Modi govt to bid out Rs 4,697 crore power projects in first reverse e-auction

In a major change aimed at infusing transparency in the infrastructure sector, the Modi government will conduct its first-ever bidding of power transmission projects through reverse auction on an electronic platform and award six mega contracts worth Rs 4,697 crore through the novel initiative.

"The projects would be bid out in the next few months through the reverse e-auction route. The process will evaluate tariff-based competitive bids submitted by companies for the first time," a senior official close to the development told ETEnergyWorld. He added power projects financing firms Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) would act as the nodal agencies for implementing the electronic tenders.

The electronic bidding is being seen as a huge opportunity for some of the key players in the sector including Sterlite Power, Adani Transmission, Kalpataru Power, Alstom T&D and KEC International apart from the largest and the state-owned Powergrid Corp (PGCIL).

PFC will execute the bidding process of four projects including Rs 536 crore Transmission System for Ultra Mega Solar Park at Fatehgarh in Rajasthan, and Rs 863 crore additional 400 KV feed to Goa and an additional system for power evacuation from generation projects at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh.

The power ministry's Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) will also bid out Rs 743 crore connectivity system for Lanco Vidarbha Thermal Power and inter-state transmission system strengthening in Madhya Pradesh apart from Rs 318 crore connectivity and long-term access to Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation's 450 MW from Shongtong Karcham hydro project.


In addition, Rural Electrification Corp will execute the bidding of Rs 916 crore New Western Region-Northern Region 765 kV Inter-regional corridor and Rs 1,321 crore Eastern Region Strengthening scheme.

"The projects may not be awarded this year. But we will start issuing the Requests for Qualification (RFQs) and Requests for Proposal (RFPs) beginning next month," the official said.
Apart from the six projects, the centre is currently working on two additional projects where RFPs have been issued through the previous manual process while the RFQs would be issued through e-auction.

The Modi government has ramped up pace of implementation of power transmission projects in a bid to end regional disparity in electricity supply and make round-the-clock power available to all the citizens by 2019 in Asia's second-largest economy. Power minister Piyush Goyal had last month launched the reverse e-auction process form bidding for power transmission projects on the lines the coal block auctions.

The minister had said the e-bidding and reverse auction of transmission projects will facilitate better price discovery. Currently, India has a transmission network of 350,792 curcuit km with a transmission capacity of 59,000 Mw. The government plans to raise it to 65,000 Mw by March 2017.

 

My View:

Carrying out a reverse e-auction in power transmission will help the competition to grow in transmission segment. The project which is included in bidding will help to improve the infrastructure. It also includes the transmission project of solar plant. It would be interesting to see the kind of bidding will happen in first ever reverse e-auction in transmission segment.



 

‘Statutory nods barrier for Indian power sector’

• Compliance with statutory clearances is the “greatest barrier” for developing power infrastructure in India, where 300 million citizens do not have access to electricity, according to IEA.

• The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday also said that the practice of providing free electricity can lead to wasteful use of energy.                                                                                 
• “Very few countries have been faced with challenges of the magnitude that confront India in its quest to maintain strong economic growth while providing electricity to its 300 million citizens who currently lack access,” it said.                                                                                                                                           
• In its report ‘Energy Technology Perspectives’, IEA said that to increase power generation capacity, India should have more effective procedures to resolve in a timely manner the issues related to land acquisition and building on or near protected areas.                                                                                               
• “Compliance with statutory clearances is the greatest barrier to the development of India’s electricity infrastructure. These have been put in place to recognise the critical importance of community rights, environmental protection and sustainable development in India’s growing economy,” it noted.                                                                                                                                                                        
• Some power projects are facing hurdles, especially related to environmental clearances, which has also adversely impacted overall capacity in the country. India has an installed generation capacity of more than 2,40,000 MW.                                                                                                                                                            
• “A core challenge is that while the FYPs (Five Year Plans) provide a framework, neither the central government nor the Planning Commission itself is in a position to ensure that the stated targets are met.                                                                                                                                                                                                          
• “In practice, due to India’s federal structure, much of the actual work involved is delegated downwards to individual states, with direct engagement and support from central government,” the report said.                                                                                                                                                                               
• According to IEA, the Five Year Plans include strategic goals for energy as well as the economy, health, agriculture and industry.                                                                                                                                              
• “FYPs include measures to improve energy efficiency and increase domestic supply by embracing renewables and nuclear energy,” it added.                                                                                                                       
• Making a strong case against doling out free power, IEA said such practices could result in wasteful use of energy.                                                                                                                                                                                          
• “Power tariffs could be set at levels that prompt utilities to improve the performance of power generation plants while also allowing for reasonable profits on generation. The practice of providing free or heavily subsidised electricity can lead to wasteful use of energy and should be reviewed,” IEA said.                                                                                                                                                                    
• India is not a member of IEA but has close co-operative working relationship with it, as per the agency’s website.

(This article was published on May 12, 2014)

source:BusinessLine

Karnataka to add 1,000 MW of solar power to grid within 15 months

• The State government has set a target of adding 1,000 MW of solar power to the State grid within 15 months, according to Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
• Tenders will be called within a week for setting up solar plants with a total capacity of 450 MW, the Minister said at a press conference, here on Thursday, convened to announce that the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry would hold Green Summit–2014 from June 5 to 7 to showcase investment opportunities in the State’s renewable energy sector.
• Of the targeted 1,000-MW capacity, about 300 MW would be earmarked for farmers by encouraging them to set up small plants with a capacity of 1 to 3 MW on their farmland. In addition to this, farmers would also be given the option of forming a group and leasing out their land to solar power developers through the government for setting up “solar farms”. The government would not only protect the land ownership of such farmers, but also ensure that they get remunerative rents through cheques, he said.
• In the process, the curbs on buying farmland would be lifted for those setting up solar plants, he said. Similarly, the process of converting the land-use pattern would also be simplified for solar plant developers by providing a “deemed conversion” facility for them soon after they buy the farmland for setting up solar plants, Mr. Shivakumar said.
• Pointing out that the revised solar energy policy had set the stage ready for encouraging individuals and companies to set up grid-connected rooftop solar units, he said electricity supply companies (Escoms) had been told to buy power from all such rooftop solar units by paying the tariff of Rs. 7.20 a unit for those who have availed of subsidy from the Union government and Rs. 9.20 for the non-subsidised ones.
• “Even those having a house on a 30X40 ft site can set up a solar plant on their rooftop and sell the excess power, which is left after taking care of their own requirements, to Escoms. They would have to install a two-way meter which would measure the flow of power in both the directions,” he said.
• The Minister said the rooftop solar plants would be promoted in a big way in Bangalore to turn it into the country’s solar city. The solar rooftops would be exempted from the norms related to floor area ratio (FAR), he said.

North India grid had load loss of 8,000 MW in storm on 30th may 2014

NEW DELHI: The northern electricity grid suffered a load loss of 8,000 MW, including 3,500 MW in the national capital, during a fierce storm in the region and power supplies are gradually being restored.

Supplies were affected due to heavy rains, dust and thunderstorms and wind speeds exceeding 75 kmph in areas of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand yesterday evening.

"As a result, 68 transmission lines tripped. The load loss was at the rate of 200 MW per minute, resulting in a northern grid load loss of about 8,000 MW, including 3,500 MW in Delhi," the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power (independent charge) today reviewed the situation arising out of the load interruption, according to the statement. The ministry also said restoration work has started.

"Out of 68 lines that tripped during the incident, 49 lines have been restored and supply has been restored gradually in all the states," it said.

In Delhi, top priority was accorded to restoring power to emergency services such as hospitals, Delhi Metro, water treatment plants and the New Delhi Municipal Council area, it said, adding that presently, about 3,800 MW load is being met.

Assistance was provided to Delhi through the Emergency Restoration System (ERS) for early restoration of affected lines, especially Mandola-Gopalpur, Bawana-Rohini and Bamnauli-Pappankalan, which are affecting power supply in the northern Delhi region.

The minister has promised all help to Delhi in early restoration of the lines and directed Power Grid Corporation of India, the central transmission utility, to extend all cooperation in this regard.

Goyal said that more ERS equipment should be maintained by all states and central utilities to reduce the outage time and suffering of the people.