Power

India adds 12.1 GW power generation capacity in FY21: Report

India added 12.1 gigawatt (GW) power generation capacity in 2020-21, of which 7.7 GW was from renewable energy sources, according to a report. India's total power generation also increased by 1.3 per cent in FY21 despite pandemic restrictions, driven by a post-lockdown surge in electricity demand. The share of RE in the energy mix was 10.1 per cent, up from 9.4 per cent in FY20. India's RE sector, particularly the solar, has shown resilience in FY21 despite supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While a handful of developers continue to dominate auctions, new market entrants are giving them competition by bidding aggressively. These include large public sector companies such as NTPC Ltd, SJVN Ltd and Coal India, as well as smaller, private developers and international developers such as Al Jomaih Energy and Water Co.

Recovery in energy demand to continue despite COVID-19 led temporary blip: Ind-Ra

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said the recovery in energy demand will continue despite COVID-19 led temporary blip. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has published the May 2021 edition of its credit news digest on India’s power sector. Ind-Ra estimates, as per a statement, the allIndia energy demand would decline in May 2021 on a month-on-month basis, despite the peak summer season, and to remain below prepandemic levels.

This is on account of the continuation of COVID 19 led restrictions put out by certain states till May 31, 2021. With COVID cases peaking in May and announcements by certain states to open up from June, Ind-Ra expects energy demand to start recovering from June 2021. The electricity generation increased 42.5 pe cent y-o-y to 115.5 billion units in April 2021 (March 2021: up 23.5 per cent), supported by 55.4 per cent y-o-y growth in thermal generation (up 29.2 per cent y-o-y), although hydro generation fell 18.4 per cent y-o-y (down 7.8 per cent y-o-y). Electricity generation from renewable sources increased 17.9 per cent y-o-y to 11.7 billion units in April 2021, with solar generation increasing 41.5 per cent y-o-y.

Power ministry asks states to issue FY22 tariff orders

Reminding state electricity regulators to abide by the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, the Union power ministry has asked a number of states to issue tariff orders for FY22 “at the earliest” for their power distribution companies (discoms). Irregular tariff revisions limit the discoms’ ability to become financially viable, which in turn, leads to delayed payment to power generators and makes it difficult to maintain and upgrade their own network and systems. “Some of the SERCs are issuing tariff orders regularly in every financial year whereas some of the other SERCs are not strictly adhering to the provisions of the Act for timely issuing of the tariff orders,” the power ministry’s letter said. The recipients of the letter include major power consuming states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana and West Bengal. The Centre has also asked the states to restrict the creation of fresh “regulatory assets” and allow the carrying costs to discoms for past regulatory assets. Major states which have already issued the tariff orders for FY22 include Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Haryana, Bihar, Odisha and Kerala.

India likely to get third power exchange owned by PTC, BSE by year end

Power regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved registration to PTC, BSE and ICICI Bank-led Pranurja Solution Ltd to start the country's third power exchange. Senior officials in the company said the exchange is likely to be operationalised by this year-end. The commencement of operation of the power exchange is subject to approval of the bye-laws, rules, and business rules and the technology including trading software in accordance with various provisions of the Power Market Regulations (PMR) 2010. On complying with the conditions, the registration of the power exchange will be in force for 25 years from date of commencement of operation, it said. PTC India and BSE Investments Ltd own 22.62% each in Pranurja Solutions while 9.04% is held by ICICI Bank Ltd. In addition, there are 14 other investors including Greenko Energy, Jindal Power, Manikaran Power and Mercados Energy Markets, each of whom is having shareholding less than 5%.

Power industry seeks relaxation of fly ash disposal norms

With demand for fly ash coming down from cement and brick manufacturing units, power plants have requested the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change not to impose financial penalties if they are unable to utilise all the fly ash produced from power generation. Thermal plants are supposed to utilise 100% of fly ash from the fourth year of operation. Over 25% of fly ash produced from power plants is used by the cement industry. Bricks and tile makers consume about 10% and another 10% is utilised for making roads and flyovers. More than 5% of the fly ash is used for the reclamation of low lying areas.

The 101 power plants monitored in FY20 generated 226 million tonnes of fly ash in the fiscal, of which, 83% could be utilised. Of these, 47 plants had achieved 100% utilisation while the utilisation of another 14 units ranged between 90% and 100%. “The requirement of 100% fly ash utilisation may be waived for FY21 and FY22 and no financial penalties should be imposed on thermal power plants during this period,” APP requested.

Ladakh gets Centre's nod for transmission lines at cost of Rs 1,310 cr

The central government has approved intrastate transmission works at a revised cost of Rs 1,309.71 crore to link far-flung villages of Ladakh to the grid and phase out DG sets towards achieving carbon neutrality in the Union Territory, a top official said. The project on completion would also provide the army and the far-flung villages with clean power round the clock, he added. Lt Governor R K Mathur said the intra-state transmission works have been sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Power and include 220 KV S/C transmission lines of D/C tower (total 307 km), including Kargil-Padum (Zanskar) (207 km) and Phyang to Diskit (Nubra) (100 km) and two 220/33 KV Grid substation one each at Diskit, Nubra (50 MVA) and Padum, Zanskar (50 MVA) with an outlay of Rs 1,309.71 crore. These transmission lines will link far-flung villages to the Grid and phase out DG sets used in far-flung villages, thus taking one more step towards achieving Carbon Neutrality in Ladakh. This will also provide the Army and far-flung villages with clean power round the clock.

Covid-19: Uttar Pradesh govt decides not to increase electricity tariff in state

In view of the Covid situation, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided not to increase the prices of electricity in the state. In a meeting with key officials, chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed them to ensure that there is no increase in electricity prices this year. The direction comes at a time when the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission is in the midst of preparing the tariff based on the annual revenue requirement (ARR) filed by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation. Earlier, in February this year, the five power distribution companies (discoms) of UPPCL — Madhyanchal, Paschimanchal, Poorvanchal, Dakshinanchal and KesCo — had filed their annual revenue requirement (ARR) proposal to the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission, projecting a total revenue requirement of Rs 81,901 crore during 2021-22. It included an estimated expenditure of Rs 62,020 crore on the purchase of 1,20,043 million units (MUs) of electricity during the year.

India ranks third in Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index

India moved up a position to the third spot in EY’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index as a result of an exceptional performance on the solar PV front and with generation from solar forecast to exceed coal before 2040. The US retains top position on the Index and is expected to hold its position under President Biden. China has remained a buoyant market and maintains second position, adding 72.4 GW of new wind power in 2020, the report added. The event will engage the leaders to help shape the global, regional and local agenda in the energy sector including Power, Energy Transition, Oil & Gas, Renewables, Coal, Digital Transformation among others. The report said that India’s solar sector is expected to grow significantly post the COVID-19 pandemic, with generation from solar PV forecast to exceed coal before 2040, driven by the government’s policy ambitions, which has led solar PV to be the most cost-competitive source of power in the region and improving further with the passage of time.

Over Rs 9,000 crore worth of renewable energy certificates sold in India till 20th May : Report

India's renewable energy certificate (REC) market has recorded net sales worth Rs 9,266 crore during its decade of existence, according to a study released by the CEEW-Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF). It added that India's 27 RPO under-compliant states would have needed to buy an additional 67.2 million certificates in 2020 if they had chosen only to use RECs to meet their targets -- total REC issuances between 2011 and 2020 amounted to just 70.6 million. According to the study, solar projects account for as few as 16 per cent of all RECs issued to power generators. Discoms, the largest consumers of solar power in India, account for a mere 12 per cent of the total REC issuances.

Deadlines extended for green energy projects amid Covid restrictions

The Centre has granted time extension to renewable energy projects scheduled to be commissioned on or after April 1 on account of resurgence of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns and restrictions in many states. The actual quantum of time-extension shall be decided in due course depending on the pandemic situation in the coming weeks, it said. The implementing agency will not initiate coercive action on the project for recovery of penalty on delayed commissioning till the time-extension request is decided upon.

Renewables accounted for 64 per cent of generation capacity addition in FY21: Report

Renewable energy (RE) dominated power generation capacity addition in financial year 202021 (FY21) and accounted for 7.7 gigawatt (GW) about 64 per cent, of the 12.1 GW added, according to a latest report. The report, however, added that coal capacity addition fell only by a marginal 6 per cent in FY21 compared to the previous fiscal year. It added that the announcement of basic customs duties on solar cells and modules drove up auction tariffs by 11 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY21. While tariffs discovered in solar auctions held in Gujarat rose from a historic low of Rs 1.99 per unit in December 2020 to Rs 2.20 per unit in March 2021. A basic customs duty of 45 per cent on solar modules and 20 percent on solar cells will take effect in April 2022.

India added 2,105 MW grid-connected solar capacity in Q1 2021: Bridge to India

India added 2,105 megawatt (MW) of gridconnected solar power generation capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, as the first wave of COVID-19 subsided and construction pace picked up gradually. This took the total installed capacity to 44,241 MW by 31 March 2021, according to a recent report. The report said that utility-scale solar installations increased by more than 33 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q1 2021. According to the report by renewable energy consultancy Bridge to India, the new capacity addition was split between utility-scale solar and rooftop solar, at 1,735 MW and 370 MW, respectively. Construction activity is expected to pick up pace in Q3 2021, with capacity addition expected at 2,470 MW. It added that the total commissioned utilityscale, rooftop solar and off-grid solar capacity stood at 35,939 MW, 7,162 MW and 1,140 MW respectively. The total project pipeline stood at 52,392 MW as on 31 March 2021.

Govt sanctions 19,000 solar street lights for Jammu and Kashmir

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned 19,000 solar street lights (SSLs) to Jammu and Kashmir, where the J&K Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) has already installed 2,200 such lights so far, officials said. The SSL project has a central financial support of Rs 42.06 crore against the total project cost of Rs 47.84 crore with the remaining project cost of Rs 5.78 crore to be provided by the Union Territory. As many as 285 SSLs have been installed in Reasi, 206 in Kishtwar, 230 in Ramban & other districts of Jammu division. A total of 565 SSLs in Kulgam, 499 in Anantnag, 159 in Bandipora and other districts of Kashmir division have also been installed, after following all standard operating procedures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nuclear Power Corp to spend Rs 18,000 cr on capital expenditure in FY22

Atomic power generation company Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) plans to spend about Rs 18,000 crore as capital expenditure this fiscal, said top company official. He also said the first pour of concrete for the construction of two more 1,000 MW units (Units 5 and 6) at Kudankulam is expected to happen this year and the 700 MW unit at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) will begin commercial generation in September 2021. According to him, the major on-going projects are the construction of two 1,000 MW units (Units 3 and 4) at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, four 700 MW units -- two each at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS - Units 7 and 8) and KAPS (Units 3 and 4). These apart, 10 more indigenously designed 700 MW units will be set up in a fleet mode and NPCIL is preparing the different sites to house them. The 10 units are planned to be completed progressively by 2031 involving an outlay of Rs 1,05,000 crore with per MW cost estimated at about Rs 15 crore.

Gujarat tops wind power capacity addition in 2020-21

Gujarat continues to be the preferred destination for setting up wind power projects in India. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Gujarat witnessed the highest addition of wind power generation capacity in the country in 2020-21. Wind power projects with the cumulative generation capacity of 1,020.3MW were installed and commissioned in Gujarat from April 2020 to March 21. Gujarat was followed by Tamil Nadu (303.7MW) and Karnataka (148MW). In fact, Gujarat grabbed the lion’s share of 68% in the new wind power capacity addition across the country in 2020-21. About 1,503.3MW of new wind power generation capacity was installed in India in fiscal 2021, IWTMA data shows.