Page 17 - Power Sector

Power giant NTPC pays interim dividend of Rs 2,182 crore for FY24

State-owned power giant NTPC on Thursday said it has paid the first interim dividend of Rs 2,182 crore for the fiscal 2023-24. NTPC Ltd paid the first interim dividend of Rs 2,182 crore on November 23, 2023, for the financial year 2023-24, being 22.50 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of the company, a statement said. According to the statement, this is the 31st consecutive year that NTPC Ltd has paid dividends, underscoring its dedication to providing consistent returns to its investors. As a key player in the Indian energy sector, NTPC Ltd continues to drive excellence, sustainable growth, and shareholder satisfaction through its strategic initiatives and robust financial performance, it stated.

Telangana's power sector, supply to farmers key in heated political battle

24x7 power supply to farmers emerges as a political lightning rod in the state as sparks fly between Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Congress

J-K's Kishtwar to soon emerge as north India's power hub: Jitendra Singh

Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar is all set to emerge as north India's "major power hub" with the generation of around 6,000 MW of electricity after the completion of the ongoing power projects, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Saturday. Singh, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office, was on an extensive tour of the remote areas of the hill district of Kishtwar, part of his Udhampur parliamentary constituency. He visited Gulabgarh in the Paddar area and the far-off Massu village, where he also inaugurated the new school set up by 'Shiksha Bharti' for village children. The Union Minister, who is also a renowned physician and diabetologist, also participated in the multi-speciality medical camp organised by the Army at Gulabgarh. Six to seven major hydropower projects have come up in the region in a short span of 9 to 10 years ever since Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister," Singh said addressing a public meeting in Gulabgarh. The largest capacity project is

Tata Power Q2FY24 PAT up 6.9% to Rs 876 crore on back of higher revenue

Revenue for the company rose 12.2 percent to Rs 15,738 crore largely driven by higher revenue from core businesses of generation, transmission and distribution

NTPC Group's capacity reaches 73,874 MW after wind unit installation

State-owned power giant NTPC on Saturday said its group installed capacity has reached 73,874 MW after its arm started commercial operations of a 50 MW wind energy unit. "NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC, has on Nov 4 declared commercial operation of its first project of 50 MW Wind at Dayapar Project in Gujarat, taking the group installed capacity to 73,874 MW," a company statement said. With this, the total Renewable Energy (RE) operational capacity of NTPC Group stands at 3,364 MW, it said. This is also the first capacity in India declared commercial under the new IEGC code and GNA Regime. The NTPC REL was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC on October 7, 2020 to accelerate NTPC's RE capacity addition. Dayapar Wind is the first project of NTPC REL, and apart from this, there are 15 other RE projects under different stages of execution, totalling 6,210 MW, it stated. Also, Dayapar Wind Complex, when fully commissioned, will add 450 MW to

Adani Power Q2 result: Profit soars 10-fold to Rs 6,594 cr on demand surge

The company's consolidated net profit climbed to 65.94 billion rupees ($792.3 million) in the quarter, helped in part by a tax gain of 13.71 billion rupees

Smart metering infrastructure catches pace as states award mega tenders

Smart meter tenders have gained momentum in states, thanks to the new power distribution reforms scheme of the Centre

Power consumption grows nearly 22% to 138.94 billion units in October

The country's power consumption grew nearly 22 per cent to 138.94 billion units (BU) in October, showing a surge in electricity demand due to festivities and increased economic activities. In the year-ago period, power consumption stood at 113.94 BU, higher than 112.79 billion units recorded in October 2021, according to government data. The peak power demand met -- the highest supply in a day -- rose to 221.62 GW in October. The peak power supply stood at 186.90 GW in October 2022 and 174.44 GW in October 2021. The power ministry had estimated the country's electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summer. The demand did not reach the projected level in April-July due to unseasonal rain. The peak supply, however, touched a new high of 224.1 GW in June before dropping to 209.03 GW in July. Peak demand touched 238.19 GW in August. In September this year, it was 240.17 GW. Industry experts said power consumption was affected in March, April, May, and June this year due to widesprea

JSW Energy joint managing director & CEO resigns, to take early retirement

JSW Energy said Jain will continue to serve in his current position until 31 January 2024 to support an orderly transition

Centre extends mandate on coal import; blending to continue till March 2024

The ministry has invoked Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 again to direct all the ICBs with a cumulative capacity of 17 Gigawatt (Gw) to operate and generate power to their full capacity

Five sectors fuel emissions, half fumble on renewable energy in FY23

The data also revealed a concentration of other critical environmental factors, such as water withdrawal and waste generation

Power consumption grows nearly 8% to 847 bn units in first half of FY24

India's electricity consumption grew nearly eight per cent to about 847 billion units (BU) in the first half of this fiscal year from April to September, showing uptick in economic activities in the country. According to the official data, electricity consumption rose to about 847 BU during April-September 2023 from 786 BU in the same period of the previous fiscal. The industry experts opined that the widespread unseasonal rain in April, May and June has affected the power consumption as it could have grown in double digits in the country. They stated that there was strong recovery of power demand as well as consumption in August onwards due to unusually high humidity level which increased the use of cooling appliances like fans, coolers and air conditioners. They also said power consumption grew in August and September, mainly due to humid weather conditions and also perked up industrial activities ahead of the festive season. The data also shows that peak power demand touched a

Congress alleges corruption in cancellation of Kerala power contracts

The Opposition Congress on Saturday targeted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the recent cancellation of contracts in the power sector signed during the UDF regime and urged the Left government to probe the "corruption" behind the move. There is "conspiracy and corruption" by the Left government and the state Electricity Regulatory Commission is behind the cancellation of long-term power contracts signed during the time of the previous UDF government, it alleged. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the assembly V D Satheesan said they won't allow the authorities to impose the liability of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Limited on the public. The Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) had been turned into a government-sponsored body by inducting nominees of the ruling CPI(M), and they had helped the authorities facilitate corruption, he charged. The LoP's statement came days after the state cabinet, chaired by CM Vijayan, decided

Undeterred by ESMA, power company employees continue to strike in MP

Thousands of employees of electricity companies in Madhya Pradesh have defied the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to continue their agitation to press for their demands, including an end to the privatisation of the power sector in the state. A top government official asserted that alternative arrangements have been put in place and there is no hindrance in power supply in the state. The government clamped ESMA two days ago, the senior official said. ESMA is aimed at ensuring the delivery of certain essential services like public transport, health and power and prohibits employees involved in these key services from striking work. Those defying ESMA may faction action as per the rules. The agitating employees belong to six organisations involved in electricity generation, transmission, distribution and power management in MP. According to VKS Parihar, president of the United Forum for Power Employees and Associations, about 30,000 engineers and other employees of these ...

Kerala govt urges CERC to reinstate cancelled contracts in power sector

In a bid to meet the electricity requirements of Kerala, the state government on Wednesday decided to urge the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission to reinstate contracts in the power sector that it previously denied permission to. The decision was taken at a state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The state government said it would give this direction to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission under Section 108 of the Electricity Act. State Power Minister K Krishnankutty said that the key regulator is legally bound to follow the direction of the state government. "If the direction is being given invoking Section 108 of the Electricity Act, then they are legally bound to accept the direction. We also have the provision for an appeal," Krishnankutty told PTI. In a statement, the CMO said the decision was taken considering public interest and to ensure that the state would not experience a power crisis. Meanwhile, the Kerala State Electricity Bo

Moody's upgrades Tata Power rating to Ba1, maintains stable outlook

According to a report from Moody's, the rating upgrade to Ba1 is driven by Tata Power's solid financial metrics, which are projected to remain above the upgrade trigger set for the earlier Ba2 rating

India need subsidies to meet renewable energy targets: Energy Vault exec

Renewable electricity available at any time of the day and night "is sort of a holy grail," Piconi said. "It's not achievable with the current technologies, because they are not economical."

Discoms propose asset monetisation to charge up working capital needs

The move comes at a time when states are facing record power demand

Assam govt approves Rs 5,197 cr project for power sector modernisation

The Assam government on Saturday approved a Rs 5,197-crore project to modernise the power distribution infrastructure across the state. The detailed project report for the implementation of the distribution infrastructure work in the power sector got a cabinet nod during the day in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "Total DPR cost for modernisation and system augmentation works is estimated to be Rs 5,196.91 crore," a cabinet communique shared by Sarma on X said. The project for modernising the power distribution system of Assam will be implemented under the Union government's Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme. The cabinet note also said, "The project is targetted to be completed by March 31, 2026 and will benefit approximately 67 lakh electrical consumers across the state." The council of ministers also decided that a power purchase agreement would be executed for 100 MW at rates offered by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), enabling Assam to pro

UK firm secures lucrative order to supply Indian solar facility in Gujarat

A small cleantech firm in south-east England has secured a GBP 4 million order to supply its technology to a projected 2.0-gigawatt solar facility in Mundra, Gujarat, according to a top company official. Gas Recovery and Recycle Limited (GR2L), an MSME (micro small and medium enterprise) business in Surrey, claims to have developed, patented and exported cutting-edge technology to reduce the energy consumption, carbon footprint and cost of manufacturing solar panels. It was backed by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK government's export credit agency, with a GBP 475,000 guarantee issued under its Bond Support Scheme that helped secure the Indian order. Building on our existing export successes, support from Lloyds Banks and UKEF helped us to secure this latest growth opportunity and further develop our established international presence. I look forward to commissioning our machinery by the end of 2023, said Rob Grant, CEO and founder of GR2L. With production of brand-new argon creati