EPR Magazine’s Post

India struggles to meet rising electricity demand ➔ Power companies will order $33 billion worth of equipment this year to accelerate the 33 GW capacity increase of coal-fired power plants in the coming years. Guess how many plants will be built by EU companies.

Govt. has approved an outlay of Rs. 8,500 Cr. as financial assistance for promoting coal/ lignite gasification projects in the country. The Ministry of Coal invites applications to set up coal/lignite Gasification Projects in India. Snapshot of Category I is as under: Category- 1 Highlights: - Total Budget: Rs. 4050 Crores - Eligible Entities: Government PSUs or JV of PSUs - Incentive: Rs. 1350 Crores or 15% of Capex, whichever is lower, per project. - Weightage is being given for Plant Capacity, Financial assistance sought and sustainability towards adoption of CCUS technology. Now, the last date for bid submission is 11.11.2024.

Pakistan's energy crisis has been a longstanding issue, with the government claiming that it was resolved in 2018 thanks to a $20 billion investment from CPEC. However, the reality seems to be quite different. Currently, 60% of the imported coal and LNG-based power generation capacity is idle, generating unaffordable and expensive electricity, and adding billions of rupees in "capacity payments" for these idle plants. Unfortunately, the energy woes have only increased since 2018. It is time for Pakistan to work towards finding a sustainable solution for its energy crisis.

Cross-border electricity transmission lines with a combined capacity of 1,580 MW have been built and deployed for electricity trade between Nepal and India. The voltage levels of these transmission lines range from 33 kV to 400 kV, with capacities from 45 MW to 800 MW. The 400 kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line alone can transmit 800 MW of electricity, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). NEA officials state that Nepal can immediately export up to 1,500 MW if India grants approval. Currently, NEA has permission to export 690 MW of hydropower to India. According to NEA officials, Nepal and India will have infrastructure to support transmission of 12,700 MW by 20230. Many transmission line projects are under different stages of construction. Nepal is in an energy surplus situation during wet months. The country, however, faces a shortfall of energy during the dry season when power generation by its run-of-river (RoR) projects shrink to nearly a third of installed capacity. This necessitates import from India during the dry months even though energy goes to waste during the wet months. Talks are underway to export 40 MW of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh using Indian energy infrastructure. Officials from Nepal and Bangladesh believe that the success of this power agreement could open doors for more energy cooperation between the two countries in the future. #crossborderenergytrade #india #nepal #hydroelectricity #bangladesh #energytransition #nepalelectricityauthority #regionalcooperation #worldgameworkshop #worldgrid

India has asked power companies to order equipment worth $33 billion this year to fast track capacity additions of coal-fired power in the years ahead, as the South Asian nation struggles to meet booming electricity demand, two government officials said. The unprecedented move by the government, which would result in record tendering in a year for the equipment by major power firms such as state-run NTPC and SJVN as well as by private companies Adani Power and Essar Power, will help add 31 gigawatts (GW) in the next 5-6 years, the sources said. Normally, the government leaves the tendering timing to the companies themselves. Expediting equipment orders for new coal-fired plants was discussed at a meeting held by Power Minister Manohar Lal, soon after the formation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's federal cabinet early last month, the sources said. The targets are ambitious given the country has ordered equipment for about 2-3 GW capacity annually in prior years, barring last year's orders for 10 GW.

The development of electricity in Pakistan presents the characteristics of both challenges and opportunities. In recent years, with the growth of economy and population, the demand for electricity has risen sharply, but the problem of insufficient supply has become increasingly prominent, resulting in frequent power outages, which has seriously affected the lives of residents and the production of enterprises. In response to this challenge, the Pakistani government has increased its investment in the power industry and attracted foreign and private investment. Among them, the Sujjinari (SK) Hydropower Station under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is a landmark project. After the power station is fully put into operation, it is expected to generate 3.212 billion kWh of electricity per year, which will greatly alleviate Pakistan's power gap. In addition, Pakistani residents have also begun to turn to solar power generation to cope with the problems of rising electricity prices and unstable power supply. The installation and use of solar photovoltaic panels are gradually becoming popular in Pakistan. #ssr #solidstaterelay #relay #sensor #switch #distributioncontrol #electricdriveandcontrol #instrument #xinlingelectrical #clin #odm #costdown #electromagneticrelay #magneticrelay #timerelay #pmt

Optimising energy-limited hydro resources in scheduling and dispatch systems like Security Constrained Economic Dispatch (SCED) and Reserves Regulation Ancillary Services, remains complex and hitherto missing in India. Hydro scheduling, besides valuing water, must balance factors like water storage constraints, inter-state water sharing norms, and coordination with thermal units. Multi-period optimization and hydro-thermal coordination are key to this challenge. As India integrates 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030, enhanced focus on harnessing flexibility in hydro plants is critical for grid balancing, and needs renewed thrust in India. These water batteries may sober down the projected requirement of chemical batteries IMHO 🇮🇳 #India #GridBalancing #RenewableEnergy #HydroFlexibility #IndiaEnergy https://lnkd.in/dHzNBJM2

I had good opportunity of interacting with large number of investors/equity analysts  working on India’s power sector at  Ashwamedh – Elara India Dialogue 2024 on 3rd and 4th September at Mumbai. While the general outlook in medium term is very positive , the key concerns raised by them and my response on the same are being shared here. 1.   On the concern whether present rate of growth of demand would sustain, it was explained that most of the projections indicate a CAGR of at least 7-8% for next 10-15 years. Peak demand may grow faster. 2.   Likely tightness of supply position over next 5 years could best be handled by further ramping up solar capacity addition, and shifting demand to solar hours through agricultural feeder separation and faster implementation of TOD tariffs. States need to pursue this with greater seriousness. 3.   While the market for Rooftop solar may soon grow to about 10 GW per annum, delays in signing of PPAs by discoms for RE capacity awarded by SECI and other REIAs indicates the urgent need to restructure the duration and offtake obligation of present 25 year long, fixed offtake with must run obligations. Discoms have legitimate difficulties in locking into such long duration rigid PPAs. 4.    Regarding the concerns on viability of discoms, while LPSC mechanism has significantly improved the dues position, persisting sizeable ACS- ARR gap and  slow pace of smart metering roll out ( which has potential of raising billing efficiency by 4-5 percent at national level) need immediate attention of Ministry of Power and State Governments. Prospects of privatisation appear to be fairly modest in the present context. 5.   Expected pick up in DERs like rooftop and PM KUSUM , alongwith scheduled phasing out of waiver of ISTS transmission charges for solar/wind projects  commissioned post June 2025 will moderate the growth rate of investment in new ISTS projects. There is hardly any justification for further extension of waiver as it is burdening consumers with high transmission charges and would further cause distortions in economic siting of new capacities. It has served its purpose of supporting initial scaling up. 6.   Thorium based nuclear generation capacity and SMRs on significant scale are at least 10-12 years away. We need to rapidly expand PHWR technology based capacities. 7.    PSP projects are facing execution delays due to factors similar to hydro projects. This is a high intervention policy area. 

Minister of Electricity in South Africa Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated that while Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd is working hard on improving its generation system, citizens can still expect load shedding. The Minister explained that the majority of units remain unreliable and this is being addressed through the planned maintenance that Eskom is conducting routinely. #gaslighter #southafrica #leadershipcrisis #energycrisis #electricityminister #populism #politics #electioneering #powergeneration https://lnkd.in/ggr_68fu

#IndiaRatingsFeatured on The Hindu Business Line 'Thermal capacity usage seen at 68% in FY25' India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report said that PLFs are estimated to be in the range of 65-70 percent in the medium term, considering the current and historical capacity addition trend and forecasted energy demand in FY30, under the National Electricity Plan (NEP). #IndiaRatings #FY25 #PLF #TPPS #NEP