Indian Power Sector Last Month

Indian Power Sector Last Month
1.World’s largest solar park launched in Karnataka
““The world’s largest solar park set up at an investment ofRs 16,500 crore at Pavagada in Karnataka ‘ sTumakuru district was launched by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on March 1. The 2,000 MW park,named as ‘ShaktiSthala’, spansacross 13,000 acres spread over five villages and isa benchmark in the unique people’s participation in power model put on ground, according to officials.The park’s development is anchored by the Karnataka Solar Power Development Corp. Ltd
(KSPDCL), an entity formed in March 2015 as ajoint venture between Karnataka Renewable EnergyDevelopment Ltd (KREDL) and Solar EnergyCorp. of India (SECI). The project has been executedwithin a record time of two years, with zeroland acquisition.Moreover, the farmers who haveleased out their land are reaping greater benefits
with Rs 21,000 per acre being offered as rental, anamount which has the scope to grow by five per
cent every two years.
Diu becomes first UT to run 100% on solarpower
The harnessing of solar energy has made Diu the country’s first energy surplus Union territory and a model for an effective way for people to harness this renewable energy source. In just three years,Diu has made rapid progress in solar power generation. The Union territory has an area of just 42 square kilometres. Despite scarcity of land, solar power plants have been installed over more than 50acres.Diu generates a total of 13 megawatts of electricity from solar power generating facilities daily. Around 3 MW is generated by rooftop solar plants and 10 MW by its other solar power plants.
Electricity rate per unit decreases in Delhi, fixed rate increases
Electricity charges for domestic users in the city, per unit, have been reduced, while fixed charges per month has increased, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) announced on March 28. Addressing media after the announce,emt, Power Minister Satyendar Jain said that the total electricity bills of every domestic consumer in Delhi across different categories have come down. The fixed rate had to be raised as the Central government
increased the fixed rates of electricity produced by power plants from which the Delhi government
purchases power, by 50 paise per unit. But, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, of the BJP,
said in the assembly that the rates have increased and accused the government of misleading the
house.
Power bill to go up 2% as Punjab govt increases electricity duty to 15%
With subsidy dues that the Punjab government owes to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited
(PSPCL) running into Rs 5,000 crore, the cabinet, on March 13, allowed an increase in electricity duty
by 2 percentage points, taking it to 15%. This means that bill of each consumer will also increase by 2%.
The duty will be applicable on domestic, commercial and industrial consumers and the increase will
help the state government fund the subsidy dues. The additional burden on the state’s power consumers
will be Rs 150 crore. The total collection from the duty will now touch Rs 1,125 crore from the Rs 975 crore now.
India is the third largest electricity producer ahead of Russia, Japan
India’s electricity production grew 34% over seven years to 2017, and the country now produces more energy than Japan and Russia, which had 27% and 8.77% more electricity generation capacity installed, respectively, than India seven years ago. With a production of 1,423 BU in FY 2016, India was the third largest producer and the third largest consumer of electricity in the world, behind China (6,015 BU) and the United States (4,327 BU).
Tamil Nadu among world’s top 10 markets with high renewable energynewable energy. Unsurprisingly, the list is topped by Denmark, with wind and solar comprising half its total power installations. South Australia comes
a close second. Tamil Nadu is the only Asian market to make it to the top 10. Tamil Nadu operates
the most diversified electricity generation fleet in India, with renewables representing 35% of installed
capacity as of March 2017, nuclear 8% and hydroelectricity 7%. Coal-fired power capacity represents45%, or 13.4 GW.
India’s New Norms To Pave Way For Setting Up EV Charging Stations
Even as India makes rapid strides in transitioning to renewable energy, the southern state of Tamil Nadu has outshone other provinces by being placed among the top 10 markets in the world in terms of renewable energy usage. According to a new study by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA),an international research agency, Tamil Nadu is ninth among global energy markets — countries, regions and states — that have achieved high use of re- Charging electric vehicles will be a service, not a sale of electricity, as India looks to pave the way for companies to set up the infrastructure for battery- powered transport.Sale of electricity is a licensed activity. We have taken an in-principle decision that this will be considereda service,” Aniruddha Kumar, joint secretary at the Ministry of Power, said in New Delhi . The new guidelines, which were expected to be released this financial year, will incentivise private companies as setting up charging stations wouldn’t require a licence. India plans to turn all vehicles electric by 2030 as Asia’s third-largest economy looks to cut reliance on fossil fuels, nearly 80 percent of which is imported. Yet, Electricity Act 2003 only allows licensed power distributors to sell electricity. That was a hurdle in building infrastructure for electric mobility. The Central Electricity Authority is ready with new technical standards and specifications for charging
stations. The policy will also include guidelines on effective tariffs. All states and regulators will be advised to cap the tariff for electricity sold to the charging stations at 115 percent of their average cost of supply, Kumar said. The cost will be calculated by excluding transmission and distribution losses. In most states, the tariff will be below Rs 6 a unit.