Page 2 - Power

Record temperatures scorch eastern China, driving up power demand

In the east and northwest of China, temperatures as high as 43.9 degrees Celsius

China struggles to make use of boom in energy storage, calls for even more

Some industry insiders and experts say pricing reforms and technology improvements are needed for a storage sector

India's power demand may cross 400 GW mark by 2031-32: Power Secretary

India's peak power demand may surpass the projected 384 GW mark and cross even a new level of 400 gigawatt (GW) by 2031-32, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said on Tuesday. Speaking at the CII-Smart Metering Conference, he said that peak power demand had already reached the 250 GW mark in May. "The way power demand has grown in some states in the last two years, the demand will touch 384 GW and may easily cross 400 GW by 2031-32. For this we must have an installed (power generation) capacity of 900 GW," Agarwal said. The government projection for this year's peak power demand was 260 GW. Later speaking to reporters, the secretary said the anticipated 260 GW peak demand is expected to reach by September. At the onset of the monsoon, the peak power demand has been showing a downward trend over the last few days. As per official data, the peak power demand was at 209 GW on Monday.

REC Ltd net profit grows 33% to Rs 4,079 crore in March quarter

State-owned REC Ltd on Tuesday posted a 33 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,079.09 crore during the March quarter on account of higher income. The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 3,065.37 crore during the January-March quarter preceding FY 2022-23, REC said in a regulatory filing. The company's total income during the fourth quarter rose to Rs 12,706.66 crore from Rs 10,254.63 crore in the year-ago period. Total expenses were Rs 7,477.18 crore in the March quarter as against Rs 6,353.40 crore. For the entire FY24, the company's net profit was Rs 14,145.46 crore, up from Rs 11,166.98 crore in FY23. The income also rose to Rs 47,571.23 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 39,520.16 crore a year earlier. REC Ltd, under the Ministry of Power, is a non-banking finance company focusing on power sector financing and development across India.

Sterlite Power bags Rs 2500 cr worth orders in Q4; FY24 wins surge 35% YoY

Sterlite Power on Tuesday announced securing new orders worth Rs 2,500 crore during the quarter ended March 31. This takes the company's cumulative order wins in FY24 to Rs 7,000 crore, up 35 per cent year-on-year (YoY) over FY23, Sterlite Power said in a statement. "Sterlite Power has capped off a successful fiscal year FY24 with new orders worth Rs 2,500 crore for its Global Products and Services (GPS) business unit in Q4. This growth underscores the growing global and domestic demand for robust power transmission infrastructure, particularly to support the integration of renewable energy sources critical for a net-zero future," the company said. Pratik Agarwal, Managing Director, Sterlite Power, said, the company's GPS business is experiencing significant growth. These products are essential in driving the sector's expansion over multiple decades, spurred by the global shift towards energy transition and decarbonization. In Q4, some of the projects secured by the company are for

NTPC Group's installed power generation capacity crosses 76 GW milestone

State-owned power giant NTPC Group's installed power generation capacity has crossed the 76 GW-mark with commissioning of a 57-MW solar power energy capacity in Rajasthan. "Consequent upon successful commissioning and due approvals, first part capacity of 57 MW out of 90 MW Anta Solar PV Project at Anta, Rajasthan, is declared on commercial operation with effect from 00:00 hours of April 26, 2024," according to a regulatory filing. With this, it stated, the total installed and commercial capacity of NTPC on a standalone and group basis has reached 59,135 MW and 76,015 MW, respectively.

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

PTC Q3 results: Net profit slips 7% to Rs 97 cr, income up at Rs 3,483 cr

Power trading solutions provider PTC India on Wednesday reported over 7 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 97.04 crore for the December 2023 quarter, impacted by higher expenses. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 104.48 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in an exchange. The company's total income, however, increased to Rs 3,483.93 crore from Rs 3,146.91 crore a year ago. Its expenses surged to Rs 3,353.09 crore from Rs 3,003.86 crore in the third quarter last fiscal. PTC India Ltd, a government of India initiative, is the pioneer in starting a power market in India. The company has maintained its leadership position in power trading since its inception. The trading activities involve long-term trading of power generated from large power projects, including renewables and short-term trading arising as a result of supply and demand mismatches. In a separate statement, its CMD Rajib K Mishra said, "The 9 months of FY24 have witnessed a 5 per cent increase

Power Mech Projects Q3 results: Net profit rises 22% to Rs 62 crore

Power Mech Projects Ltd on Tuesday posted a 22.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 62 crore for the quarter ended December 2023, aided by higher income. It had reported a net profit of Rs 50.6 crore in the October-December period of the preceding financial year, the company said in an exchange filing. Its total income rose to Rs 1,114.9 crore from Rs 912 crore a year ago. Expenses stood at Rs 1,008.2 crore against Rs 840.9 crore in the third quarter of the last fiscal. Hyderabad-based Power Mech Projects is one of the leading infrastructure-construction companies providing a spectrum of services in the power and infrastructure sectors.

Jindal Power offers Rs 4,203 crore for distressed coal-fired power plant

Adani Power had last month quoted 41 billion rupees ($493.38 million) for the 1,980-megawatt power plant in central India ensnared in insolvency proceedings

Power for all

Govt must address operational challenges

GE T&D India wins Rs 500 crore orders from Power Grid Corporation

GE T&D India on Tuesday said it has bagged Rs 500 crore orders from state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India for grid modernisation projects. These projects aim to facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the national electricity grid and enhance electricity transmission within the country, including in Rajasthan. "GE T&D India, a part of GE Vernova's Grid Solutions business, recently secured orders worth approximately Rs 500 crore from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) for the supply of 765 kV Power Transformers and Shunt Reactors for PGCIL's various transmission system projects in India," according to a BSE filing. "We are delighted to support PGCIL in the modernisation of India's grid infrastructure through the supply of locally manufactured equipment in alignment with the government's Make in India initiative," Sandeep Zanzaria, Managing Director and CEO of GE T&D India, said in the statement. To date, the company has successfully manufactured and ..

Genus Power Infrastructures arm bags order worth Rs 3,121.42 crore

Genus Power Infrastructures said that there is a possibility of seeing a "consistent and noteworthy surge" in order volumes over the upcoming quarters of the financial year 2023-24

Power consumption grows 10.7% due to increase in use of cooling appliances

The country's power consumption grew 10.7 per cent to 140.49 billion units in September mainly due to increased use of cooling appliances amid unusually humid weather conditions. In the year-ago period, power consumption stood at 126.91 Billion Units (BU), higher than 112.43 billion units in September 2021, according to government data. The peak power demand met -- the highest supply in a day -- rose to 239.97 GW in September. The peak power supply stood at 199.50 GW in September 2022 and 180.73 GW in September 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 and before dropping to 209.03 GW in July. Peak demand touched 238.19 GW in August. Spokesperson of the Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, which supplies electricity to 70 lakh people in Delhi, told PTI that the demand has remai

REC signs pact with PFC committing stronger revenue in FY24, FY25

REC has signed an initial pact with PFC committing higher revenue from operations in FY24 and FY25, its CMD Vivek Kumar Dewangan said on Saturday. The memorandum of understanding has been signed as per the DPE (Department of Public Enterprises) Performance Evaluation System for FY24 and FY25 for Central Public Sector Enterprises, Dewangan told PTI. "As per the MoU, REC is committed to improving the revenue from operations from Rs 43,420 crore targeted in FY 2022-23 to Rs 46,935 crore in FY 2023-24 and Rs 56,322 crore in FY 2024-25," he said. The Mou was signed on Friday between Dewangan and Parminder Chopra, CMD of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) in presence of other senior officials from of the companies, in Gurugram. REC, under Ministry of Power, is a leading infrastructure finance company with a net worth of over Rs 57,000 crore as on March 31, 2023. It finances projects in the complete power sector value chain including generation, transmission and distribution. Recently, the

AIPEF terms Centre's coal import-related directives an additional load

Power engineers' body AIPEF on Monday termed the Centre's import-related directives for the thermal plants as an "additional load" on the coal-fired power units. The Union Ministry of Power has issued a directive that all thermal power plants of state governments, central government and the private sector should import 4 per cent of coal by March 2024 to meet the shortage of coal in thermal power plants running on domestic coal, the All India Power Engineers Federation said in a statement. The Centre has said that in view of the increased demand for electricity, there is a gap of 2 lakh tonnes per day in August between the consumption and supply of coal in domestic coal-fired thermal power plants, it added. As per the order, "the reason for not getting adequate coal to the thermal power plants is due to the constraints of the Railways and in such a situation, putting an additional load of imported coal on the thermal power plants of the state is not appropriate," AIPEF said. AIPEF

Pakistan business community on strike over inflated electricity bills

Pakistan's business community on Saturday observed a shutter-down strike across the country to protest against the inflated electricity bills and rising inflation. Rightwing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and traders' groups gave the call for protest and they got support from lawyers. Commercial activities were halted in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, as well as in other cities, while public transport was largely off the main roads. In Karachi, the Tajir Action Committee (TAC) on Friday gave the government 72 hours to reduce high electricity bills and withdraw the recent hike in petrol prices. It warned that if the government failed to fulfil its demands, there would be a prolonged strike of 10 days. TAC Convener Muhammad Rizwan said there was no compulsion on anyone to join the strike. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) supported the strike call. However, its President Mohammad Tariq Yousuf said large-scale industries were not part of the strike. Federation of Pakistan Ch

Power returns to Kenya after 14 hrs, longest in recent memory; airport shut

Electricity was being restored in most parts of Kenya on Saturday, 14 hours after the longest outage in recent memory, the majority government-owned power distributor said. There was still no clear explanation for the outage that hit on Friday night, shutting down the country's main international airport, affecting major hospitals and even the president's office compound. I am really sorry for what has happened, Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement close to midnight. There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness. Kenya Power later on Saturday said it had restored service in most areas. The outage came just weeks before Kenya's government hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy will be key on the agenda. Kenya gets almost all its energy from renewable sources, but infrastructure and alleged mismanagement remain an issue in the country of more than 50 million people. Kenya Power had announced in a brief ..

Odisha investing significantly to augment power infrastructure: CM Patnaik

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the Odisha government was investing significantly to augment the power generation and distribution infrastructure in the state. Addressing a function in which 412 candidates joined the state-run Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, Patnaik said reliable power supply is an indispensable entitlement of every citizen, and a basic ingredient of growth. "We must work for ensuring quality uninterrupted power supply to our consumers, farmers and industries," he told the recruits. Stating that his government has adopted the '5T initiative' to transform governance, Patnaik asked them to follow its mantra of teamwork, technology, transparency, time and transformation. "We will definitely achieve our goal of providing quality, secure and reliable power to all the people of Odisha," he said Among those who joined the OPTCL, 161 are electrical engineers, 54 office assistants and 197 electrical technicians. Lauding OPTCL for its works, Patna

Nepal to export 10,000 Mw power to India in next 10 years: PM Prachanda

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" on Friday said that his government plans to increase the export of electricity to neighbouring India from 450 MW to 10,000 MW in the next 10 years and the two nations have already signed a preliminary bilateral agreement for it. Addressing the 38th anniversary of the Nepal Electricity Authority here, Prachanda said that Nepal is transforming in the sector of hydropower and it will further create a conducive environment for attracting foreign investment. "Our country is preparing and waiting with keen interest for larger economic transformation through speedy development of hydro-electricity and its maximum internal consumption in the coming decade," he said. "Though Nepal is currently exporting around 450 MW of electricity to India we are aimed at taking the power export to 10,000 MW in the next ten years period for which Nepal and India have already signed a preliminary bilateral agreement," Prachanda said. Prachanda also mention