Page 2 - Electricity In India

Govt rolls out mandatory quality norms for electrical accessories

The government has issued mandatory quality norms for electrical accessories such as switch-socket-outlets and cable trunking to curb the import of sub-standard goods and boost domestic manufacturing of these goods. The Electrical Accessories (Quality Control) Order, 2023 was issued in this regard by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on January 1 this year. Under this order, items cannot be produced, sold, traded, imported and stocked unless they bear the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark. The order will come into force from six months of the date of publication of the notification, DPIIT said. It added that "nothing in this order shall apply to goods or articles manufactured domestically for export". In order to safeguard the MSME sector, relaxations have been granted to comply with the order. Small industries have been given additional nine months time, while 12 extra months will be given to micro enterprises. DPIIT in consultation with BIS and

Nepal inks long-term power deal with India, to sell 10,000 MW electricity

The agreement was signed in the presence of Nepal's Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet

Peak power demand likely to touch 350,670 MW mark by 2030-31: Centre

The peak electricity demand in India is expected to touch 3,50,670 MW mark by 2030-31, and the government is taking various measures to meet the increased demand, Union Minister R K Singh has said. The peak demand has gone up from 1,35,918 MW in 2013-14 to 2,43,271 MW in September 2023. This is a rise of almost 79 per cent and the demand has been met, the minister for power said on Thursday. A series of concerted measures have led to 70 per cent increase in generation capacity from 2,48,554 MW in March 2014 to 4 25,536 MW in October 2023, he said in Lok Sabha. "As per 20th Electric Power Survey (EPS) report published in November 2022, the peak electricity demand in the country in 2030-31 is expected to be 3,50,670 MW. We have taken steps to meet the increased demand for power in the country," Singh said. The minister said 27,180 MW of thermal capacity is under construction, 12,000 MW has been bid out and 19,000 MW is under clearances. The total anticipated thermal capacity additio

India's power consumption grows nearly 9% to 1,099 bn units in April-Nov

Power consumption has increased by nearly nine per cent to 1,099.90 billion units (BU) in the country during April-November this fiscal compared to the same period a year ago, showing a surge in economic activities. The power consumption in the country was 1,010.20 BU in April-November 2022-23, higher than 916.52 BU recorded in the same period of 2021-22. Power consumption in the entire fiscal 2022-23 was 1,504.26 BU, higher than 1,374.02 BU witnessed in 2021-22 financial year. Industry experts said that around nine per cent growth in power consumption in the first eight months of this fiscal year shows buoyancy in the economy. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summer. The demand did not reach the projected level in April-July due to unseasonal rain. The peak demand, however, touched a new high of 224.1 GW in June before dropping to 209.03 GW in July. Peak demand touched 238.82 GW in August. In September this year, it was at a

State govts falling back on thermal power as electricity demand surges

In 2014, it was coal supply. Between 2016-2018, it was Central schemes on rural and urban electrification and reforms for power distribution companies

SC sets up panel for appointment of members to Delhi power regulator DERC

The Supreme Court on Monday set up a three-member selection panel for short-listing and appointing two temporary members of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the selection committee will comprise Justice Jayant Nath, former Delhi High Court judge and present pro tem DERC head, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, the chairperson of APTEL (Appellate Tribunal for Electricity) and Justice Asha Menon, a former Delhi High Court judge. The bench said the selection panel shall recommend two names for each position with information regarding their ability, integrity and domain knowledge, preferably within one month. The names of short-listed candidates will be forwarded to the office of the lieutenant governor of Delhi and the chief minister for appointment, it added. The bench said the panel will be free to devise methods for selection of the members of the national capital's power regulatory

Power Mech Projects bags Rs 355 cr order from BHEL for trial operations

Power Mech Projects on Tuesday said it has bagged a Rs 355 crore order from state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The scope of work includes erection, commissioning and trial operation including application of lining/insulation, Power Mech Projects said in a regulatory filing. It also includes handing over of boiler and its auxiliaries, power cycle piping, steam turbine generator of unit I and II at 2X660 MW NTPC, Talcher, Odisha, it said. Based in Hyderabad, Power Mech Projects is one among the leading infrastructure-construction companies with global presence.

PM inaugurates, lays foundation of projects worth 4,200 cr in Uttarakhand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation of multiple development projects in Uttarakhand worth nearly Rs 4,200 crore. The projects, numbering 23 in total, will give impetus to infrastructure, education, health, electricity, drinking water, sports, tourism, disaster mitigation and horticulture sectors in the hill state. The projects whose foundation stones were laid by the prime minister at an event in Pithoragarh included 21,398 poly-houses, cultivation of high density intensive apple orchards, five works of double-laning of roads and slope treatment of national highways and the construction of 32 bridges in the state. These also included strengthening of disaster management mechanism, expansion of education, health and sports facilities and development of temples in the Manaskhand area on the lines of Chardham. The projects inaugurated by Modi included various infrastructure development projects and those aimed at increasing availability of ...

Govt approves Rs 3,760 cr viability gap funding to boost energy storage

This move would help get Rs 9,500 crore or more of investments into battery storage system

New electricity tariff rules to make bills cheaper during solar hours

Tariffs during solar hours of the day will be 10-20% lower than the normal tariff, said the Ministry of Power

Karnataka raises electricity prices by Rs 2.89 per unit, starting July 1

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the new price increase on Monday along with the Griha Jyoti scheme that will provide eligible households up to 200 units of free electricity

Nepal starts exporting electricity to India, as generation increases

Nepal has started exporting electricity to India from Saturday, as the generation of hydroelectricity from run-of-the-river projects increased with the onset of the monsoon in the Himalayan country. Last year also, Nepal exported hydroelectricity to India from June to November. We have started selling 600 MW hour electricity to India from Saturday as there is a surplus in the electricity in the country, said Suresh Bhattarai, spokesperson of Nepal Electricity Authority. Some time ago Nepal was importing up to 400 MW electricity from India to meet the domestic demand. In Nepal the domestic demand for electricity increases in winter, while the supply decreases and in summer the demand decreases while the supply increases. Most of the hydropower projects operating in Nepal are based on run-of-the-river. Last year, Nepal earned around 12 billion rupees from exporting electricity to India. With the onset of monsoons, hydropower plants in Nepal have been producing excess electricity f

Govt sets criteria for allocation of power from central pool to states, UTs

Electricity from the central pool will not be allocated to states and UTs which will impose taxes on clean energy projects, impede the inter-state flow of power and have not cleared subsidy dues on electricity tariff, according to an official order. The Ministry of Power in an office order also stated that the power from the central pool will not be allocated to those states which have regulatory assets. Regulatory assets come into existence when power regulators acknowledge that the tariffs imposed on electricity consumers do not adequately cover the power purchase costs of distribution companies (discoms). Certain aspects will be examined whenever a request will be received from any state/union territory (UT) for allocation of power from the unallocated quota of Central Generating Stations, the order dated March 31, 2023, said. The ministry will take into account non-creation of regulatory assets and timely payment of subsidy declared, if any, in the consumer tariffs by the state

Statsguru: Six charts explain India's changing energy landscape

The industrial sector is the biggest consumer of electricity and accounted for 41 per cent of the 1,296,300 gigawatt hours of electricity consumed in India in 2021-22

Indian power plants should be compensated for importing coal: CERC

Power tariffs for imported coal-based plants should cover their costs as well as a "reasonable profit margin," the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) said in an order dated Jan 3

Single-day peak power demand to rise by up to 35,000 MW in April: Power min

The single-day peak demand for power is expected to increase by up to 35,000 MW in April 2023 and the government has started preparations to meet the same, Union minister R K Singh said on Wednesday. Speaking to PTI, the minister for power, new & renewable energy said he is taking up a meeting this evening to review the preparation of the expected demand which will be seen in April next year. According to official figures, the maximum all-India power demand met at 2:51 pm in April 2022 was 201.066 GW. The single-day demand is expected to grow by 30,000 MW to 35,000 MW in April, Singh said on the sidelines of the launch of 'Plan on Transmission System for integration of 500-MW non-fossil Fuel Capacity by 2030'. "Today, on a daily basis the demand is 20,000 MW-25,000 MW more over the corresponding day last year...The meeting is about what will be the demand in April and how prepared we are to meet that," he said. Power Secretary Alok Kumar, Chairperson of the Central Electricity ...

Recovery tracker: Lower mobility, power generation in week ended Sept 14

Railway freight traffic numbers were higher than before

What is Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022?

The govt wants to usher in 'much-needed reforms' in the power distribution sector with the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022. But the Bill met with stiff resistance. Here's both sides of the debate

Open access II: India's attempt to expand scope of green energy initiatives

The new guidelines expanding consumer choices to green energy will remain subject to the uncertainties and quirks of state policy

Maharashtra's electricity users to pay more as fuel adjustment charges rise

Nearly all the electricity users across categories in Maharashtra will be paying more for every unit of electricity they consume over the next four months, power utilities said on Friday. The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), the sector regulator, has approved discoms' requests for accumulated fuel adjustment charges (FAC), which will result in higher payouts. The FAC charges are for higher costs borne by discoms in arranging power either by way of paying higher charges for short-term power supply or imported coal, which surged because of geopolitical tensions, experts pointed out. Consumers will have to pay the higher FAC for four months till November 2022 billing cycle, industry sources said, adding that the actual payments will differ from discom to discom, and also as per the category a consumer falls under. An official from the state-owned Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) said the increase is as per the MERC order. "The FAC duly