Page 5 - Electricity

Solar power companies growing fast in Africa, where 600 mn without power

Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world's worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change. The often African-owned companies operate in areas where the vast majority of people live disconnected from the electricity grid, and offer products ranging from solar-powered lamps that allow children to study at night to elaborate home systems that power kitchen appliances and plasma televisions. Prices range from less than USD 20 for a solar-powered lamp to thousands of dollars for home appliances and entertainment systems. Central and West Africa have some of the world's lowest electrification rates. In West Africa, where 220 million people live without power, this is as low as 8 per cent, according to the World Bank. Many rely on expensive kerosene and other fuels that fill homes and businesses with fumes a

Over 1.6 million US customers still without power after Hurricane Helene

US energy company Duke Energy had the most power outages in the Carolinas with about 415,601 customers still out in South Carolina and 287,369 out in North Carolina, according to PowerOutage.us.

Freebies, declining central grants: Himachal's uphill task to fix finances

State has announced it will impose electricity consumption cess and defer salaries of ministers for two months

Telangana govt orders to provide free electricity in govt edu institutions

The Telangana government on Thursday issued an order providing free power supply to government educational institutions in the state to impart quality education. The scheme will into effect immediately, the Government Order (GO) said. According to the modalities for the scheme's implementation, the DISCOMS (power distribution companies) will create an online portal with logins given to respective departments of all the government educational institutions of Telangana. The secretaries of the concerned departments would finalise the list of institutions to be covered in the scheme and include the same on the online portal. Monthly billing will be done for each institution and will be displayed in the departments' login. The portal would also enable generation of reports pertaining to the consumption, bill amount, historical consumption, billing, payments and others. The portal will be integrated with the finance department to enable the departments to pay the bills to DISCOMS using

Atishi holds meet on providing 400 units of free power to 1984 riot victims

Atishi also instructed the Revenue Department officials to make unique ID cards for the riot victims

Brick kiln workers in western UP begin transition to solar energy

Smoke swirls from brick kiln chimneys rise up lazily, clouding around sleek solar panels that reflect the monsoon skies above, the ancient and the very new melding easily across the flat lands of western Uttar Pradesh where solar energy is changing lives in ways big and small. The harsh summer of endless days of the sun beating down mercilessly has given way to rain and sullen clouds. But the stored solar energy in the panels continues to do its work, bringing down pollution in the traditional brick kiln industry and providing electricity, and digital connectivity, to villages in the area. Eight brick kilns in Aligarh district's Kodiaganj, Pilakhana and Akrabad have already made the pioneering shift from coal to solar panels to meet their electricity needs. It's a fraction of the district's 555 brick kilns according to a report by the UP Pollution Control Board but at least a beginning. Om Prakash Sharma, who owns a brick kiln, said the initial costs were steep at Rs 7 lakh but

Electricity: A strategic view

Heavy lifting is now required in electricity and financial reforms

Fire dept NOC to be must for electric connection in buildings over 15 m

With a rise in the number of fire incidents in summer months in the national capital, power regulator DERC has proposed that residential buildings that are over 15 metres high will have to obtain a no objection certificate of the fire safety department for getting an electricity connection. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has also mooted authorising discoms to disconnect power supply of buildings to be demolished by the civic agencies. The DERC issued a notice for amendments to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Supply Code and Performance Standards) Regulations, 2017. in exercise of the powers conferred "by Section 57 read with Section 181(2)(za) of the Electricity Act, 2003 (Act 36 of 2003)" . As per Regulation No 10(7) of the principal regulations, the discoms may disconnect the supply of electricity in case a direction or order for demolition of the premises is passed by a Court, or DDA or MCD or Competent Statutory Authority, said the ...

Power outages persist in North India amid rising demand and heatwaves

Trouble could be mounting in the intra-state systems affecting power supply as states are still unwilling to bid out the lines at prices that would attract investors to upgrade capacities

Electricity KYC fraud: DoT blocks 392 handsets, checking 31,740 connections

The Department has also directed them to re-verify 31,740 mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets

Delhi: Over 50 shops gutted in Chandni Chowk fire, cooling op underway

Flames were still simmering under some collapsed portions of buildings and a cooling operation is underway, officials said on Friday

How smart meters are powering change for companies, consumers in country

Devices help electricity firms in preventing leakages and improving revenue by providing real-time data

Frequent power cuts still a trouble for Rajasthan govt amid scorching heat

Despite continuous power purchase, difference in the demand-supply remains

'India runs power plants flat out to keep cool in heatwave, election'

The grid met record peak load of 246 mn kilowatts on May 29 and then 250 million kilowatts on May 30, shattering the previous record of 240 mn kilowatts set in September 2023, wrote John Kemp

CESC Ltd Q4 result: PAT declines 7% to 415 cr, total income at Rs 3,460 cr

CESC Ltd on Thursday reported a 6.74 per cent fall in its consolidated profit to Rs 415 crore for the March quarter, supported by higher income. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 445 crore in the year-ago period, the power company said in an exchange filing. The company's total income rose to Rs 3,460 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,208 crore in January-March FY23. During the period under review, its expenses stood at Rs 3,613 crore, as against Rs 3,099 crore a year ago. For full year, the company's profit rose to Rs 1,447 crore from Rs 1,397 crore in FY 22-23, it said. The board of the company also approved the appointment of Brajesh Singh as Managing Director (Generation) and Vineet Sikka as Managing Director (Distribution) for a period of five years with effect from May 28, 2024. CESC is into generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power.

Gas-based plants directed to run from May 1 to Jun 30 as power demand rises

The government has directed all gas-based power generating stations to operationalise their plants from May 1 to June 30 in view of rise in electricity demand due to a likely prolonged heat wave this summer. A significant portion of Gas-Based Generating Stations (GBSs) is currently unutilized, primarily due to commercial considerations. The ministry has projected 260 GW peak power demand this summer (April to June 2024). Peak power demand had touched an all-time high of 243 GW in September last year. The decision to operationalise GBSs is part of a series of measures taken by the Centre to ensure that electricity demand in the summer is met. According to a power ministry statement, the order shall remain valid for generation and supply of electricity from May 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024. "To ensure maximum power generation from Gas-Based Generating Stations, the government has issued directions to all Gas-Based Generating Stations under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003, under

Singh warns of debt trap for using borrowed money to give free electricity

Power Minister RK Singh has warned of a debt trap for states like Punjab using borrowed money to provide free electricity, saying such populist schemes are fine only if a state has finances. Electricity, like any other commodity, involves the cost of generating it, and if a state is to provide it for free to a section of consumers, it also needs to have finances to pay the generating utility. If the generating utility isn't paid, electricity will not be produced in the first place. In an interview with PTI, Singh said he has been telling states that electricity is not free. "If any state wants to give free power to any category of people, they can go ahead and do so, but you have to pay for it". However, states with already high debt are resorting to such populist measures, forcing them to borrow more to pay generating utilities, resulting in a debt trap. "You should not be bringing your state to a situation where it falls into a debt trap. Many of the states are close to debt trap

India renews agreement to export electricity to Nepal for next 3 months

At a time when Nepal is facing a power crisis, India on Friday renewed the agreement to export electricity to Nepal for the next three months. Under the agreement, which was to expire on March 31, Nepal can import a total of 554 MW electricity from India between 6 am and 6 pm. Nepal's domestic electricity production currently stands at around 1,200 MW while the country's demand for electricity is 1,800 MW to 2,000 MW during this period. Nepal is experiencing a shortage of electricity as most of the domestic power plants in the country are based on a run-of-the-river system and during winter, there is less water in the rivers. We have received the notification about the renewal of the agreement to export electricity to Nepal until June end, Chandan Ghosh, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) spokesperson, told PTI. The Himalayan nation can import 500 MW of electricity from the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line and 54 MW through Tanakpur, Ghosh added. After mid-June

SJVN Green signs long-term pact to supply 600 MW solar power to Rajasthan

A subsidiary of state-owned power producer SJVN, SJVN Green Energy, has entered into a long term pact to supply 600 MW solar electricity to Rajasthan. The Power Usage Agreement is for 500 MW Solar Power from Bikaner Solar Power Project and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is for 100 MW Solar Power from Rajasthan Solar Power Project, both for a period of 25 years, a power ministry statement said. According to the statement SJVN Green Energy Limited (SGEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN, has signed a Long Term Power Usage Agreement (PUA) for 500 MW Solar Power and a Long Term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 100 MW Solar Power, with Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited (RUVITL) in Jaipur on March 10, 2024. Under the Agreement, SGEL would supply 500 MW of power at a tariff of Rs. 2.57 per unit, from the 1,000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project being developed by SGEL under Phase-II (Tranche-3) of the Central Public Sector Units Scheme. This project is the country's largest

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