Transmission pricing issues...

Issues:

1. Setting of transmission infrastructure
2. Congestion in existing lines
3. Transmission price sharing
4. Open Access
5. Competitive bidding in transmission
6. Short term trading of transmission licenses
7. Method of valuation

Suggestions:

• Creating a transmission highway across the length and breadth of the country without any demand projection. The infrastructure to be in place before any demand arises.
• Responsibilty lies with the govt and may be toll gate type of pricing may follow as and when demand arises.
• Allowing private sector to enter to lay down their own transmission lines: who is going to bear the cost.
• Tax on every consumer to create a pool of revenues to be utilised for laying lines. Socialisation of transmission pricing
• How to address transmission for MPPs where buyers are not identified prior to generation, the direction and the quantum of power flow not known.
• Dividing the country into different zones based on expected demand rise and plan accordingly.
• Out of total cost of energy infrastructure , only 7 % lies with transmission which control 55% of fuel and 4% of losses of total .

transmission is very vital and it is significant in India as the planning as well as laying of lines is more of a monopoly of PGCIL. Until unless, transmission sector is open up and there is adequate infrastructure to carry power to desired locations , it is very difficult to reform the sector as a whole.

The generation is moving at a higher pace and similar advancement is necessary to carry the power generated in future.

Tilaiya goes to RPL amidst global financial crisis

Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Power today bagged its third 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project, at Tilaiya, in Jharkhand.

“Reliance Power has bagged the 4,000-MW Ultra Mega Power Project at Tilaiya in Jharkhand,” a source said. The Reliance bid for the project was Rs1.77 per unit.

Five companies including NTPC, Reliance Power, Lanco Infratech, Jindal Power and Sterlite Energy, of the 11 pre-qualified bidders, were in the fray for the project.

The financial bids for the project were opened today. A high-level committee, which includes state representatives from Bihar and Jharkhand, selected the developer.

The financial and technical bids for the coal-based thermal power project were invited on 29 December and the final financial bids were to be opened within 15 days.

The bidding process for the UMPP had been delayed due to various reasons, including the global slowdown.

Apart from the delays in bidding, the Tilaiya project faced loss of time on identifying the site, getting the water source and obtaining other regulatory clearances.

The project entails an investment of Rs16,000 to Rs18,000 crore and will have a debt equity ratio of 70:30.

PFC is the nodal agency for UMPPs and is facilitating the process of selecting the developer of the Tilaiya project.

Tilaiya is the fourth UMPP to be awarded to a developer. Earlier, two UMPPs bagged by Reliance Power are those of Sasan and Krishnapatnam. Tata Power got the Mundra UMPP.

The financial closure for Tata Power’s Mundra project has been completed and the other two are expected to follow suit.

Kudos to reliance power ..but the big question is should we allow the winners of UMPPS to bid for other projects?? Out of 3 UMPPS, only tata power has achieved financial closure and reliance power is yet to achieve financial closure of its 2 UMPPS in sasan and krishnapatnam.

Amid global financial crisis where interest rates are high and banks hesitate to lend, will reliance be able to generate the required finance.

The other big question is whether or not we are creating monopoly in powewr generation or not by allowing project developers to bid for as many number of UMPPs as it can. The only criteria is to take a higher BG, will it serve any purpose??

And the big question lies in quality. Reliance will source its BTG package from China , which is not reliable and there is no guarantee of its quality .

Coal is other big question. reliance gets it done to divert coal from sasan project to other power projects and hopefully it wants to have a major chunk of this resources by bagging these UMPPs where captive coals are already identified and given to companies for captive development.

All in all, reliance power is going great guns these days..lets see how far the bullet goes..

Increamental coal from coal blocks allotted for Sasan UMPP to be used for other power projects of RPL: Is it justified?

For Sasan UMPP, RPL got 3 captive blocks namely moher,moher-almohri expansion and chhatrasal coal blocks. RPL has entered into a strategic partnership with NOrth Coal Corporation ( NACC) for the development of coal blocks.A mine plan was prepared by NACC with RQP for 12MTPA. The mining plan was submitted wherein there was a proposal to enhance the capacity of the mining.

Ministry of Coal has sought reasons for arriving at proposed production of 12 MTPA from mines and to examine the scope to increase the production to 16MTPA which is the requirement projected for linked TPS.

After assurance from the company, the final approval on the mining plan was accorded on June 4, 2007. Subsequently the mining plan for Chhatrasal block for a mine capacity of 5MTPA was submiited to MOC on August 29,2008.Final approval was awaited from MOC.

Submitting the rationale behind enhancing production capacity, RPL said that NACC was consulted for optimum utilisation of coal from these mines. Based on detailed studies and using latest technologies, it was estimated that by changing the orientation of the pit layout together with utilisation of higher size mining equipments, the mine capacity could be optimised to produce 20 MTPA.

The entire optimisation was developed keeping in mind the coal requirement for a supply of 16mtpa for a period of 25 years.

The govt's decision to allow RPL to use the increamental coal for its chitrangi power plant was is challenged by6 Tata power.

tata power in its petition said that while bidding for the UMPP ,it was not known that the surplus coal could be diverted to other power plants. If at that point it would have been known, then the price would have been different too.

As such, as per EGoM the power generated from the increamental coal could only be sold by competitive bidding but in case of RPL, the compant has made some kind of long term arrangement with the MP government.

So, it is agianst the very law framed by the ministry so allowing one company to take additional benefit by using increamenatl coal is not justified and the rationale for such a decision should be probed by a high level comittee.

Coal..the next big thing in offing

For quite some time,I am doing research in coal sector;its a completely make over for me.Having done engineering in Production discipline,experience in education sector ,MBA full time in power management;I am eventually into core research in coal sector.

A new sector for me. Its challenging..I got to know about many facts and interestingly start analysing things at my ends.While attending different seminars and conferences, the players of the sector tells a lot, the ministry tells something different;policies keep coming;experts keep arguing;datas floctuating;etc etc.

Question arises;we have the coal; may it be opencast or underground and we have the money too then why cant we develop our mines and the situation of deficit arises again and again..

Any answers?? Its just the biggining..I will write on different stuffs and diffrent issues in this blog related to coal sector in India.Purely my own views and will try to not to be biased by other views.

iran pakistan india gas pipe line

this is a very crucial issue regarding iran pakistan india gas pipe line project.
for our countrys energy security, it is very vital that we strike a deal with these nations.
on the other hand there are concerns regarding the viability of the project as we dont have friendly relation with pakistan.again US keeps on pressurizing us not to talk with iran.this is an issue concerning
our diplomatic ties,energy security .its an issue requiring in depth analysis in many front.our growing relation with US may hamper our age old relation with iran.hope we deal this issue strategically .

power

failure