are being taken by the Ministry to bring e-Governance to Delhi’s power sector. Tell us about the online initiatives that have been taken to enable people to have seamless and affective interaction with the concerned power officials?

In Delhi we have web based services for customer convenience including online registration and showing the status of their application.

Online duplicate bill facility has been introduced. Caller Line Identification (CLI) and IVRS have been introduced. SMS services and SMS alerts have been started.

What are the main challenges being faced by Delhi’s Power Sector?

Delhi is facing an acute shortage of Gas supply due to which commencement of work on the Bamnauli Gas Based Power Plant is not taking place and allocation of Gas for second module of Bawana has to be done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India.

Further due to stringent pollution measures, the coal based Rajghat Power Plants has to be shut down.

In some unplanned areas there is shortage of space for installation of transformers and also electrical system required for keeping pace with increased load.

September 2012 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

61

Index of People and Organisations

www.facebook.com/egovonline www.twitter.com/egovonline

Featured in this issue...

Index of Organisations A

• Uniline............................................................................21

• Hiten Khatau, Chairman & Managing Director,

• Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy

Cable Corporation of India...................................... 59

Development agency .....................................................56

J

• Accenture Utilities, India...........................................26

• Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited.................57

• J Srikant, Director – Marketing, Franco Tosi

• Applied Materials India Pvt Ltd...............................36

Z

Meccanica S.p.A., A Group Company of Gammon

• Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Ltd................49

• Zebra Technologies.....................................................27

India Ltd....................................................................... 40

• Assam Power Generation Company Ltd...............48

C • Cable Corporation of India Limited.......................59 • Capgemini.....................................................................53 • CISCO..............................................................................2

E

Index of People

• KVB Reddy, Executive Director, Essar Power Ltd....38

A

L

• Amit Mehta, Director, Evolute Systems.............. 16

• Lalit Jalan, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure........... 28

• Anil Sardana, Managing Director, Tata Power.. 22

M

• Anurag Goel, Commissioner & Secretary, IT

• Madhusudan Padhi, Commissioner & Secretary,

• Emerson Network Power...........................................52

& Power, Departments Government Of Assam,

Department of IT, Government of Odisha........... 10

• Essar Power Ltd............................................................38

Dispur........................................................................... 48

N

• Evolute Systems............................................................17

• Arup Roy Choudhary, CMD, NTPC Ltd........... 42

• Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique

F

• Ashwini K Aggarwal, Director - Government

Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)............ 20

• Franco Tosi Meccanica S.p.A....................................40

Affairs, Applied Materials India Pvt Ltd................ 36

• Neeta Verma, Country Lead, Data Portal of India,

G

B

NIC, DeitY,Government of India............................ 14

• Gammon India Ltd......................................................40

• BCK Mishra, Director (Operations),

P

• GE India Technology Centre....................................51

Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd & In Charge,

• Pratik Chube, General Manager-Product

H

Energy Cell, Government of Uttrakhand.............. 57

Development & Marketing, Emerson Network

C

Power............................................................................ 52

• Christoph Fark, Managing Director, SCHOTT

R

Solar CSP..................................................................... 25

• Rahul Agarwal, Executive Director, Commercial

D

Business, Lenovo India............................................. 12

• Dhamodaran Ramakrishnan, Director, Smarter

• Ritu Maheshwari, District Magistrate,

Planet Solutions, IBM India/South Asia............... 46

Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh; Ex- Managing

• Hewlett Packard...........................................................58

I • IBM...................................................................................3 • Infineon Technologies AG.........................................63

K • Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation.................54

M • Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission...30

N

62

K

• Dr Jaijit Bhattacharya, President, Centre for

Director, KESCO (Kanpur Electricity Supply

Digital Economy Policy Research; Director, South

Corporation)............................................................... 54

Asia, Hewlett Packard............................................... 58

S

• Dr Sergio Rossi, Head of Smart Grid and

• Shalabh Srivastava, Principal, Accenture Utilities,

• NTPC Ltd......................................................................42

Peripherals, Infineon Technologies AG................. 32

India.............................................................................. 26

R

G

• Somnath Chatterjee, Vice President, Energy &

• Reliance Infrastructure...............................................28

• Gopichand (Gopi) Katragadda, Managing

Utilities, Capgemini India........................................ 53

S

Director, GE India Technology Centre.................. 51

T

• SCHOTT Solar CSP....................................................25

H

• Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary (Solar), Ministry

T

• Haroon Yusuf, Minister for Power, Industry, Food

of New and Renewable Energy, Government of

• Tata Power.....................................................................22

& Civil Supplies Department, Delhi Government.60

India............................................................................................ 34

• Trend Micro ...................................................................9

• Heera Lal, Secretary & Chief Project Officer,

V

U

Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy

• V P Raja, Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity

• UIDAI.............................................................................20

Development agency (UPNEDA)........................... 56

Regulatory Authority................................................ 30

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / September 2012

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