Page 22 - Electricity Sector

Five years on, govt's UDAY scheme fails to power bleeding discoms

Shreya Jai compares five-year data that reveals deterioration in the health of discoms

Power demand falls to 2.6% in July; experts hope normal levels by August

According to power ministry data, peak power demand met was recorded at 170.54 GW on July 2, which is just 2.61 per cent lower than 175.12 GW in July 2019

Oppn-ruled states oppose Electricity Bill changes, fear increase in rates

The meet, held via video conference between power ministers/departments of states and the Union ministry of power, saw Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala protesting against amendments

India's electricity output signals recovery in June, shows govt data

June power generation fell 9.9%, a Reuters analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid operator POSOCO showed, compared with a 14.3% decline in May.

Power producers need a new paradigm amid low, unpredictable demand

PPAs are proving inflexible in a regime of falling demand and the rise of renewable power

Plant load of thermal stations dips to record low of 45% in Apr-May

This is 18 per cent lower than the year ago period, a study by CARE Ratings showed, quoting figures from Central Electricity Authority

Power sector hopes for reforms at state level as Centre curbs imports

Given the federal structure in the power sector, most states float tenders different from the Centre and adopt separate selection criteria, mostly tilting towards low cost.

Customers' service

Customers not only have to suffer power cuts and get stressed just to complain about the cut, now we have to tell them when it is restored

Power generation falls 15% even after easing of coronavirus lockdown norms

Data from Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO) shows that coal-fired power generation alone dropped by a steeper 24 per cent

Power minister R K Singh asks Rs 3 trillion from finance commission

The minister informed the commission that the old schemes of the ministry are being amalgamated into a new scheme for which he requested Rs 3 trillion over five years.

Aimed at reviving investment, Electricity Bill shows sparks of reform

The draft is long on intent but short on detail

PFC continues to fund non-performing coal assets despite mounting NPAs

PFC and REC have lent extensively to coal-fired power projects, with Rs 3.43 trillion, or 54% of their total loan books exposed to thermal power

Global energy demand will fall 6% in 2020: International Energy Agency

The decline is equivalent to losing the entire energy demand of India, the world's third-largest energy consumer

Even after partial easing of Covid-19 lockdown, power demand declines 25%

On a weekly basis, electricity generation is down 3% in the last week of April

Covid-19 outbreak: For big electrical players, lockdown only a blip

Most of the firms that are dependent on government contracts are looking at a dry pipeline in the near term.

Power for growth

Draft Bill aims to address the fault lines in the sector

Covid-19: Delhi extends subsidy on electricity, to pay for discoms' dues

The Delhi government also said it has approved "extension of existing electricity subsidy to domestic and agriculture, special subsidy to 1984 Sikh riots victims

New Electricity Bill: End to subsidised power, distribution overhauled

On the cards: Private power distribution franchisees, new Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority for resolution of disputes relating of contracts for sale and purchase of power

Lights out for the power sector? Coronavirus makes a crisis worse

Its pre-pandemic crisis is likely to worsen with the prolonged lockdown unless the government offers some vital concessions

Industrial output at 4.5% in Feb, may shrink in March over Covid-19 crisis

The rise in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) helped pull up cumulative growth in industrial output to 0.9 per cent in the April-February period of 2019-20,