Page 26 - Energy Sector

Organising for the energy transition

Greater effectiveness will come from improved organisation design in the Union government

India to sign IPEF agreements after formation of the new government

IPEF clean energy investor forum identifies projects worth $23 billion

Monthly natural gas trades shoot up 480% in May: Indian Gas Exchange

Higher demand from gas-based power plants amid hot weather fuelled the rise

Power Grid Corp stock in expensive zone despite its market dominance

The nature of core business guarantees stable returns and the company pays regular dividends but valuations are high for a business with regulated tariffs and relatively low growth visibility

Securing India's energy transition

Policy changes may be needed to attract big players in mining and exploration

Power demand hits record 250 Gw, coal, gas driving bulk of supply

The northern region also achieved a record demand met, reaching an all-time high of 86.7 GW, while the western region also touched its maximum demand met of 74.8 GW

Delhi breaches 8,300 MW mark first time as power demand soars amid heatwave

Delhi's peak power demand reached the all-time high of 8,302 MW on Wednesday afternoon as the city logged its highest-ever temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius at the Mungeshpur weather station. Officials said this is the first time in the city's history that the power demand has breached the 8300-MW mark and the mercury crossed 52 degrees Celsius. Power distribution companies had estimated the demand to peak at 8,200 MW this summer, but according to the State Load Dispatch Centre, Delhi, it clocked 8,302 MW at 15:36:32 hours on Wednesday. The previous peak power demand was recorded just a week ago, when it touched 8,000 MW on May 22. The city has been braving a prolonged spell of heatwave conditions with the maximum day temperatures in many parts including Najafgarh, Mungeshpur and Narela touching almost 50 degrees Celsius. Delhi's demand usually peaks during June-end and early July, a trend that was broken last year when it peaked in August, according to discom officials. A disc

Ireda to issue FPO this financial year to support its growing size

IREDA launched its initial public offering (IPO) in December 2023 and debuted on Dalal Street after two failed attempts over the last decade

Delhi's peak power demand touches new May high of 7,572 megawatt

Northern states lead the national power demand as heatwave engulfs the region

Peak power demand in May near projected 235 GW amid severe heatwave

India's peak power demand is hovering near the projected 235 GW level in May, following excessive use of cooling appliances like air conditioners and desert coolers amid severe heat waves in the country. According to the power ministry data, the peak power demand met or the highest supply in the day has already reached 233 GW on May 6 compared to 221.42 GW recorded a year ago. Earlier in the month, the power ministry estimated that the power demand would peak at 235 GW during the daytime, and 225 GW during evening hours in May; and 240 GW during daytime and 235 GW during evening hours in June 2024. Last week, the peak power supply touched 229.57 GW on May 18, while it was around 226 GW on May 15, 16 and 17. The peak supply was 229.77 GW on May 4, and interestingly the highest supply in a day crossed the 221.42 GW, recorded in May last year, on May 2 this year. The industry experts opined that power demand would increase further due to the increase in the intensity of heat in May,

ReNew inks initial pact with Societe Generale for $1 billion debt financing

Energy firm ReNew on Wednesday announced that it has signed an initial pact with European bank Societe Generale for up to USD 1 billion financing as debt and advisory solutions over the next three years. ReNew has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Societe Generale, to support the financing and development of the company's various strategic energy transition projects both in India and globally, a company statement said. Both parties will leverage their respective expertise to strengthen the collaboration on utility-scale energy projects including solar, wind, complex renewables, green hydrogen, energy storage and solar modules manufacturing. ReNew Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Sumant Sinh said, "This MoU represents a key milestone towards our ambitions in India and worldwide. Societe Generale is a trusted partner for accelerated deployment of renewable energy projects, and this collaboration will contribute towards India's net zero goals." ReNew has a clean .

Thermal PLFs to remain healthy amid power demand-supply mismatch: Ind-Ra

India Ratings and Research on Wednesday maintained a neutral outlook for the power sector, noting that thermal PLFs (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) will remain healthy amid demand-supply mismatch in FY25. "India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a neutral outlook for the power sector for FY25, as it believes the overall plant load factor of thermal power plants would continue to improve and reach closer to 70 per cent in FY25," an Ind-Ra statement said. This is attributed to continued higher power demand, a ramp-up in domestic coal production, slower capacity additions and continued dependence on coal-based generation till sufficient storage capacity is built up for energy transition towards renewables, it added. "Ind-Ra continues to see a demand-supply mismatch in the power market, which would lead to a continued uptick in plant load factors of thermal plants and elevated merchant tariffs," said Bhanu Patni, Associate Director, Corporate Ratings, Ind-Ra. Pat

Siemens profit surges 70%, to list energy biz into separate entity

Announces demerger of energy business into a separate listed entity, incremental capex of Rs 500 crore

Tata Power to sell green energy to group companies, MNCs: Praveer Sinha

Says they will offer carbon credit on their green power sale to companies that require it

Govt projects biggest power shortfall in 14 years, races to curb outages

The deficit also follows delays, a government source said, in the commissioning of 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired plants which had been targeted to be operational before March

Tata Power plans 66% higher capex at Rs 20k cr in FY25; to spend 50% on RE

Tata Power has planned a 66 per cent higher capital expenditure of Rs 20,000 crore in this fiscal compared to a year ago, which will mainly focus on projects supporting energy transition and India's net-zero emission target by 2070. During the year ended March 2024, the capex (capital expenditure) was around Rs 12,000 crore, the company's CEO Praveer Sinha said during a post earnings conference call. "This year we are targeting to spend around Rs 20,000 crore," he said in reply to a question on company's planned capex. Sharing the breakup of the investment plant, Sinha said about 50 per cent will be on renewables (projects). The remaining will be mix of transmission, distribution and conventional projects. The company will fund the capex through internal accruals and some debt, Sinha said. Tata Power on Wednesday posted an 11 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,046 crore in the March 2024 quarter compared to the year-ago period, mainly on the back of higher ...

Met coal imports from Russia up nearly three-fold in last 3 financial years

Imports of metallurgical coal from Russia have spurted around three-fold in the last three years to around 15.1 million tonnes in 2023-24 mainly due to lower prices while the same from Australia have declined, according to a research firm. Russia's share in India's metallurgical coal imports of 73.2 million tonnes (MT) has risen to around 21 per cent from around 8 per cent in 2021-22, research firm Big Mint said in a statement. The import of metallurgical coal, which includes coking coal and pulverised coal injection (PCI), from Russia, stood at 5.1 MT, accounting for 8 per cent of India's total imports of 65.6 MT of the commodity in 2021-22. Metallurgical coal imports from Russia rose to 11.3 MT in 2022-23, accounting for 16 per cent of 69.9 MT met coal imports in that year. In 2023-24, met coal imports from Russia were 15.1 MT or 21 per cent of total met coal imports of 73.2 MT. Australia, a major supplier of met coal to India, saw a decline in the commodity's exports to India. ..

Fossil fuel capacity grows 2.44% in FY24; non fossil-fuel rises 11%

The country's fossil fuel-based power generation capacity increased 2.44 per cent to 243.22 GW in FY24 from 237.27 GW in March 2023, according to official figures. There was a 10.79 per cent rise in non-fossil fuel based capacity (renewable energy sources) addition at 190.57 gigawatt (GW) in 2023-24 over 172.01 GW in 2022-23, the government data showed. While the fossil fuel-based capacity includes power generation through coal, lignite, gas and diesel sources, the non-fossil fuel includes power generated from solar, wind and hydropower. The nuclear power capacity addition rose to 8.18 GW from 6.78 GW in the last fiscal year, posting a year-on-year rise of 20.64 per cent. In FY24, India's total power generation capacity rose 6.22 per cent to 441.97 GW over 416.06 GW, the data showed. The coal-based capacity increased around 3 per cent to 210.97 GW from 205.24 GW in the last financial year, and gas capacity rose marginally to 25.04 GW from 24.82 GW in FY23. The lignite- and ...

Microsoft, Brookfield to partner to develop new wind, solar farms

The agreement provides a pathway for Brookfield to deliver the new renewable energy capacity between 2026 and 2030 in the U.S. and Europe, a Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters

Power consumption increases by 11% to 144.25 billion units in April

India's power consumption rose around 11 per cent to 144.25 billion units (BU) in April as compared to the year-ago period, mainly due increase in temperatures. In April 2023, the power consumption stood at 130.08 BU, a government data showed. The highest supply in a day (peak power demand) also rose to 224.18 GW in April 2024 as against to 215.88 GW in April 2023. The power ministry has estimated around 260 GW of peak demand during summer. Experts said the increase in power consumption as well as growth in demand was mainly due to increase in temperatures and increased industrial activities in sectors like steel and power. The demand for power as well as consumption will continue to see robust growth with the onset of summer, they said. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summer in 2023, but it did not reach the projected level in April-July due to unseasonal rainfall. Peak supply, however, touched a new high of 224.1 GW in J