energising india 2010
DESCRIPTION
A detailed annual magazine on the energy scenario of IndiaTRANSCRIPT
-
2 March 2010
I am delighted to note that the Indian Express Limited is bringing out a special edition
on the power sector in the country. The Indian Power sector is indeed worth telling
considering its immense potential, its geographic vastness and the wide demand.
As the development of Indias Power Sector is vital for the countrys sustained and
inclusive growth, the Government of India has embarked on an ambitious program to
provide power to all by 2012. It plans to increase generation capacity from the present
155 GW to over 200 GW by the end of XI Plan, including through mobilization of private
sector investment to the maximum extent possible. Cleaner energy sources hydro,
nuclear, solar, wind and biomass are also being developed.
Understanding the immense potential of power and its criticality in the coming years
for the country, I am glad to note that The Indian Express Limited initiated the annual
handbook titled Energising India, three years back.
It is indeed heartening that the newspaper is trying to create awareness about the
sector, the Governments initiatives and plans as well as analyzing the ambition set by
the Government.
It is indeed a commendable endeavour by the Group, which is known for its path
breaking initiatives.
I wish the Group all the best in its efforts and future endeavours.
Sushilkumar Shinde
Sushilkumar Shinde,
Minister of Power,
Government of India
Message
-
3 March 2010
Biju Mathews
General Manager
The Indian Express Limited
The Ministry of Power has set a goal - Mission 2012: Power for All. A compre-
hensive Blueprint for Power Sector development has been prepared encompassing
an integrated strategy for the sector development with objectives of sufficient
power to achieve GDP growth rate of over 8%, quality power, optimum power cost,
commercial viability of power industry and Power for all.
But the all India installed capacity of power stations located in the regions of
mainland and islands as on 31st December 2009 is only 1,56,092.23 MW, which in
itself is way below the demand. According to the governments safe mission of
Power for all, the target is to achieve an installed generation capacity of at least 2,
00,000 MW by 2012. But then in literal terms it does not even come close to Power
for all.
India does not have even one state which is currently power surplus. There is a
lot more to be done. To have an installed capacity that meets the requirement in
every nook and cranny of the country is the first challenge. The other challenge is to
be able to supply this power to the entire country which needs an expansion of the
regional transmission network and inter regional capacity to transmit power. The
latter is required because resources are unevenly distributed in the country and
power needs to be carried great distances to areas where load centers exist.
In the future, on a broader scale, the entire gamut of energy will be a global
industry, vital to economic development having strong political and social implica-
tions. The strong correlation between economic growth, welfare and energy use
means that future demand levels, security of supply, energy mixes, production levels
and general market dynamics will increasingly move to the fore as key issues.
In this edition of Energising India, we present a report on the Power for all
agenda of the government and the countrys preparedness to meet the same. We
have also covered the critical aspect of Rural electrification as well and the way it is
facing huge hurdles but is still flickering with hope of better times.
We have also presented Generation Giants of the country in terms of installed
capacity where we have featured top states, region-wise. The statistics from the
Central Electricity Authority clearly indicate the situation of power in the country.
We hope that with this edition of Energising India, in its third year; will again
give you a better understanding of the power situation of the country and the
challenges which it faces in the near future.
POWER FAR FROM ALL?
-
Power for All by 2012.
Are We Prepared?.....................6
Meeting the Vision of Power for
All by 2012............................12
Rural Electrification: Challenges
Galore, Hope Lives...................18
PowerGrid.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 JSW... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Websol.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
WinWind... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Sujana.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
NEEPCO... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 HPCL ......................................56 Generation Giants of
India.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Chairman of the Board : Viveck Goenka, Vice President & Head, B P D : Sandeep Khosla, General Manager : Biju Mathews,Chief Managers : Anthony Daniel, Y. S. Venkat Swamy, Managers : L. Francis Farias, A.K. Shukla, Dy. Manager : Vijay Kulkarni,
Editorial: Chief of Bureau : Vyas Sivanand, Reporters : Amguth Raju, Amal Tewari,Design & Layout : N. Prasad, Production & Circulation : M.E.A. Mujahid, Photographer : M. Vidya Sagar Rao,
Support & Co-ordination : M. Narender, B. Naresh, IT Support : M. Hemant Kumar, R. Suman Kumar
Copyright : The Indian Express Limited.All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission, is prohibited.
Articles by contributors are solely the authors views. They do not reflect the publications views.All correspondence should be sent to : The Indian Express Limited, Business Publications Division, 6-3-885/7/B, Ground Floor, V.V. Mansion, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-82
Tel: 23418672, 23418673/674, 679 to 680, 66631457 Tele Fax : 23418675 / 681 E-mail : [email protected] Website : www.expressindia.com
AP Transco..........................37
-
6 March 2010
POWER FOR ALL BY 2012
ARE WE PREPARED?
Over the decades, the Five Year Plan of the Indian Government has been theblueprint of growth and development across all sectors of the Indian economy. Butno other sector has received as much importance and investment as the powersector has. Now with the implementation of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012),the governments power ministry has proposed a highly ambitious agenda ofPower for All by 2012. Many schemes, programmes and projects have beenintroduced and implemented to make this dream a reality, but with just two moreyears to go in the 11th Plan, just how prepared is the power ministry in achievingthis daunting task? We analyse the progress made thus far.
-
7 March 2010
Economic development and
improvement in the quality of
living of any country require Power
supply as one of the foundations. With
the ambitious agenda of Power for All
2012 set by the Indian Power Ministry,
the nation is expecting the power sector
to provide the citizens with uninter-
rupted quality power supply and offer
basic electricity services to all. To live up
to these expectations, the power sector
needs to incorporate optimal utilisation
of energy resources by implementing
efficient technologies in generating,
transmitting and distributing power.
Though there has been improvement
in the power sector, the growth in
demand for electricity has surpassed the
generation of electricity, resulting in the
continued shortage of power. In the 11th
Five Year Plan (2007-2012) a capacity
addition target of 78,700 MW has been
proposed to meet the present shortages
and the growing demand in the country.
Capacity addition projects of around
12,000 MW have already been commis-
sioned and projects totalling 66,000 MW
are under different stages of execution.
This Five Year Plan is also seeing growth
in the involvement of the private sector;
from less than 2,000 MW capacity added
in the private sector in the 10th Plan,
more than 20,000 MW of capacity
addition in the private sector is under
execution in the 11th Plan.
The Power Ministry has also taken up
the task of setting up many Ultra Mega
Power Projects (UMPPs) of 4,000 MW
each. Programmes have been imple-
mented to augment inter-regional
transfer capacity from 18650 MW to over
38000 MW by the end of 2011-12; though
it is required to step up the transfer of
power from surplus to deficit regions.
The Government also formulated
schemes for the renovation and
modernisation of existing Power Plants
for efficient power generation and
transmission - a restructured Acceler-
ated Power Development and Reforms
Programme had been undertaken for
bringing down the aggregate technical
and commercial losses of transmission
and distribution utilities below 15
percent. In addition, various energy
efficiency and conservation measures
have been initiated such as the Energy
Conservation Building Code and Bachat
Lamp Yojana.
The Power for All Agenda
Unfortunately, that is all that can
really be said about the Power Ministrys
endeavours to provide Power for All by
2012. This agenda set by the ministry
was meant to be a comprehensive
blueprint for Power Sector development,
prepared encompassing an integrated
strategy for the sector development. The
government was aiming to generate
sufficient power to achieve GDP growth
rate of 8%, while supplying reliable and
quality power at optimum costs, to make
the power industry commercially viable
and provide Power for All.
To achieve these aforementioned
objectives, the Power Ministry had
planned the following strategically
layered approach:
Power Generation Strategy with focuson low cost generation, optimisation of
capacity utilisation, controlling the
input cost, optimisation of fuel mix,
technology up-gradation and
utilisation of non conventional energy
sources
Transmission Strategy with focus ondevelopment of National Grid including
Interstate connections, Technology up-
Though there has been improve-
ment, the growth in demand for
electricity has surpassed the
generation of electricity, resulting
in the continued shortage of
power. In the 11th Plan a capac-
ity addition target of 78,700 MW
has been proposed to meet the
present shortages and the
growing demand in the country.
-
8 March 2010
gradation & optimisation of transmis-
sion cost
Distribution Strategy to achieveDistribution Reforms with focus on
System up-gradation, loss reduction,
theft control, consumer service
orientation, quality power supply
commercialisation, decentralized
distributed generation and supply for
rural areas
Regulation Strategy aimed atprotecting Consumer interests and
making the sector commercially viable
Financing Strategy to generateresources for required growth of the
power sector
Conservation Strategy to optimise theutilisation of electricity with focus on
Demand Side management, Load
management and Technology up-
gradation to provide energy efficient
equipment
Communication Strategy for politicalconsensus with media support to
enhance the general public awareness
The hope was that over the 11th Plan
(ending 2011-12), India would be
successful in adding 78,000 MW of
capacity and the 12th Plan (2012-17)
was targeting capacity additions of
another 100,000 MW. Although the
country hopes to achieve 78,000 MW in
new generation capacity in the five years
ending 2012, the speed with which
things are moving now make this target
look unattainable.
The country was producing an
estimated 1,55,900 MW of power by the
end of 2009, but the real picture of
lagging capacity addition comes into play
when the performance of the previous
year is highlighted; the power sector was
to add around 11,000 MW in the fiscal
year 2009, but it managed to add only
3,500 MW.
The government has time and again
said it would be able to add about
68,000-70,000 MW during the current
plan period and has also tried reassuring
that with some effort, the goal of 78,000
MW can be achieved. And even though
the Power Ministry has now set a target
of adding 13,000 MW of electricity
annually for the next three years, it
appears to be a tall order given the slow
movement of the new projects.
Private Sector Support
Though the government has
managed to award four 4,000 MW Ultra
Mega Power Projects to private develop-
ers, none of these are actually part of the
11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). Ironically,
work on these UMPPs is progressing well
enough to actually get completed ahead
of schedule; and fortunately for the
Power Sector, these UMPPs might be
able to provide some needed capacity
addition for the 11th Plan.
The construction work on two of the
UMPPs so far awarded has begun.
Reliance Power which won three of the
projects has commenced work on Sasan
UMPP in Madhya Pradesh and Tata
Power is executing the Mundra project in
Gujarat - this project is likely to be
completed in 2012, two years ahead of
its deadline.
Tata Powers 4,000 MW ultra mega
power project coming up at Mundra is
hopeful of starting generation by 2012,
two years ahead of schedule. According
to the bidding requirements, the
projects first unit was to go on-stream in
2014. For the first 800 MW unit, 83 per
cent of the work for raising the structure
for boiler and turbine as well as the deck
for turbines and generators has been
completed. In case of the second unit, 78
per cent of the work for boilers is
complete and work on three other units
is progressing. A new coal jetty, 400 KV
evacuation lines and construction works
for coal and ash handling are also
progressing.
-
9 March 2010
Apart from Mundra - the Rs.17,000
crore project that will supply Gujarat
1,805 MW, Maharashtra 760 MW, Punjab
475 MW, Haryana 380 MW and
Rajasthan 380 MW of power, Tata Power
is also developing 5,170 MW thermal
projects and 98 MW wind energy
projects. Currently, Tata Power has 2,786
MW installed capacity.
The 4,000 MW Sasan UMPP,
developed by Reliance Power, is also set
to be commissioned ahead of schedule.
The commissioning of its first unit was
advanced by 16 months to December
2011, as against the original date of May
2013. The second unit will come after
three months in March 2012. Main plant
construction activities are in full swing
and significant progress has been made
on coal mine development. The govern-
ment plans to award eight or nine UMPPs
in all, of which Reliance Power is
executing Sasan, Krishnapatanam and
Tilaya projects.
Governments Financial
Predicament
To add on to the already existing
burden of slack capacity additions, the
government admitted that the countrys
power sector is suffering from a shortfall
in investment of more than Rs.5 lakh
crore. In the current scenario, when
India requires a multi-fold increase in
electricity generation capacity to sustain
the hoped 8 per cent Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) annual growth rate over
the next two decades, the insufficiency in
investments becomes a major roadblock
in the power sectors path to Power for
All.
At the recently held annual power
sector conference - India Electricity
2009, Bharat Singh Solanki Union
Minister for Power had revealed this
major financial deficit. As per latest
estimates, this is the gap in financing of
capacity addition projects, he said.
Solanki added that timely achieve-
ment of financial closure for projects
requires increasing the exposure limit of
banks, Foreign Institutional Investors
and Non-Banking Finance Companies and
said, The limit should be increased from
20 per cent to 30 per cent for individual
borrowers and from 50 per cent to 70 per
cent for group borrowers.
The minister also suggested bringing
the external commercial borrowing by
financial institutions like Power Finance
Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrifica-
tion Corporation (REC) under the
automatic route.
To add to the disappointments, the
government also made it clear that only
78 per cent of the 11th Plan periods
capacity addition target of 78,700 MW
will be possible.
We are optimistic that we will be
adding 62,000 MW in this plan, said
Union Power Secretary Hari Shankar
Brahma, also present at India Electricity
2009. So far, only around 17,000 MW of
the target has been met in the current
Plan period, which ends in March 2012.
Challenges to Meet
The challenges being faced by the
power sector are huge both in terms of
numbers and magnitude. By 2012, the
Power for All agenda of the government
envisages an installed capacity of nearly
200,000 MW, which still seems like a
Herculean task judging by the pace of
infrastructure development and second
generation reforms.
Though the government has
managed to award four 4,000
MW Ultra Mega Power Projects to
private developers, none of these
are actually part of the 11th Plan.
Ironically, work on these UMPPs
is progressing well enough to
actually get completed ahead of
schedule enabling some added
relief to capacity.
-
10 March 2010
For increasing the availability of
electricity, India has adopted a blend of
thermal, hydro and nuclear power
sources.
Out of these, coal based thermal
power plants and in some regions,
hydropower plants, have been the
mainstay of electricity generation.
Oil, natural gas and nuclear power
account for a small proportion. In recent
times, the emphasis is also being laid on
non-conventional energy sources - solar,
wind and tidal; but the progress on non-
conventional sources of energy is very
small.
Overall, the country faces many
challenges, which have existed over
decades, in setting up a reliable and
efficient power network. The main
challenges for the power sector in
meeting its promise are:
Insufficient power generation capacity
Lack of optimum utilisation of existinggeneration capacity
Inadequate inter-regional transmis-sion links
Defective and ageing sub-transmis-sion and distribution network
Transmission & Distribution losses
Large scale electricity theft anddistorted tariff structure
Lagging pace of rural electrification
Inefficient use of electricity by the endconsumer
S.S. Rao, Joint MD & CEO of JSW
Energy Ltd, opined The Governments
target of Power for All by the year 2012
can be achieved provided following are
adequately planned and ensured -
availability of fuel specially coal and gas;
implementation of all provisions of
Electricity Act 2003; open access for
uninterrupted sale of power from surplus
states to deficit states; upfront imple-
mentation of national grid matching with
the generation capacity; and
privatisation of distribution.
Slack capacity addition continues to
be a serious worry as it results in
jeopardising infrastructure development
as well as economic growth.
Thermal energy being the mainstay
of the power sector, the biggest
drawback against achieving targeted
capacity additions is the lack of availabil-
ity of coal for large thermal power plants.
Given the existing deficit in coal, public
sector companies such as NTPC Ltd are
importing it through high expenses.
Other obstacles include defaults by
customers, the electricity boards and the
mounting pressure on thermal power
projects due to carbon emissions.
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of
the Bureau of Energy Efficiency stated,
The primary challenges being faced by
Indias energy sector are coal depletion
and pollution; oil consumption and rising
oil imports; demands for natural gas and
foreign dependency; very limited access
to nuclear energy; and inefficient electric
systems resulting in at least 30 percent
loss of power.
Due to these existing challenges
there has been continuous underachiev-
ing of targets through the previous Five
Year Plans and capacity addition has not
been able to keep pace with the growing
demand. This is the reason why the
country faces such a severe power
shortage today.
The Eleventh and Twelfth Plans seem
to try to make up the shortfall to a
certain extent, but the country is still far
from becoming an energy surplus nation.
-
11 March 2010
-
12 March 2010
MEETING THE VISION OF
POWER FOR ALL BY 2012
Power is a critical infrastructure in todays time and over the past few years, the Govern-ment of India has strived hard to meet the demand for this basic requirement of itspeople. Post the Electricity Act, 2003, which provided an enabling framework for accel-erated and more efficient development of the sector significant reforms have beenwitnessed till date. Section 3(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, required the Central Govern-ment to formulate the National Electricity Policy (NEP), in consultation with other stake-holders. Accordingly, the NEP was released in February 2005, and aimed at providingpower for all by 2012 an ambitious target given the state of the sector and the utilitiesoperating at that time. Today, after years of reforms in the power sector the country isstill far behind its ambitious goals with over 1 lakh villages (Progress report on VillageElectrification as on 30-06-2009, Ministry of Power website) still not having electricityconnection and the peak load deficit at 13,124 MW (on an all India basis for FY 2008-09 CEA Report, Power Scenario at a Glance, July 2009). Thus, this is the time to analysethe key issues and the measures and steps required so as to achieve the vision of Powerfor All by 2012.
Enabling Speedy Capacity Addition in Power Sector .A report by KPMG in India and CII.
-
13 March 2010
Key current and potential future
issues/ bottlenecks of the
various segments of the sector
have been identified and analysed below.
Generation
Peak load capacity deficit
The energy and peak power deficit in
the country has been estimated at close
to eleven percent and fourteen percent
respectively, with Northern and Western
Regions witnessing even higher deficits.
Inability to meet peak-load demand
has led to prolonged hours of load-
shedding faced by the consumers and
procurement of power from short-term
markets at very high rates (nearly INR 7
[As per CERC, weighted average price of
short-term transaction of electricity was
7.31 in FY 2008-09] per Kwh) by the
utilities during these periods. The
government focus on additional genera-
tion capacity development has resulted
in many private players setting up base
power plants indicating essentially the
persistence of peak load deficit going
forward.
As per KPMG in Indias analysis
related to projection of generation
capacity addition under various scenarios
and considering 16th EPS figures for
energy and peak demand, it is antici-
pated that while the off-peak deficit
situation is expected to ease to a fair
extent and could potentially even
become supply adequate; peak deficits
may continue going forward. This
analysis essentially highlights the need
for adequate focus on peaking capacity
creation and promotion of optimal mix of
generation capacity between base-load
and peaking plants including a favorable
hydro-thermal plant mix.
Some of the key areas requir-
ing focus for promotion of hydro-
power generation are:
Different states follow differentcriteria (Various parameters such as
upfront equity, share of free power,
cash-less equity stake in the project,
competitive bidding are key criteria for
award of hydro power) to award hydro
projects adding to confusion and delay
in hydro capacity development. Hence,
a transparent national level guideline/
policy is required for uniformity in
awarding of hydro power generation
projects.
Land acquisition has been one of thekey bottlenecks in the development of
power projects. State Governments
need to develop equitable Rehabilita-
tion & Resettlement (R&R) policy and
provide support for transparent
implementation of the R&R package.
Normally it takes 1 1.5 years tosecure the environment and forest
clearance for the project, hence
definite time-lines need to be specified
for providing different clearances from
State and Central Government
departments.
State and Central Government needto focus on development of integrated
organized database of geological
information of different prospective
hydro power generation sites. It
should help reduce the chances of
geological surprises and time period
for project development.
As hydro power generation projectsusually have large development period
and take 4-7 years of construction
period, there is a need for develop-
ment of debt market enabling lending
for long-term generation projects. It
should promote more investments into
hydro power generation.
Equipment supply
According to the CEA data (CEA
website; www.cea.nic.in; Project
Monitoring section), against the target of
78,700 MW, only 12,717 MW has been
commissioned in the XIth plan period (FY
2008-12 - Thermal: 8105 MW; Hydro:
3393 MW and Nuclear: 220 MW; Source:
CEA) so far. One of the key reasons for
delay is due to longer delivery time of
plant equipments by the suppliers. As
per CEA (CEA website; www.cea.nic.in;
Project Monitoring section), of the 67,
293 MW generation capacity under
Region Energy (MU) Deficit (%) Peak Deficit (%)
Requirement Demand (MW)
Northern 24,369 -13.6 35,932 -15.7
Western 20,990 -12.6 35,503 -19.6
Southern 18,465 -6.4 28,387 -8.4
Eastern 8,091 -6.5 12,829 -7.0
North Eastern 844 -12.9 1,760 -22.2
72,759 -10.7 114,412 -14.2
Source: CEA Generation Monthly Report, Aug 2009
-
14 March 2010
construction; EPC and BoP related factors
accounted for majority of delay in project
implementation. BHEL, key supplier of
power equipments in the domestic
market, has capacity to produce only
10,000 MW each year (Though it is
planning to ramp its capacity to 15,000
MW by end of 2009 BHEL financial
statement for FY 08-09). The company
order-book to turnover ratio of greater
than 4 for FY 2008-09 indicates long time
period for delivery of generation plant
equipment by this supplier.
Many private players have also
entered into equipment manufacturing
space in joint ventures with foreign
players for technology inputs. Such
capacity addition needs to be encour-
aged through favorable policies to meet
the growing demand from the power
sector.
Apart from costs (As per KPMG in
Indias analysis Chinese equipment
supplies are 10-20 percent cheaper than
Indian Manufacturers), the time-frame
for additional manufacturing capacity
commissioning and impending huge
order book size are some of the key
reasons for various project developers to
look at import of equipments from
countries such as China, Korea etc. Of
forty-three supercritical units bought by
Indian companies so far, orders for only
four have been placed with Indian
companies.
Chinese companies have bagged
orders for twenty six boilerturbine
generation sets (BTG). Koreans managed
eight, while three went to Russian
companies and two to Italian firms
(Internet search from financial chronicle
news article). However, there have been
some concerns raised relating to
suitability of these equipments in the
Indian environment. Generation project
developers need to identify the equip-
ment supplier considering not only the
competitiveness of the price offered but
also the reliability of delivery and quality
assurance of the equipments supplied.
Additionally, developers need to set-
up formal teams for identifying in
advance any likely delays in the supply of
the main and BoP plant equipments from
the equipment supplier(s) and initiating
appropriate mitigation mechanisms for
the same.
Issues in fuel supply
Transparent and speedy process forcoal allocation
The Ministry of Power (MoP) in order
to facilitate capacity addition through
Merchant Power Plants (MPPs), has been
coordinating with the Ministry of Coal to
identify coal linkages (for 1000 MW
plant) and coal blocks (for 500 - 1000
MW plant) for allotment to such plants
(Ministry of Power website; R.V. Shahi
paper on Indias strategy toward energy
development and energy security).
However, the framework for such fuel
allocation is yet to be notified and this
uncertainty is causing delays in plans for
new capacities.
Improvement in mining efficiency
The demand for coal has been
increasing at the rate of 8-9 percent per
year (Infrastructure Today magazine,
August 2009) while Coal India limited
production has grown at the CAGR of 5.7
percent over the last 5 years (Coal India
Limited website). In order to increase its
production, Coal India should need to
invest in new technologies (for both
under-ground and open cast mining),
process improvements for planning and
execution of projects, and institutionalize
a comprehensive risk management
framework with a plan to match
international productivity levels. As a
step in that direction CIL should look at
technology transfer arrangements
through mechanisms such as joint
ventures with technically advanced
mining players for coal mining. The
organization should also encourage
competition among its various subsidiar-
ies for efficient production and provide
Maximum Inter Regional Transmission Requirement (2014-15)
Reg ion Requirement Scenario
Northern 13500 Import Winter peak
Western 11000 Import Summer peak
Southern 4000 Import Winter/Summer peak
Eastern 25000 Export Winter peak
(23000 MW - Own Gen.
+ 2000 from NER
North-eastern 4000 Export Monsoon peak
Source: CEA website
-
15 March 2010
them support for introduction of newer
technologies.
Fuel transportation
The failure of transportation
infrastructure to keep pace with growth
in coal production has been causing
problems in timely supply of coal to
generating stations. According to the
internal assessment by Coal India
Limited, lack of freight corridors and
feeder routes has hindered transport
logistics (Business Standard article Coal
India blames infrastructure for supply
problems January 2008). Delays are
created because freight trains get a
lower priority than passenger trains.
Additionally, supply of coal during the
fair-weather period of November to
March to power stations has been a
problem as railway wagons during this
period were mostly used to ship fertiliser
for Kharif and Rabi crops. Since last
couple of years, substantial generation
capacity has been planned based on
imported coal hence transportation
infrastructure for the same needs to be
developed in a timely manner.
In order to increase freight capacity
from the coal-producing regions (central
and eastern India) to the demand
centers in the northern and central parts
of the country, it is necessary that Indian
Railways augment capacity. Special
freight corridors are required to enhance
speeds, cut costs, and increase the
systems reliability. In order to cater to
prospective increasing supply of
imported coal, State and Central
Governments need to work together to
identify potential projects for green-field
and brown field port capacity develop-
ment including the evacuation infrastruc-
ture at key locations along the eastern
and western coasts.
Transmission
Uncertainties in availability of
transmission system capacities had been
a concern for some of the Merchant
Power Plants who are not sure of their
customers. Significant portion of new
capacity is coming in the coal belt states
while the demand centers are in the
Northern and Western regions of the
country.
According to the PGCIL, planned
incremental inter-regional power
transfer capacity will be 19,000 MW by
2012 (Total inter-regional power transfer
capacity of the PGCIL has gone up to
18,700 MW as on Dec2008 and PGCIL
plans to increase the national grid
capacity to 37,000 MW by end of 11th
plan (Source:www.projectsmonitor.com).
Building this out in a timely manner is
critical for the power market to function
effectively. Till date only two projects
have been awarded to the private
developers (Tala transmission project
was awarded to Tata Power and REL was
selected to execute WRSS project.
Source: Ministry of Power website)
Government of India needs to
continue to take steps to speed up the
process of augmenting the transmission
network in India. The MoP has now
issued draft Standard Bid Documents for
selection of Transmission Service
Provider. The MoP has also notified
Power Finance Corporation and Rural
Electrification Corporation to act as the
Bid Process Coordinators to undertake
bidding for few identified projects.
Project implementation delays
Key milestones like statutory
State Cross-subsidy Sur-
charge
Maharashtra Rs.0.00/kWh
Delhi * Rs.0.00/kWh
Gujarat Rs.0.37/kWh
Source: Open-access orders
of State ERCs. * - Only for
Domestic category consumers
-
16 March 2010
clearances, land acquisition/Right of
Way, EPC selection & order and project
commissioning of integrated projects
need to be monitored closely at the
centralized level and any bottleneck
should be resolved with active assistance
from central monitoring authority.
Recent reports suggesting Ministry of
Power (MoP) has constituted a group of
ex-Power secretaries to monitor progress
of power projects, is a step in the right
direction.
Use of better technology for efficientproject implementation
Securing Right of way has been a
key issue in transmission project
implementation. Use of better technolo-
gies such as third generation technolo-
gies (FACTSFlexible AC Transmission
Systems) and new conductor technolo-
gies can help in achieving higher power
transfer capabilities across the same
Rights of Way (RoW). These technologies
should be seriously explored by Indian
power Transmission companies.
Distribution
Open-access as an enabler for ca-pacity creation
Open Access implies that a buyer can
choose his own supplier and vice versa
and the buyers and suppliers would be
entitled to the non-discriminatory use of
transmission lines or distribution system
for transferring power from generation to
consumption points. Freedom and ease
of getting open access down to the retail
consumer level is a significant step
towards moving to a fully competitive
power market and this is expected to
ultimately facilitate generation capacity
addition. Today, merchant power
developers have to depend largely on
tenders issued by state utilities through
the Case 1 route to tie up capacities
through long-term contracts. This is
essential for them to get comfort of
minimum off-take and achieve financial
closure.
However, if the retail segment were
to open up, then access to large
customers would have provided an
alternate option for tie-up on medium to
long-term basis.
Merchant developers could then be
proactive in identifying buyers to make
their projects viable rather than wait for
tenders to be floated and procurement
processes to be completed for setting up
power projects. This may speed up
capacity addition.
Most of the SERCs had fixed a
timeline of end 2008 for opening up the
distribution open access for consumers
with connected load of less than 1 MW.
Further, taking cues from the National
Tariff Policy, a few state regulators have
passed orders for reduction of cross-
subsidy surcharge in the recent past.
This is expected to promote open access
as reduction in cross-subsidies will help
maintain the attractiveness of a cheaper
power source.
Few regulators like the Maharashtra
State Electricity Regulatory Commission
have kept a zero level of cross-subsidy
surcharge (Maharashtra Electricity
Regulatory Commission website; Open-
Access Tariff Order) so as to promote
competition. While the retail market
represents a miniscule proportion of the
power market currently, this is expected
to increase going forward. As the
demand-supply gap begins to narrow
down, competitive advantage may begin
to shift towards access to customers. In
some states, this is likely to happen
sooner. Generators and power players
may do well through active planning to
develop their capabilities and strength-
ening their presence in this area as the
retail supply segment begins to open up.
Once we overcome the supply deficit
and retail competition establishes in its
true sense; i.e. freedom of choice,
availability of products and information
symmetry among consumers; the
inflection point is expected to be
reached.
A well functioning power market can
also go a long way in helping ensure that
the prolonged history of power deficit in
the country will not repeat itself in
future. Progress in open-access imple-
mentation is expected to boost invest-
ment in generation, transmission and
distribution capacity development.
Following initiatives/ focus
areas may assist de-bottleneck
open-access progress:
Implementation level initiatives:
Delay in decision with respect toopen-access application: There have
been numerous instances of STU/
Distribution utilities taking inordinate
time in according approval or rejection
to the applications received for open-
access. Absence of accountability
being fixed by the regulator and strict
compliance of the same allows
concerned authorities to delay open-
access implementation.
Notification of Intra-state ABT bystate regulators: Intra-state ABT helps
ensure efficient energy balancing and
settlement mechanism necessary to
facilitate open access transactions. As
per the compilation made by the
Forum of Regulators (FoR), only 8
states have notified intra-state ABT
-
17 March 2010
(Forum of Regulators Status Report
on Issues Pertaining To Tariff Policy,
2007-08). Lack of credible balancing
and settlement mechanism at the
state level acts as a bottleneck for
implementation of open-access.
Availability of sufficient transmissioncapacity: The peak demand (in MW) is
expected to reach a level of 1,52,746
MW by 2011-12 (www.cea.nic.in;
Demand as per 17th EPS) from the
current level of 1,09,809 MW at the
end of FY 2008-09. Given that open
access is critically dependent on the
availability of transmission capacity
both inter-region and within region,
Central and State Governments need
to plan and implement required
transmission capacity addition in a
timely manner.
Enhance planning and contractingefficiencies
Efficiency in planning is at the core of
a successful timely and cost-effective
infrastructure build-out. Planning has
various elements to it:
Designing of the right technicalsolution
The optimal phasing and roll-out ofthe infrastructure plan and
Choice of the right execution methods
Unfortunately, there seems to be a
serious lack of focus on this area among
the utilities, if one goes by the extent
and level of resources assigned to this
important task. Clearly, the need of the
hour is to give this activity the highest
focus. It would be worthwhile to
remember that over 80 percent of the
power infrastructure that will exist
twenty years hence is yet to be built and
efficient planning today will help us
achieve that in an efficient way (KPMG in
Indias Power Summit 2009: Meeting the
Goal of Power for All)
State utilities will do well to have a
state level agency dedicated with the
task of holistic planning at the state
level.
This should include planning related
to fuel mix, generation location,
transmission system and even choice of
technology related to these areas. Also,
important is to bring the element of
environmental sustainability as an
integral part of the planning process.
A well functioning power market
can also go a long way in helping
ensure that the prolonged history
of power deficit in the country will
not repeat itself in future.
Progress in open-access imple-
mentation is expected to boost
investment in generation, trans-
mission and distribution capacity
development.
Such an agency will also look at how
the projects could be executed in the
most efficient manner whether through
private participation route or state utility
route.
This would mean building significant
capability within the designated agency
to carry out this task. Adequate
resourcing, imparting the right skills and
setting up the planning processes for
such an agency are necessary. The role
of STU may be enhanced to play this
important role.
The other significant bottleneck is
the time taken to tender and award
contracts. This applies both for projects
to be executed through the PPP route or
self developed projects by the utilities.
A clear strategy to improve efficiency
of the tendering and contracting process
is urgently required. Utilities will do well
to apply their attention to this important
area and look at innovations and
procedures to expedite this.
-
18 March 2010
CHALLENGES GALORE,
BUT HOPE LIVES ON
Rural electrification is an integral component of poverty alleviation and rural growthof a nation. A developing nation like India has 72.2 percent people living in ruralareas. Still, electricity has not played an effective role in the socioeconomic growthof villages. Worldwide more than 3.6 billion people do not have access to electricity,of which 83 % live in rural areas. In India, over 63 percent of rural households in thecountry are still lurking in darkness having no access to basic electric power. Thereis a shortfall of about 15-20,000 MW of electricity in the country and we requireabout 140,000 MW of additional capacity by the end of 2010 with an estimated outlayof Rs. 5,50,000 crores.
Rural Electrification
-
19 March 2010
To sustain the rise in the economic
graph of India, the best suitable
option left with the country is to
energize its rural base. Considering the
future and the present energy circum-
stances the need of the hour is to
revamp and build a comprehensive rural
electrification structure that will last for
a longer period.
Realizing the importance of rural
electrification, the Government of India
had taken various steps towards this
end. Among these, the recently launched
RGGVY (Rajiv Gandhi Gramin
Vidyutikaran Yojana) is one such
significant programme which is intended
to provide Power for all by 2012.
According to P. Umashankar, CMD of
Rural Electrification Corporation Limited,
the vastness of the country is a major
hurdle in providing power to all villages.
But it is not an impossible task. If the
difficulties are differentiated in a
systematic manner and if each problem
is solved independently and integrated
together over a larger scale, very soon
the dream of electrifying the entire rural
gamut will be realized with triumphant
success, he said.
It is then understood that the
obvious requirement is the need of
staunch will power on the part of people,
the authorities and bureaucrats along
with the availability of gigantic magni-
tude of resources in terms of funds,
infrastructure, equipment and human
resources that are needed for planning,
construction, manufacturing and
installation of power generation and
power transmission projects in the
country.
At the time of independence there
were 15,000 villages of which only 0.3
percent was electrified.
Today, the number of villages have
risen to approximately 6,40,000 till 2008-
09, of which more than 60 percent are
un-electrified.
Some states had achieved 100%
electrification in 1987 while others were
at the 30%-44% level.
Rural electrification programmes
suffered from various shortcomings: large
farmers are the main beneficiaries; there
is slow progress in domestic and street
lighting programmes; small farmers are
constrained in their lack of access to
credit. Rural Electrification brings
electric power to farms, thereby raising
the standard of rural living and slows
down the migration of farm workers to
cities. The imminent need is efficient
power supply round-the-clock to
agriculture, industrial and housing
sectors. Feeder bifurcation programme
will improve the efficient distribution of
power with uniformity. The feeders
bifurcation system would definitely
enable 24 hour power supply in the
future, and we have already taken up this
program on pilot basis in Andhra Pradesh
and based on its success we shall
gradually extend it to the other parts of
the state said, Ajay Jain, CMD
APTransco.
Government Plans
The Government of India had set an
ambitious target of providing electricity
to all villages by 2010 and all rural
households by 2012.
Under this National Electricity policy
(NEP), the government is aiming to
achieve a per capita consumption of
1,000 Kwh by the end of 11th plan, by
adding a capacity of over 1,00,000 MW.
Steps have already been initiated with
Rural Electric Corporation, Power
Finance Corporation, Rural Electricity
Supply Technology Mission; State
Electricity Boards led reforms, Reforms in
Power Sector, Electricity Act 2003, etc.
Umashakar says, As on September
30, 2009, under RGGVY the Ministry of
Power has sanctioned 567 projects
involving electrification of 118,499 un-
electrified villages, intensive electrifica-
tion of 354,669 already electrified
villages and providing electricity
connections to 246 lakh eligible below
poverty line (BPL) households. Cumula-
tively, works in 165,206 villages (67,607
un-electrified and 97,599 electrified
villages) have been completed under
RGGVY up to December 31, 2009.
Connections to 83.87 lakh below poverty
line households have been released
under the scheme up to December 31,
2009.
Finance
Another giant corporation, PFCL
(Power Finance Corporation Limited) had
contributed its valuable financial services
to enhance the power sector in the
country.
It has provided finance to a number
of power generation and transmission
projects in the country.
We are all aware that the demand
for power has consistently outstripped
-
20 March 2010
the supply. In order to bridge this
demand supply gap, we require a
massive investment of over Rs.10, 00000
crore during the 11th plan period
including establishment of requisite
transmission and distribution system,
said V.K.Garg, CMD PFCL.
During the financial year 2008-09,
Government of India had announced
setting up of a National Fund as an
investment thrust for Transmission and
Distribution Reform in the Budget. The
proposed fund is expected to facilitate
higher inflow of investment for strength-
ening and augmenting the T&D network
commensurate with the capacity addition
programme and also targets T&D loss
reduction by providing grants on
achievement of loss reduction, thus
benefiting the ultimate consumer in
terms of reliable and quality power
cited Garg.
Initiatives
The initiatives of the Government of
India for adding the requisite capacity
have already started yielding the desired
results. A testimony to this is the
commissioning of over 9,250 MW
capacity during the 1st year of the XIth
Plan period, compared to about 21,000
MW commissioned during all the 5 years
of Xth plan.
In addition, over 66,000 MW is
already under construction and will be
supplemented by about 28,000MW from
renewable energy sources and captive
power plants. The above capacity
addition programme excludes capacity
addition of 12,000 MW through UMPPs
which has already been awarded and
necessary work is under progress for
their commissioning in a phased manner
in the initial years of XII Plan.
USAID & GEs Role
Rural electrification project is not only the concern of Government agencies. It
has also been shared by the Private Partners, Agencies and NGOs. Earlier in 2009,
USAID and GE announced a partnership to increase access to cleaner and more
affordable energy services in rural India. USAID plans to contribute $600,000 to
this program, while GE and its worldwide network of experts, technology centers
and partners will invest up to $2.7 million in direct and indirect funding.
In addition to the joint program with USAID, GE has pledged to support the
Power to All by 2012 and Rural Electrification/Rural Business Hub initiatives
that have been launched by the Indian government.
The GE Rural Electrification Program for India will incorporate a number of
renewable energy natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal
heat, which are naturally replenished. These technologies range from solar power,
wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation.
Through the GE Rural Electrification Program, GE Energy has signed a contract
with Malavalli Power Plant Private Limited (MPPL) to provide 30 Jenbacher
JMS320 engines, which will be used to generate combined heat and power to
meet electrical, refrigeration and heating needs within rural communities.
GE Energy will deploy a variety of power generation technologies to support
the India rural electrification effort. While GEs primary focus in India in the past
has been on gas turbines and gas engines, the company also believes there is
tremendous potential within this program for furthering energy independence of
communities through the use of solar and wind power. For the Rural Electrification
Program, the GE Global Research Center in Bangalore has developed an inte-
grated hybrid technology model, which combines various forms of renewable
energy and provides customized power solutions based on availability of local fuel
resources.
-
21 March 2010
-
22 March 2010
DURING HALF YEARLY PERIOD OF CURRENT FY 2009-
10, POWERGRID ACHIEVED A TURNOVER & NET
PROFIT OF RS. 3,646 CRORE AND RS. 1,007 CRORE
Powergrid has always exceeded the targets set under Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with ministry of power since signing of its first MoU in 1993-94 and has con-sistently achieved excellent rating. The company has been conferred with the presti-gious MoU Excellence Award consecutively for 2006-07 & 2007-08, by the Depart-ment of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises forbeing the top performer in the energy sector. In fact, Powergrid has received thisprestigious MoU excellence award on total eight occasions, and continuously forlast five years in a row, which is an outstanding achievement.
-
23 March 2010
Power Grid Corporation of India
Ltd. (POWERGRID) was incorpo
rated as a Government of India
enterprise on 23 October, 1989 under
the Companies Act, 1956 with the
mission of the corporation as Establish-
ment and Operation of Regional and
National Power Grids to facilitate
transfer of electric power within and
across the regions with reliability,
security and economy on sound
commercial principles. POWERGRID is
certified with Integrated Management
System (IMS) as per Publicly Available
Specification, PAS 99:2006 integrating
requirement of ISO 9001:2000 (Quality),
ISO 14001:2004 (Environment) and
OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health
& Safety Management System).
POWERGRID has also been audited for
Social Accountability System, SA
8000:2008 for all its establishments.
During FY 2008-09, with accreditation of
ISO 9001:2000 for all Regional Load
Dispatch Centres (RLDCs), the Quality
Management System (QMS) certification
for all establishments of POWERGRID is
now complete.
POWERGRID has implemented
various transmission projects and
enhanced its network to about 73,950
Circuit Kms, 124 sub-stations and
transformation capacity of about 82,100
MVA (as on December 31, 2009), which
was only 22,220 circuit kms and 42
substations with transformation capacity
of 12,200 MVA in 1992-93. The Company
has been able to display its capability by
consistently maintaining the availability
of this gigantic transmission network
over 99%, comparable with the best
international standards. POWERGRID
wheels about 45% of total power
generated in the country through its
transmission network, said S. K.
Chaturvedi, CMD, POWERGRID.
Financials
The Company displayed spectacular
performance during half yearly period of
current FY 2009-10, beating all the
expectations, achieving a Turnover & Net
Profit of Rs. 3,646 Crore and Rs. 1,007
Crore, increase of 16% and 43%
respectively as compared to same period
of last year. Gross Asset base of the
company has also been enhanced to Rs.
41,040 Crore at the end of Sep09. The
revenue realization has been 100% of
payable dues.
In fact, during FY 2008-09 also,
POWERGRID displayed an outstanding
financial performance with a turnover of
about Rs. 7,029 Crore and Net Profit of
Rs. 1,691 Crore as compared to Rs. 5,082
Crore and Rs. 1,448 Crore respectively
during FY 2007-08, an increase of 38%
and 17% respectively. Looking at the
wonderful financial numbers, all I can say
here is that our performance is exceed-
ing the expectations and is in line with
the strategy for achieving our objec-
tives, said Chaturvedi.
Keeping in view envisaged capacity
addition during XI & XII Plan and
projected 8-9% growth in Indian
economy, the growth prospects in the
transmission business are enormous for
the next 10 years and POWERGRID is
envisaging a steady growth for the
company.
As the head of the organization, my
job is to ensure that POWERGRID not
only achieves the annual targets
committed to Government of India and
maintain its growth momentum but also
contribute for overall development of
As the head of the organization, my job is to ensure
that POWERGRID not only achieves the annual targets
committed to Government of India and maintain its
growth momentum but also contribute for overall
development of Indian power sector. Accordingly, I
am making all out efforts towards ensuring availability
of resources to our employees for achieving the
goals.
- S. K. Chaturvedi, CMD, POWERGRID
-
24 March 2010
Indian power sector. Accordingly, I am
making all out efforts for ensuring
availability of resources to our employ-
ees for achieving the goals. Recognising
the fact that employees are vital asset
for achieving Companys objectives, my
priority is to ensure all round develop-
ment of our dedicated workforce and
prepare them for taking up enhanced
responsibilities, said Chaturvedi.
Projects
POWERGRID displayed excellent
performance on project implementation
front during FY 2008-09 commissioning
about 4,642 ckm of transmission lines, 09
nos of new sub-stations and added
transformation capacity of about 6,400
MVA. Transmission projects worth about
Rs. 3,734 Crore were commissioned
during the year. Major projects commis-
sioned during FY 2008-09 include
Transmission System associated with
Kahalgaon-II (Phase-II), Sipat-I
Transmission System, System Strength-
ening in South-West part of Northern
Grid, RAPP 5&6 Transmission System,
Western Region System Strengthening
SchemeI and Western Region System
Strengthening SchemeIII etc.
During the year 2008-09, 26 new
projects with an estimated cost of more
than Rs. 40,000 Crore involving about
21,180 ckm of transmission lines and 19
no. sub-stations with transformation
capacity of about 52,565 MVA and HVDC
terminals of 6,000 MW were approved
and taken up for implementation. Major
projects include Transmission System
associated with DVC and Maithon RB
generation projects, Transmission
System associated with Sasan & Mundra
Ultra Mega Power Projects, North East
Northern/ Western Region
InterconnectorI, etc. The Company is
making all out efforts for completing the
transmission elements identified to
facilitate transfer of more power to Delhi
on priority as a part of preparedness for
Commonwealth Games 2010. At the end
of March, 2009, transmission projects at
a cost of about Rs. 62,000 Crore involving
38,000 ckm of transmission lines, 44 new
sub-stations and transformation capacity
of 67,000 MVA are under various stages
of implementation.
Besides, POWERGRID has commis-
sioned National Load Despatch Centre
(NLDC) at Delhi in February, 2009 for
overall co-ordination of grid manage-
ment at national level. NLDC is the apex
body to ensure integrated operation of
the national power system. Further, our
consultancy assignment of construction
of Transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri to
Kabul in Afghanistan has been completed
in Jan., 2009, within the schedule
despite hostile working conditions
(passing over Hindu Kush region at a
height of 4000 mtrs above sea level,
which is covered with snow for 9 months
in a year).
Reach
POWERGRID, at present, is operating
about 74,000 ckt. kms of transmission
lines and 124 Sub-stations, spread over
the length and breadth of the country,
while maintaining a system availability of
over 99 % consistently. Presently, the
transmission company wheels about 45-
50 per cent of total power generated in
the country through its vast transmission
network. The Company has been
contributing significantly towards
development of power sector in India
through continuous innovations in
technical & managerial fields and by
undertaking coordinated development of
inter-State power transmission network
along with effective and transparent
operation of Regional and National Load
Despatch Centers, despite working in
tough terrains, hostile weather condi-
tions etc. In a short span of only 17 years
of commercial operations, the Company
-
25 March 2010
has grown by leaps and bounds and has
carved a niche for itself amongst the
largest transmission utilities in the
world, said Chaturvedi.
Diversification
India has now become the fastest
growing telecom market in the world,
and recently overtook China in terms of
net subscriber additions in the last 18
months (10 million subscribers per
month vs. 8 million subscribers per
month of China). POWERGRID could
foresee the telecom potential way back
in 1996-97 and diversified into Telecom
business for setting up of a country wide
high speed state-of-the-art optical fiber
network. Telecom business started in
2003 in right earnest after Govt. approval
and today POWERGRIDs telecom
network spans almost 21,000 kms and
covers more than 100 cities across the
country and is still growing.
POWERGRID holds National Long
Distance (NLD), Infrastructure Provider
Category-I (IP-I) and Internet Service
Provider (ISP) Category A licenses.
POWERTEL (the telecom arm of
POWERGRID) presently offers services
such as domestic leased lines, Internet
Services, Multiprotocol Label Switching
(MPLS) - Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
services (in association with partners).
Today all major telecom companies
are our customers in addition to various
other customers from the Govt. and
private sector. In telecom business, the
Company has earned revenue of about
Rs. 150 Crore during FY 2008-09, growth
of about 20% as compared to FY 2007-
08. Income from telecom business is
expected to grow substantially in the
coming years, said Chaturvedi.
POWERGRID has lined up major
expansion plans for its telecom network,
which include further diversification into
value added services such as MPLS-VPN,
NLD Switched Voice, Data Centres and
the Tower Infra business. With the focus
now shifting from urban to rural
connectivity, POWERGRIDs role in
telecom becomes even more significant
as it has presence in all rural/remote
areas of the country by way of its Power
Transmission network which can be
leveraged to provide telecom services in
such areas by co-locating Wireless
Antennas on Power Towers.
Technology
Our goal is to be the worlds
premier transmission utility and thus we
are aiming for operational excellence
surpassing efficiency benchmarks and
regulatory targets. I am giving major
thrust to our Research & Development
activities for keeping abreast with the
latest technology in the sector for
efficient operation of its system and
introducing new technologies for
effectively meeting the challenges of
power transmission in India. With its
strong technical expertise, POWERGRID
is today rated as the 3rd largest
transmission utility in the world as per
The World Bank, said Chaturvedi.
New Initiatives
POWERGRID has always given
priority to new initiatives, which are
mainly for optimization of cost of power
transmission and for conservation of
Right-of-Way (RoW). Towards this,
various new technologies have been
adopted suiting Indian power system
such as Up-gradation of transmission
lines on case to case basis, use of
Thyristor Controlled Series Compensa-
tion, high temperature endurance
During the year 2008-09, 26 new
projects with an estimated cost of
more than Rs. 40,000 Crore
involving about 21,180 ckm of
transmission lines and 19 no.
sub-stations with transformation
capacity of about 52,565 MVA
and HVDC terminals of 6,000 MW
were approved and taken up for
implementation.
-
26 March 2010
conductors, development of pole type
tower structure for 400KV transmission
lines, GPS/GIS based survey techniques,
etc. Having established the 500 kV
HVDC and 765 kV UHV AC transmission
technologies, POWERGRID is now
working on next higher transmission
voltages of 1200 kV UHVAC System and
800 kV HVDC in the country to achieve
efficient utilization of existing RoW and
increased power transfer capability for
transfer of bulk power over long
distances etc.. In this direction, 1200 kV
UHVAC Test Station along with a 1200kV
test line is being established at Bina in
Madhya Pradesh by POWERGRID, as a
collaborative effort with equipment
manufacturers, who will be able to field
test their indigenously developed 1200KV
equipment on long term basis.
Presently, designs and proto type
testing of 1200 kV towers and most of
the sub-station equipment have already
been completed. Tower foundations &
erection works are under progress. 1200
kV UHV AC shall lead to optimisation of
design of transmission line and substa-
tion equipment, Optimization of RoW &
cost and ease in O&M etc. Implementa-
tion of 800kV, 6000 Megawatt HVDC
Bi-pole line from North Eastern Region to
Northern Region (Agra) has already
commenced.
These technological initiatives are
pioneering efforts even globally. Apart
from construction of transmission lines,
their operation and maintenance also
assumes significance when it comes to
providing reliable and secured power
supply to consumers. We are deploying
modern and state of the art technolo-
gies, at par with best international
standards, for achieving high availability
of our transmission network. Live line
washing of insulators using helicopter
was carried out during the last year for
the first time in India on 12 critical lines
in Northern Region. This contributed
significantly in achieving safe, secure &
reliable operation of Northern Grid
during winter foggy weather conditions
last year, said Chaturvedi. In addition,
POWERGRID has also formed a joint
venture partner among NTPC, NHPC,
POWERGRID and DVC for setting up
Online High Power Test Laboratory for
various testing facilities including short
circuit testing facility.
Investments planned &
Future Plans
To meet the increasing power
demand, Government of India has
planned generation capacity addition of
78,700 MW in XI Plan (2007-12) and
envisages a generation addition of more
than 1,00,000 MW for XII Plan (2012-17).
This capacity addition has to be coupled
with matching expansion & strengthen-
ing of transmission and distribution
systems to make available reliable &
quality electric power.
For XI Plan, an investment of about
Rs. 55,000 Crore is envisaged to be made
by POWERGRID based on envisaged
generation capacity addition in Central
sector and other generation projects
including Ultra Mega Power Projects
(UMPPs) for which transmission system is
required to be built by POWERGRID.
Working towards this investment plan,
POWERGRID Board of Directors have
approved transmission projects costing
about Rs. 40,000 Crore during FY 2008-
09, which were taken up for implementa-
tion. During initial two years period of XI
Plan, we have already made an invest-
ment of about Rs.15,000 Crore, achieve-
ment of about 27% of total plan size. For
the current FY, a target of Rs. 10,500
Crore has been kept for POWERGRID.
Balance we are planning in the next two
years period of the XI plan, said
Chaturvedi.
-
27 March 2010
-
28 March 2010
JSW ENERGY HAS 995 MW OF OPERATIONAL POWER
PLANT AND HAS EXECUTED PROJECTS OF 1225 MW
JSW Energy is one of the early entrants into the power trading business; it hasbeen engaged in power trading since June 2006 and has the highest category oflicence F category. Today, JSW Energy has 995 MW of operational power plantand has executed projects of 1225 MW (including 230 MW group captive).
-
29 March 2010
JSW Energy Ltd. (JSWEL) is a group
company of Jindal South West
(JSW) group headed by Sajjan
Jindal. Other companies in JSW are JSW
Steel Limited, Jindal South West Mining
Limited, JSW Port, Jindal Praxair Oxygen
Company Limited (JPOCL), and invest-
ment companies.
JSWEL is the first Independent
Power Producer (IPP) to be set up in the
state of Karnataka. The company has set
up 2 units of 130 MW each and both
units are generating power using Corex
gas and coal. JSW Energy Limited was
incorporated in 1994 with the objective
to develop, construct and operate power
plants. JSW Steel was setting up a mega
steel plant at Toranagallu, district
Bellary in Karnataka. Since steel is high
energy intensive industry and requires
uninterrupted supply, JSW decided to
set-up their own power plant. At that
time JSW Group did not have experience
of setting up Independent power plants,
hence it formed a Joint Venture with
Tractebel of Belgium.
First, we took up 2x130 MW dual
fuel fired (Coal and Corex gas) power
plant for part supply of power to our
steel plant and to sell the balance power
to Karnataka SEB under a PPA. This plant
is able to generate substantial amount of
carbon credits by use of Corex gas as a
fuel. The 2x130 MW plant is in operation
since 2000, since then we are a continu-
ously profit making company. Our PAT
has grown from Rs 60.25 Crs in fiscal
2005 to Rs 276.69 Crs for fiscal 2009, at
a CAGR of 46.39%. JSW Energy has
realized its growth because it is an
established Power Company with a track
record, operational efficiency, industry
experience and a deep understanding of
the power industry in India. Today, JSW
Energy has 995 MW of operational power
plant and has executed projects of 1225
MW (Including 230 MW group captive).
JSW Energy is one of the early entrants
into the Power Trading business, it has
been engaged in Power Trading since
June 2006 and has the highest category
of licence F category, said SS Rao,
Joint Managing Director & CEO.
The average plant availability factor
since year 2000 has been 96.62%. PLF in
year 2009 was 97.88%. It has achieved
continuous improvement in heat rate to
2321 K Cal/ Kwh and auxiliary consump-
tion to 6.97%.
JSW Energys 260 MW Power Plant
at Karnataka has received the National
Award for Meritorious Performance for
the fiscals 2007 and 2008 from Ministry
of Power Government of India and the
National Award for excellence in Thermal
Generation by IEEMA and various other
awards at state level.
New initiatives
JSW Energy has established State ofArt Training Centre with 300 MW
simulator
JSW Energy has started PostGraduate Diploma Courses in Power
Plant Engineering in academic
collaboration with M.S. Ramaiah
Institute of Technology Bangalore.
To part finance their ongoing venturesthey had come out with IPO last year
that has become successfully over
subscribed and listed with premium.
Contribution
JSW Energys contributions for
Indias Power Sector are:
Generation
JSW Energy already has 995 MW of
Operational Power Plant and it will be
Today, JSW Energy has 995 MW of operational power
plant and has executed projects of 1225 MW (Including
230 MW group captive). JSW Energy is one of the early
entrants into the Power Trading business, it has been
engaged in Power Trading since June 2006 and has the
highest category of licence F category.
- SS Rao, Joint Managing Director & CEO, JSW Energy
-
30 March 2010
3140 MW by April 2011 and 11,390 MW
by September 2015.
Transmission
JSW Energy has formed a Joint
Venture with Maharashtra State
Electricity, Transmission Co. Ltd. It is the
First Public Private Partnership in
Transmission Sector in Maharashtra and
it is installing two 400 KV double circuit
(Quad conductor) transmission lines.
Equipment manufacturing
JSW Energy had formed a Joint
Venture with world renowned Toshiba
Corporation of Japan for manufacturing
of Supercritical Steam Turbine Generator
sets in India. The plant is being set up
at Chennai near Ennore Port.
Mining
JSW Energy along with Mahanadi
Coalfields Limited and two other
companies have been allocated Utkal A
Gopal Prasad (West) West Coal Block in
Orissa. Also, JSW Energys subsidiary
Raj West Power Ltd. along with
Rajasthan State Minerals and Mining
Limited has been allocated Kapurdi and
Jallipa Lignite mines at Barmer in
Rajasthan for captive supply of fuel to
JSWELs 8x135 MW Power Plant at
Barmer. Mining operations at both these
mines will be undertaken by the Joint
Ventures (JVs), JSW Energy is part of
both these JVs.
Trading
JSW Energy through its hundred
percent subsidiary JSW Power Trading
Company is one of the top Power Traders
in India since June 2006 and has traded
more than 7 billion units so far.
Training
JSW Energys Centre of Excellence
has been recognized by Central Electric-
ity Authority (Government of India) for
imparting Power Plant Training to their
employees as well as for fresh engineers.
Proximity of JSW Energys Centre of
Excellence to their Power Plants enables
it to train the engineers on different fuel,
unit size and technologies.
Technology
Besides, using highly efficient
Electrostatic precipitators which capture
the particulate emissions from the
effluent gases, high chimneys for wide
dispersion of particulates as per
environment regulations, JSW Energy is
setting up most efficient power genera-
tion equipment to contain the Environ-
mental Pollution. We also continuously
monitor emissions and take timely
corrective measures at our operating
power plants, said Rao.
JSW Energy is using CFBC Technol-
ogy Boilers for its Barmer Power Projects
which is very efficient and environmental
friendly technology to burn very low
calorific value, high sulphur and high
moisture lignite. Location of its Power
Plants is judiciously selected in coastal
areas enabling use of imported coal
which offers advantage of lesser
emission and reduced ash generation.
For all our new power projects
which are under development stage,
JSW Energy will be introducing most
efficient super critical technology for
power generation which will further
reduce the emissions to atmosphere.
Our quality & environmental systems are
certified to be in compliance under ISO
9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS
18001:2007, said Rao.
JSW Energy is also setting up an
environment friendly Hydro Power Plant
of 240 MW capacity at Himachal Pradesh.
Besides, JSW Energy has been allocated
5 MW capacity for development of
pollution free Solar Power Project by
Government of Gujarat
Financials
From 2006 to 2009 JSW Energys
revenue has grown at a CAGR of 50%,
EBITDA has been growing at CAGR of
-
31 March 2010
30% and PAT at a CAGR of 28%. JSW
Energy has successfully put on commer-
cial operation 995 MW of Power Plants
ahead of the target dates. We have set
a target of 3140 MW of generation
capacity by April 2011 and a target of
11,390 MW by September 2015. JSWEL
is working towards becoming the top
three full service integrated private
power company in the country within the
next three years with the presence
across entire value chain, said Rao.
MoUs & JVs
JSW Energy has formed a JointVenture with world renowned Toshiba
Corporation of Japan for manufactur-
ing of Super-Critical Steam Turbine
Generator sets in India. As per this JV
agreement, the JV Company will give
preferred customer treatment to JSW
Energy both for price and delivery.
This will ensure timely supply of most
efficient power equipment to JSW
Energy at a reasonable price.
JSW Energy has formed a jointventure with Maharashtra State
Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd. for
establishing two 400 KV double circuit
(Quad conductor) transmission lines.
This will enable JSW Energy to
evacuate Power from its 4x300 MW
Phase I and 4x800 MW Phase II Power
Projects at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
The company has entered into a MoUwith a European MNC for providing
Engineering & Training Services in
India for Nuclear Power Plants. This
will enable JSW Energy to have
exposure to Nuclear Power business
and be ready to participate in Nuclear
Power utility business as and when the
law is amended to allow private sector
participation in Nuclear Power.
JSWEL has entered into a MoU with alarge Japanese Power utility for joint
development of Thermal and Hydro
Power Projects in India and
neighbouring countries.
This will enable JSW Energy to
introduce state-of-the-art technologies
such as ultra supercritical power
generation, dry type desulphurization,
NOx reduction & development of
pumped storage Hydro Power Plants.
JSW Energys subsidiary Raj WestPower Limited has formed a Joint
Venture with Rajasthan State Mines
and Minerals Limited to develop and
operate the mines for supply of lignite
to its 1080 MW power projects under
construction at Barmer.
JSW Energy has also formed a Joint
Venture -MJSJ Limited with Mahanadi
Coal Limited and two other private
players for development of Utkal A
Gopala Prasad (West) Coal Block in
Orissa for capacity of 15 MTPA open
cast mining.
MoM has been signed with a US MNCfor exploring joint development of 100
MW Solar Power Projects.
With such joint ventures and
For all our new power projects which are under develop-
ment stage, JSW Energy will be introducing most efficient
super critical technology for power generation which will
further reduce the emissions to atmosphere. Our quality &
environmental systems are certified to be in compliance
under ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS
18001:2007
(Rs. Million)
2006 2007 2008 2009 H1 - FY 2010
Revenue 5,489 8,115 13,261 18,522 8,754
EBITDA 2,489 4,623 9,094 5,490 5,038
PAT 1,324 2,721 3,238 2,790 2,695
-
32 March 2010
strategic collaborations, JSWEL will get
a firm foothold in other related areas of
power generation and would emerge as
full service integrated power company in
the country, said Rao.
Overseas Presence
JSW Energy has signed a long term
coal supply agreement with an Indone-
sian Company for supply of coal for its
power plants.
JSW Energy has also entered into a
long term Fuel Supply Agreement with
JSW Natural Resources Mozambique, a
subsidiary of sister company JSW Steel
Limited for supply of Coal for its Power
Plants in India.
Besides, JSW Energy is exploring
opportunities for setting up Hydro Power
Projects in neighbouring countries like
Bhutan, Nepal and Georgia.
Significant achievements
Successful Commissioning andCommercial operation of 2x300 MW
units at Karnataka. Full Load Operation
was achieved within two to three
months of first synchronization.
Successful commissioning andcommercial operation of first 135 MW
unit at Barmer in Rajasthan.
The first synchronization was done
within a short span of 28 months for
this Greenfield project which is located
in very adverse climatic conditions. All
the eight units of 135 MW at Barmer
are expected to be commissioned by
October 2010.
The above achievements have given
full confidence to JSW Energy to
develop power generation capacity of
3140 MW by April 2011 and 11,390
MW by September 2015 besides
becoming an end to end Power
business company.
Following are the projects
under pipeline to achieve targets:
4x300 MW imported Coal basedpower plant at Ratnagiri in
Maharashtra, first unit of which will be
commissioned by March 2010. All the
4 units are expected to be commis-
sioned by Oct. 2010.
At Ratnagiri, the company will be
setting up 4x800 MW Super-Critical
units in Phase II which will be
commissioned by April 2015.
2 units of 135 MW at Barmer inRajasthan in Phase II which will be
commissioned by January 2013.
At Kutehr in Himachal Pradesh, JSWEnergy is setting up a 240 MW Hydro
Project which will be commissioned by
December 2015.
2x660 MW Super-Critical units atChhattisgarh which will be commis-
sioned by August 2014.
At West Bengal, JSW Energy issetting up 2 units of 800 MW Super-
Critical domestic coal based Thermal
Power Plant which will be commis-
sioned by February 2015.
2 units of 660 MW supercritical and 1
unit of 300 MW Sub-Critical domestic
coal based power plant at Jharkhand
which will be commissioned by August
2015.
Thus by the year 2015, JSW Energy
would become an integrated Power
Player with a generation capacity of
11,390 MW.
During the year 2008-09, 26 new projects with an esti-
mated cost of more than Rs. 40,000 Crore involving about
21,180 ckm of transmission lines and 19 no. sub-stations
with transformation capacity of about 52,565 MVA and
HVDC terminals of 6,000 MW were approved and taken up
for implementation.
-
33 March 2010
-
34 March 2010
Armed with strengths of customer focussed approach, speed and innovation,transparency in organisation, environment friendly approach in operations andregular investment in talent building, Websol Energy Systems Ltd is a successstory in its specialisation of manufacturing Solar PV cells and modules.
"THE PRESENT CAPACITY OF WEBSOL IS 40 MW
WHICH WILL BE RAMPED UP TO 120MW BY 2011"
-
35 March 2010
Formerly known as Webel SL energy
Systems, Websol Energy Systems
Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 and
has been engaged in manufacturing
Solar PV cells and Modules since 1994.
The Company was established as a
100% export enterprise through joint
venture between SL Industries Pvt Ltd,
Helios Technology SPA Italy and West
Bengal Electronic Industry Development
Corporation (WEBEL) with the vision: To
provide clean and dependable solar
energy that will sustain the environment
and improve global living standards.
The company started its operation with
recycled wafers with 1 MW which was
ramped up to 40 MW in 2009 with fresh
wafers.
According to S L Agarwal, founder
and Managing Director, Websol,
currently, India has about 700 MW solar
modules manufacturing and about 500
MW solar cells manufacturing capacity.
Major share of this production is
exported to Europe and USA. The total
installation in India is about 3.1 MW grid
connected systems and the estimated
potential of solar PV is about 50 MW per
Sq Kilometer. With proper utilization of
Solar PV technology the country can
generate enough electricity to address
the growing domestic needs to achieve
8-9% growth rate in GDP, he says.
Solar Power is the Key for rural
development since availability of
electricity in rural and remote areas is
very low.
With installation off grid and
decentralized systems in rural areas, the
country can achieve the social and
economic environment.
Speaking about Websol and its
significance in segment, Agarwal states
that Solar PV industry is driven by
technological development in terms of
improvement in cell efficiency and
a