Page 2 - Electricity

Snowfall disrupts life in Lahaul-Spiti; power, communication lines down

Normal life was thrown out of gear in the tribal areas of the district following near-relentless snowfall over three consecutive days--on March 2, 3 and 4

Delhi govt seeks L-G's nod on decision extending power subsidy to 2024-25

The Delhi government has sent the file of Cabinet decision to continue electricity subsidy scheme in 2024-25 for approval of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, government officials on Saturday said. The Delhi Cabinet on Thursday last approved the scheme for providing free electricity supply to consumers with monthly 200 units and 50 percent subsidy to those having 201-400 units consumption per month. However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal speaking in the Assembly on Saturday on his government's budget for 2024-25 alleged that the BJP wanted to send him to jail and stop good works of his government like free electricity scheme and shut down Mohalla Clinics and hospitals. Finance Minister Atishi presented the Kejriwal government's budget with total outlays of Rs 76,000 crore in the Delhi Assembly on Monday. In Delhi, nearly 22 lakh families who consume up to 200 units of electricity will continue to get zero amount bills. Earlier, the chief minister after the Cabinet's decision to exte

Power use in Delhi rises 37%, total consumers up 52% in last 10 yrs: Report

Power consumption in the national capital rose nearly 37 per cent in the last decade from 25,593 Million Units (MUs) of electricity to 35,042 MUs, according to the Delhi Economic Survey report 2023-24 tabled in the Assembly on Friday. The report tabled in the assembly by Finance Minister Atishi, also revealed that the number of consumers in the city rose over 52 per cent during the same period. Delhi, being an urban centre with high load density has seen electricity consumption increasing from 25,593 MUs in 2011-12 to 35,042 MUs in 2022-23. The distribution of electricity in Delhi to various categories of consumers increased from 21,361 MUs in 2012-13 to 30,054 MUs in 2022-23. During the same period, the number of power consumers in Delhi rose from 44.64 lakh to 68.51 lakh, said the report. Also, the the total power purchase in Delhi was 40,997 MUs in FY23. While 09.65 per cent of total power purchase is generated by the Delhi government power plants, 90.35 per cent is purchased

Can't provide free electricity to consumers in state, says Bihar CM

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday dismissed the opposition's demand for providing at least 200 units of free electricity to the poor and emphasised that electricity is already being supplied to consumers at highly subsidised rates. The CM made the remark in the assembly during a debate on budget allocation for the energy department for 2024-25. A budgetary proposal of Rs 11,422.67 crore of the department was passed by voice vote. "We can't provide free electricity to consumers. I have been saying this for years. We are already providing electricity to consumers at highly subsidised rates," the CM said, rejecting the demands of opposition members that at least 200 units of electricity be given free to 94 lakh families who earn less than Rs 6,000 a month. The demand was first raised by Sandeep Saurav, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation's MLA, during a debate on budget allocation for the energy department. State Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadv while

Govt tweaks rules for speedy electricity connection, rooftop installation

Now getting new electricity connections will be as fast as three days in metropolitan areas, seven days in municipal areas and 15 days in rural areas, according to the latest amendments in the existing norms. The government has approved amendments to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, the power ministry said in a statement on Friday. The amendments also simplified the process of rooftop solar installations and empower consumers living in multistoried flats to chose connection type and ensure separate billing for common areas and back-up generators in residential societies, thus enhancing transparency, the ministry said. The revised rule provides for checking meters installed by distribution companies in case of consumer complaints to verify electricity consumption. According to the statement, the time period for obtaining a new electricity connection under the rules has been reduced from seven days to three days in metropolitan areas, from fifteen days to seven days

Purchased electricity worth Rs 40,000 cr in 2 years: Guj govt to Assembly

The Gujarat government on Thursday informed the Assembly that it has purchased electricity worth Rs 40,634 crore from different power generation firms in the last two years. Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs, state energy minister Kanubhai Desai said Rs 20,898 crore was paid to 804 firms, mostly renewable energy projects, in 2022 while Rs 19,736 crore was paid in 2023 to 919 firms towards the purchase of electricity. In 2022, the average cost was Rs 5.25 per unit while it was Rs 4.75 in 2023, he added. Congress Legislature Party leader Amit Chavda and senior Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar confronted Desai over the issue and sought to know why private firms are given preference over state-run energy generation firms. "The total installed capacity of the state government's power plants is 9,347 MW while the total installed capacity of three private entities - Adani, Essar and Tata - is 5,361 MW. Despite our capacity being more, we give preference to private firms

India's incremental demand to equal UK's current power consumption in 3 yrs

India remains heavily dependent on coal to meet its energy needs

Electricity use in agriculture sector jumps to 37.1% since 2009-10

The share of direct energy use in the form of electricity in the agriculture sector in India rose from 28.75 per cent in 2009-10 to 37.1 per cent in 2019-20 of the total energy use, according to a new data yearbook by The Energy Research Institute (TERI). The total commercial energy input to agriculture rose from 1496 ? 10^9 megajoules (MJ) in 2009-10 to 2050 ? 10^9 MJ in 2019-20, it said. Both direct (electricity and fuel) and indirect (nitrogenous and phosphorus fertilisers, and pesticides) energy use in Indian agriculture have increased over the years. Indirect use of energy in the form of fertilisers contributed 68.4 per cent in 2009-10 but reduced to 60.61 per cent in 2019-20. Electricity consumption in agriculture is increasing, driven by higher irrigation demand for new crop varieties and subsidised electricity provided to the sector, it said. In 2021-22, the agriculture sector contributed 18.6 per cent of gross value added in India. It provided livelihood and employment to

Peak power demand to touch 366 GW by 2032: Central Electricity Secretary

Peak power demand in India will increase to 366 GW by 2032 and 693 GW by 2047, a top official said. This assumes significance in view of rising electricity consumption in the country as peak power demand touched a record high of 243.27 GW in September 2023. At the virtual launch of the US-India Energy Storage Task Force, Rakesh Kumar, Secretary of Central Electricity Authority, said, "Considering the projected electricity demand and energy requirement in the country, which is expected to grow in terms of peak demand to 277 GW by 2027; to 366 GW by 2032 and 693 GW by 2047." "Our country has a vision to reduce carbon emission intensity by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels. And net zero by 2070," Kumar, India Co-Chair of the US-India Energy Storage Task Force, said in a statement. The US-India Energy Storage Task Force was launched virtually at a conference in India to make strides in global transformation in this area. The public-private US-India Energy Storage Task Force (ESTF)

HPL Electric and Power bags smart meter orders worth Rs 545 crore

In August, HPL Electric and Power won an order worth Rs 417 crore from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company

'On track to have 50% installed power capacity via non-fossil fuel sources'

India is on its track to have 50 per cent of its installed power generation capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, Union Minister R K Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The country's installed power generation capacity from non-fossil source is 186.46 gigawatt (GW), which is 43.82 per cent of its total installed capacity, the minister for new and renewable energy said. "India is on track for achieving its target of having 50 per cent of its installed source generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030," Singh, who also holds the portfolio of Power Minister said. Of the total 186.46 GW capacity, 178.98 GW is renewable energy and 7.48 GW is nuclear power. In addition, 114.08 GW of capacity is under implementation and 55.13 GW of capacity is under tendering. The non-fossil electricity capacity increased from 32.54 per cent in March 2014, to 43.82 per cent in October 2023. Singh further said that the government has taken several measures to promote renewable ene

J-K PDD announces withdrawal of Electricity Duty to alleviate tariff hike

The decision, effective December 1, 2023, comes following the issuance of a new Tariff order by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), Jammu and Kashmir

US extends sanctions waiver allowing Iraq to buy electricity from Iran

The Biden administration has extended by four months a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to continue to purchase electricity from Iran and give Iran limited access to the proceeds to buy humanitarian goods. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed the 120-day waiver extension and it was transmitted to Congress on Tuesday, US officials said. The move is likely to draw criticism from Iran hawks on Capitol Hill and elsewhere who believe the extension will reward Iran at a time when it is coming under increasing pressure to end its support for proxy groups, including Hamas, that are destabilising the Middle East. There is roughly USD 10 billion in Iraqi payments for Iranian electricity currently being held in escrow accounts in Iraq, and the waiver will allow Baghdad to maintain its energy imports without fear of US penalties for violating sanctions on Iran. It will also keep in place a provision included in the last 120-day waiver under which portions of the electricity proceeds

India's industrial production growth decelerates to 5.8% in September

The factory output growth measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by 3.3 per cent in September 2022

Amid increased consumption in India, IEX's electricity volume up 21%

According to the data for October published by GRID-India, the country's energy consumption jumped 22 per cent to 139 billion units as compared to that in 2022

Prez denies assent to Delhi Electricity Reforms (Amendment) Bill: Speaker

The Delhi Electricity Reforms (Amendment) Bill 2022 passed by the Delhi Assembly, which sought to raise the retirement age of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) members and chairman from 65 years to 70, has been denied approval by the President, authorities said on Friday. The tenure of the chairman and the members of DERC is five years or attaining the age of 65, whichever is earlier. "The Bill was not approved by the president and returned back," Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel told PTI. No immediate comment was available from the president's office on the issue. When asked about it, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was not apprised of the matter. "I will get it checked," Kejriwal said in a press conference. Official sources said the Bill was returned by the President because the Electricity Act is a central law and it was beyond the jurisdiction of the Delhi Assembly to legislate on it. The legislation was brought to avoid any possible delay in ..

Pakistan: Parts of Karachi hit by power outage following heavy rains

Several areas of the city plunged into darkness due to the tripping of K-Electric's extra high tension (EHT) transmission line after the rainfall

Gaza power authority warns that electricity will run out within hours

Gaza's power authority says its sole power plant will fun out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies. Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas' bloody rampage over the weekend. All of Gaza's crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied. The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.

As BYD seeks India expansion, its executives find it tough to get visas

BYD is far from being an outlier, as several Chinese companies from various sectors have faced challenges in getting visas for travel to India

Tripura to buy 80MW additional power for Durga Puja: Power Minister

Tripura is planning to buy 80MW additional power to ensure uninterrupted electricity during Durga Puja, Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath has said. This year, the state's power demand is expected to be around 380MW during the Durga Puja days, Nath said after a review meeting here on Friday. In 2021, the state's peak hour demand during Durga Puja, the state's biggest festival, was 327MW, which rose to 332MW in 2022, he said. "Like previous years, Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) has taken steps to provide uninterrupted power during Durga Puja. We expect the demand to be around 380MW this year during the festival days," he said. "The state currently has 300MW power. TSECL will arrange an additional 80MW to meet the requirement during Durga Puja,' he added. He hinted at cutting down power sales to Bangladesh to ensure adequate power supply during the festival days. At present, the state sells 100MW power to the neighbouring country daily. Nath appealed to the Puja organ