Power | Business Upturn

NLC India signs Power Usage Agreement for supply of 200 MW green power to Telangana

Markets Desk — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 13:56:40 +0000

NLC India, a Navratna Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Coal, has signed a Power Usage Agreement (PUA) with Telangana State DISCOMs for the supply of 200 MW of solar power. The agreement, signed in Hyderabad, secures a 25-year commitment under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme at a competitive and affordable price.

NLCIL’s solar project, which is expected to be commissioned by June 2025, is set to generate approximately 1,300 crore units of green power over its lifetime, significantly contributing to India’s renewable energy goals. This project will also offset around 90 lakh tons of carbon emissions. The initiative will utilize state-of-the-art equipment, including single-axis trackers and domestically manufactured high-efficiency modules, aligning with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Make in India) campaign.

The partnership offers dual benefits: it provides Telangana State with access to cost-effective green power and helps meet the state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). For over three decades, NLCIL has supplied more than 234 MW of affordable thermal power to Telangana. This new agreement in the renewable sector marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration between NLCIL and the state, furthering both parties’ commitment to a sustainable future.

Government plans to operationalize Gas-based power plants to help meet Summer electricity demand

Markets Desk — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 08:13:42 +0000

The Government of India has decided to operationalize gas-based power plants in order to help meet the high electricity demand in the country during the summer season. To ensure maximum power generation from Gas-Based Generating Stations, the Government has issued directions to all Gas-Based Generating Stations under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 (under which the appropriate government may specify that a generating company shall, in extraordinary circumstances operate and maintain any generating station in accordance with the directions of that Government).

A significant portion of the Gas-Based Generating Stations (GBSs) is currently unutilized, primarily due to commercial considerations. The order under Section 11, which is on similar lines as done for imported-coal-based power plants, aims to optimise the availability of power from Gas-Based Generating Stations during the ensuing high demand period. The order shall remain valid for generation and supply of power from May 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024.

As per the arrangement, GRID-INDIA will inform the Gas-based Generating Stations in advance, of the number of days for which Gas-based power is required. Gas-Based Generating Stations holding Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Distribution Licensees shall first offer their power to PPA holders. If the power offered is not utilised by any PPA holder, then it shall be offered in the power market. Gas-Based Generating Stations not tied to PPAs must offer their generation in the power market. A high-level committee headed by Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority has been constituted to facilitate the implementation of this direction.

Profit at Tata Power increases to 94.1% due to strong energy demand

Aryan Jakhar — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 11:40:12 +0000

On Friday, Tata Power Company Ltd. reported a 94.1% increase in second-quarter profit, with energy consumption maintaining strong as the economy picked up after the pandemic lockdowns.

For the three months ending September 30, the energy division of the Tata conglomerate’s consolidated net profit increased from 4.22 billion Indian rupees to 8.19 billion rupees ($99.34 million), according to a filing with the stock exchange.

As the monsoon recedes and the festival season proceeds, power usage has recovered and is expected to rise in the upcoming months. Power costs have increased as a result of rising coal prices and heavy demand.

Operating revenue increased by 43% overall to 140.31 billion rupees.

According to Chief Executive Officer Praveer Sinha, the company experienced substantial growth across all of its business segments, including generation, transmission, distribution, and renewable energy.

While the company’s primary sources of income are power generation and transmission, it is actively expanding its renewable energy sector and in April acquired $525 million from a consortium led by BlackRock to support this expansion.

Power generating revenue increased by 118% to 48.34 billion rupees, transmission revenue increased by 32.9%, and renewables revenue increased by 7.2%.

Government issued new guidelines for bidding on power from grid-connected renewable energy projects

Yakita Somani — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 11:56:45 +0000

The Power Ministry has issued guidelines for a tariff-based competitive bidding process for acquiring power from grid-connected renewable energy projects. According to the new guidelines, bids will be designed in the form of a package with a minimum size of 50 MW. Furthermore, if the agreements with the land and infrastructure owning agencies are not renewed, the RE Power Generators are free to operate their plants after the PPA period expires. The PPA period has been specified as being at least 25 years from the scheduled commissioning date.

The ministry stated in its Gazette notification that the minimum size of a package should be 50MW in order to achieve economies of scale. The bidder must provide a quote for the entire package.

“The Procurer may also choose to specify the maximum capacity that can be allotted to a single bidder including its Affiliates, taking into account factors such as economies of scale, land availability, expected competition, and market development,” the bid package notification stated.

According to the guidelines, the procurer may invite bids in either (a) power capacity (MW) or (b) energy quantity (kWh or million units, i.e. MU) terms.

When procuring electricity, the ministry announced that ‘Tariff as Bidding Parameter’ would be used. According to the ministry, the procurer may choose between the following tariff-based bidding methods: (a) fixed tariff in rupees per kWh for the duration of the PPA; or (b) escalating tariff in rupees per kWh with a pre-defined quantum of annual escalations fixed in rupees per kWh and the number of years from which such fixed escalation will be provided.

NTPC reports net profit of Rs ₹4,131.99 crore in Q3

Vineet Jain — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 14:24:58 +0000

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) increased its combined net profit by more than 19% to Rs 4,626 crore in the 3rd quarter of the present fiscal year.

In the previous year’s similar quarter, it made a combined profit of Rs 3,876.36 crore. It should be remembered that the business recorded a total profit of Rs 3,315 crore and combined revenue of Rs 24,509 crore during a similar period the previous year. The net profit for the third quarter was Rs 3,212 crore, while the combined revenues were Rs 28,329 crore.

The NTPC board members agreed on Saturday, among other things, to give a dividend payout of 40% (Rs 4 per share) on the full price of paid-up equity stock of Rs 10 each for the fiscal year 2021-22. In a second statement, NTPC said that its board members had accepted an asset monetization plan to spin off the firm’s recognized renewable power facilities, as well as NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd, into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

In the third quarter, the business got 52.81 million metric tonnes (MMT) of coal, compared to 45.56 MMT a year before. Likewise, coal imports increased to 0.52 million metric tonnes in the quarter, up from 0.26 million metric tonnes in the previous quarter.

The NTPC Group’s total electricity production capacity climbed to 67,757.42 Megawatts on December 31, 2021, up from 62,975 Megawatts the previous year.

Top 10 most powerful people in the world

Abhinay Talkhedkar — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 16:29:18 +0000

Power is exerted based on wealth, power, service. The most powerful people in the world are either, Prime Ministers of various countries, the wealthiest businessmen, etc. Prime Ministers are governing the entire nation and have the courage of deciding what is right for the citizens and what is not. Businessmen have capital and can purchase and operate everything. Being powerful just means being wealthy or being in power.

10 most powerful people in the world are as follows:

1. Xi Jinping

is the leader or more specifically controller of the most populated country in the entire world. He also governs the second most economically flourished country in the world. He has practiced a privatization-friendly environment. He has threatened the nation and is not considered a public leader but, is a dictator. He has regulated media and opinions in China.

2. Vladimir Putin

got voted as the world’s most powerful person between 2013-2016. He is creating tension across the globe by expanding the power of Russia. Europe is dependent on oil and gas in Russia and that is one of the main reasons behind his power.

3. Donald Trump

He is the only president in the history of America with the tag of being a billionaire. He had the most controversial tenure and took various aggressive decisions. His take against China and Corona was widely criticized but, he was firm and fierce.

4. Angela Merkel

is the first female chancellor in Germany. She is constantly getting the chance to govern the nation. She is currently exercising her fourth tenure. She is known as the de facto leader of Europe and is irreplaceable according to citizens.

5. Jeff Bezos

is the man behind digital commerce giant Amazon. He has facilitated the world with online delieveries. He is currently the wealthiest person in the world with net worth of $194.4Billion as of 2021. In worldwide pandemic, everyone was purchasing things digitally and that is where the Amazon experienced robust growth. Wealth has made him one of the powerful people in the world.

6. Pope Francis

is the most famous spiritual leader. He has 1.3 billion followers. He is working to transform the conservative image of Catholic church and ideas. He is working to treat refugees, uplift climate, etc.

7. Bill Gates

is the man behind world’s largest private charitable trust. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has co-founded Microsoft. He is one of the prime investors in Canadian National Railway, Autonation, etc. He has done huge donations to Gates foundation. Recent donation includes, $35.8 billion from Microsoft stocks to charitable trust.

8. Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

He is the son of Saudi Arabia’s King. He became popular in 2017 by helding an “anticorruption campaign.” His action pushed many people behind the bars and also turned their lives upside down. There were 10 billionaires amongst the many arrested and suffered who lost their positions from the list of Forbes.

9. Narendra Modi

is the most popular Prime Minister in the history of Indian Politics. He is famous for his gigantic decisions which include GST, Abrogation of 370, NEP, etc. He is the most popular on Social Media. He won election byb the efficient use of Social platforms and is widely acclaimed as Mass communicator.

10. Larry Page

is the man behind Alphabet. Alphabet is the parent company og Google. He founded Google with a PHd student from Stanford. He is one of the powerful person in the world because he operates the virtual dimension of every life.

Wealth, Power, Religion are the reasons behind exerting power. These are the 10 most powerful people in the world and are almost controlling either psyche, money, operating systems or organizations and running the world.

Similar to Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal promises Punjab for free power for Punjab polls

Aayushi Singh — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:12:18 +0000

On Tuesday, Arvind Kejriwal’s promise for free power in Punjab on the lines of Delhi addresses a troubling poll issue in the northern state where the consumers had been paying high electricity bills and were upset on that count before elections, with both the former Akali Dal-BJP regime as well as the Congress Government.

In the second visit to the state, Arvind Kejriwal seemed to be completing the election list for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that could be major factors in Punjab for 2022.

In the previous week, he promised a Jat Sikh CM face of AAP, which he had no projected in the 2017 elections. Whereas now, Mr Kejriwal was set to promise cheaper power in Punjab like Delhi and also resolve to scrap and renegotiate the lopsided power purchase agreements with private companies which ran power plants in Punjab.

AAP would make a case that if these agreements were not reworked then the people would suffer for two decades.

Captain Amarinder Singh was rode to power in the year 2017 while promising to scrap the power purchase agreements and to renegotiate it, however even after four and a half years, nothing had changed, as per News18.

With an obvious plan for the 2022 elections and to give relief to the public, the CM said that the electricity tarragon was reduced in the state in May up to Rs 1 per unit for the small consumers.

For the consumers with a load up to 2 kw and consumption up to 100 units, the rate was reduced by Rs 1, whereas for the consumption between 101 to 300 units, the rate had been reduced by 50 paisa, and the consumers of a load between 2 kw to 7 kw got a reduced rate of 75 paisa and 50 paisa.

For Punjab, Kejriwal’s promise might be on the lines of Delhi where the power is free for the first 200 units and the consumers between of 200 and 400 units got 50 per cent subsidy on the bills. Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that 74 per cent of people in Delhi had to pay zero bill and that he would bring the same for Punjab soon.

Harpal Cheema, AAP leader in the Punjab Assembly, said that the most expensive electricity was provided in Punjab despite the state being a producer of electricity. She said that CM Amarinder Singh did not deliver his promise to scrap the power purchase agreements but instead had increased tariff over the years. She added that the people’s monthly household budget had only been burdened with the heavy electricity bills and that Arvind Kejriwal would lay out a complete plan for reducing the electricity tariff in Punjab.

L&T secures transmission line orders upto Rs 5,000 crore in Bangladesh

Devanshu Singla — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 06:53:13 +0000

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in a regulatory filing on Wednesday said its construction arm has secured orders worth up to Rs 5,000 crore in Bangladesh.

The power transmission and distribution arm of Larsen & Toubro has won large transmission line orders in Bangladesh, the company said.

The engineering and construction company did not reveal the exact value of the contract, but as per its project classification, ‘large’ orders are those valued between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

The scope of these packages involves the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of extra high voltage transmission lines on a turnkey basis, the company added.

‘As Bangladesh aims to achieve universal electricity access this year, the enhancement of power transfer capacity will improve the reliability and efficiency of the country’s grid and facilitate integrated development of its capital and the economic growth centres. These projects will also give a fillip to the cross-border electricity trade,’ T Madhava Das, Whole Time Director and Senior Executive Vice President (Utilities), L&T said.

Shares of the company were trading 1.13 per cent higher at Rs 1,385.25 apiece on BSE.