Page 24 - Energy Sector

Power sector to attract Rs 17 trn in next 5-7 years: Union minister Singh

Domestic power industry is expected to attract investments of 17 lakh crore over the next 5-7 years, Union Minister R K Singh said on Thursday. The sector has seen investments of Rs 20 lakh crore in the last nine years, the Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy was quoted as saying in a release by the power ministry. "During my tenure, we spent about Rs 2 lakh crores in constructing about 3,000 new substations, upgrading about 4,000 substations, adding 8.5 lakh circuit kilometres of HT (high transmission) and LT lines and 7.5 lakh transformers," Singh said while addressing an event here. On capacity addition, he said the country added 190 GW of power generation capacity, increasing it to around 436 GW during the said period. India added 200,000 circuit kilometres to transmission lines and the transmission system is the largest integrated transmission system in the world. It can transfer 116 GW of power from one corner of the country to another. "We are going to come up with

Best of BS Opinion: Women's rights as a power play, Different lanes & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

India and the IEA: Friends with benefits?

Expanding the global energy body membership to include India is crucial for ensuring global energy security

BHEL bags order worth Rs 9,500 cr to set up 1,600 MW thermal project

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on Tuesday said it has bagged an order from power giant NTPC to set up a 1,600 MW Singrauli thermal power project (Stage-II). The size of the order is more than Rs 9,500 crore, excluding GST (goods and services tax), BHEL said in a regulatory filing. "BHEL has received an order from NTPC for setting up the Singrauli Super Thermal Power Project, Stage-III (2x800 MW) in Sonebhadra District, Uttar Pradesh," it stated. The engineering firm expects to complete Unit 1 in 50 months and Unit 2 in 54 months. The scope of the order includes supply of equipment, erection and commissioning as well as civil works, it said. The BSE on Monday sought clarification on news about BHEL bagging this order as it was the sole bidder. The company later in a clarification to BSE explained that it had submitted a price bid on December 21, 2023, and is the only bidder, for the mentioned NTPC tender, which is an activity in the normal course of ...

Rays Power Infra bags 3 solar projects totalling 520 MW from PSUs

Renewable energy solutions provider Rays Power Infra on Monday said it has secured three solar projects totalling 520MWp capacity from two big central public sector firms and one from a global developer. The combined order value for these projects underlines the company's commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions, a company statement said. According to the statement, Rays Power Infra Ltd announces the acquisition of three orders in its solar EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) business totalling 520 MWp, two from a renowned CPSU (Central Public Sector Undertaking) and another from a global renewable energy developer. These orders marked the company's entry into the Gujarat and Assam markets. This also positions the company as one of the key EPC players in 14 States in India, it stated. The company has submitted multiple bids for solar EPC projects in India, Mauritius, Liberia, Bangladesh, and Sierra Leone, with a cumulative value exceeding Rs 3,400 crore, and ...

Nayara Energy exports decline by 10% in 2023 as domestic demand surges

Nayara Energy, India's largest private fuel retailer, saw petroleum product exports drop by 10 per cent in 2023 as it supplied more products domestically to meet the fuel demands of a growing economy, sources said. Nayara, which operates a 20 million tonne a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and a network of over 6,500 petrol pumps, exported 6.21 million tonne of petroleum products, including jet fuel, gasoil (diesel) and gasoline (petrol) between January 2023 and December 2023, down 10 per cent year-on-year. This was primarily because of larger consumption at home. The company is catering to the domestic market through institutional business, sales to other oil companies and its own retail chain. Of all the petroleum products Nayara produced, 68 per cent were sold within the country and the remaining 32 per cent of products, including, ATF, gasoil and gasoline were exported, sources said. According to the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), consumptio

This state-run power generation large-cap has zoomed 102% so far in FY24

NTPC rallied 4 per cent to hit a fresh high of Rs 354 ahead of the foundation stone ceremony for its various projects worth Rs 30,023 crore by PM Modi today

Power consumption rises over 8% to 127.79 billion units in February

India's power consumption grew over 8 per cent to 127.79 Billion Units (BU) in February as compared to the year-ago period, according to government data. In February 2023, power consumption stood at 118.29 BU, higher than 108.03 BU recorded in the same month a year ago, the data showed. There were 29 days in February as 2024 is a leap year. Thus the growth rate of power consumption in February is slightly higher. The peak power demand met -- the highest supply in a day -- rose to 222 GW in February 2024. The peak power supply stood at 209.76 GW in February 2023 and 193.58 GW in February 2022. Experts said power consumption as well as demand improved in February as mercury remained low during the month, especially in north India. The prolonged cold wave resulted in increased use of heating equipment like heaters, blowers, and geysers leading to rise in power demand as well as consumption. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summ

Power Grid Corporation's prospects factored in at current valuations

For FY25, the planned capex is at Rs 15,000 crore, up from earlier guidance of Rs 12,500 crore, alongside capitalisation of Rs 17,000 crore for FY25

Companies to see more gains as India's power demand surge continues

The power demand for the quarterly period of October-December 2023 was 10 per cent higher than the previous year

India's green hydrogen sector will need $4-12 billion support: A&M report

The firm said estimated support is driven by the need to level playing field against global suppliers who enjoy government subsidies and to enable domestic end-use sectors to transition affordably

Adani Energy Solutions aims to raise about $400 mn via oversees bonds

The group's ability to raise funds offshore has been under close scrutiny since the 2023 crisis triggered by shortseller Hindenburg Research's allegations of malfeasance

Nifty Auto index seen in downtrend, Energy range-bound; suggest charts

According to Ravi Nathani, an independent technical analyst, the Nifty Auto index can dip to 20,200 and 19,850 levels in the near term.

Coal sector contributes Rs 70,000 cr every yr to Centre, states: Govt

The coal sector contributes over Rs 70,000 crore every year to the Centre and states, through GST, royalties and other levies, the government said on Monday. These funds play a significant role in the socio-economic development and infrastructure enhancement in those coal-bearing areas, the coal ministry said in a statement. "The coal sector contributes over Rs 70,000 crore annually to the Centre and state governments through royalties, GST, and other levies," the statement said. "Coal production generates substantial revenue for both Centre and state governments, with royalty collections reaching Rs 23,184.86 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23," the statement said. Coal is the single-largest contributor to railway freight, with an average share of nearly 49 per cent of the total freight income amounting to Rs 82,275 crore in 2022-23 alone. This revenue contribution has surpassed 33 per cent of total railway earnings.

Coal import for blending drops 37% to 19.36 million tonne in Apr-Jan period

The import of coal for blending purposes dropped 36.69 per cent to 19.36 Million Tonnes (MT) in the April-January period of the current fiscal, an official statement said on Monday. The country's coal import for blending was 30.58 MT in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. "Despite the surging power demand, coal import for blending witnessed a significant decrease of 36.69 per cent... This exemplifies the nation's steadfast commitment to achieving self-reliance in coal production and minimising overall coal imports," the coal ministry said in a statement. The country's power generation grew 6.6 per cent in the April-January period over the year-ago period, the statement said. Coal remains the predominant source and contributes over 70 per cent to the total power generation. Coal-based power generation has been important in meeting the rising energy demands. Currently, the country is experiencing a substantial rise in power requirements on account of industrial

NTPC crosses 100 million tonne coal production mark from captive mines

State-owned NTPC on Monday said it has crossed 100 million tonne (MT) coal production mark from its captive mines. The milestone was achieved on February 25, 2024, NTPC said in a statement. "Coal mining subsidiary NTPC Mining Ltd (NML) has produced 100.04 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) of coal since coal production started in its first coal mine Pakri Barwadih on January 1, 2017," the company said. While the first 50 MT coal production was achieved in 1,995 days on June 19, 2022, the next 50 MT coal production was achieved in 617 days only, NTPC said. The coal production from its captive mines contributes to NTPC's fuel security and ensuring efficient supply, it said. NTPC Mining Ltd has five operational captive coal mines namely Pakri Barwadih, Chatti Bariatu and Kerandari Coal Mines in Jharkhand, Dulanga Coal Mine in Odisha and Talaipalli Coal Mine in Chhattisgarh. NML is targeting 100 MT coal production per annum by 2030. NTPC, under Ministry of Power, is the country's largest po

SBL Energy raises Rs 325 crore equity funding from Synergy Capital, others

Raipur-based SBL Energy -- a mining/industrial explosives manufacturer -- on Monday said it has raised Rs 325 crore of growth capital from Synergy Capital, India SME Investments and a few others. The company said it will deploy the funds to expand its manufacturing capacity and launch new products. Another investor is equity market player Mukul Agrawal, the statement said, without giving a break-up of how much each of these investors chipped in with. SBL Energy -- the second largest industrial explosives manufactures in the country -- has been in operation for almost three decades and commands around 10 per cent market share, it said in a statement. While SBL caters to the mining and infrastructure sectors, it is also making inroads into the defence sector now, Sanjay Choudhari, a director at SBL, said.

J&K to be north's power hub after hydro projects completion: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to emerge as north India's major "power hub after the completion of ongoing power projects with a total capacity of 6,000 MW. The Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office visited the 120-MW Seva-II hydropower project located on Himachal-J&K border near Bani in Kathua district, a part of his Udhampur parliamentary constituency. Reviewing the status of hydropower projects with NHPC, Director (Finance) R P Goyal and other officials, the minister said at least seven major Hydro power projects have come in the region in a short span ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister in 2014. Talking about the ongoing power projects in Kishtwar, he said the largest capacity project is Pakal Dul with a capacity of 1,000 MW which is expected to be completed by 2025 at an estimated cost of over Rs 8,000 crore. Another major project is Kiru Hydroelectric project with a capacity of .

Private capital yet to embrace energy transition, says CEA Nageswaran

While urging multilateral development banks to act on the recommendations of the independent expert group under India's Group of Twenty (G20) presidency to mobilise private capital, the CEA added

RIL, Tata Power among firms in fray for $26-billion nuclear investment

This is the first time New Delhi is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation