Power Ministers of all States and Union Territories have unanimously decided to ensure electrification of all the remaining un- electrified villages by 31st March 2017 in mission mode under Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Jyoti Yojana ( DDUGJY) . The two day conference of Power, New Renewable Energy and Mines Ministers of States and Union Territories which ended in here today has also resolved to work in mission mode to complete the activities in the roll out plan for achieving the 24×7 Power For All by 2019 or earliest. It was decided that the States whose plan documents on Power For All have not been prepared should get it expedited with the help of consultants and central team members so that all these documents are completed by 31st December 2015. The conference was chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal Union Minister of State ( IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy .
States have also resolved to ensure expeditious implementation of Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) projects by implementing them within 30 months from date of sanction. They have also resolved to achieve 15 % Aggregate Technical and Commercial Losses (AT & C) at national level by 2019-20. A state level mission will be established to plan smart grid activities in States.
States which are presently not having Right of Way (RoW) and Right of Use( RoU) / policy should take immediate step for having the same.
States have resolved to set targets for replacement for all existing conventional street lights and incandescent bulbs with LED by 2019. Nine States namely Haryana, Uttar Pradesh , Punjab, Maharashtra , Karnataka, Tamil Nadu , Madhya Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have decided to replace 10 % of existing agricultural water pumps with energy efficient pumps including solar within one year.
States have also agreed to set up solar parks as per stipulated schedule and to mandate the installation of solar roof tops on Government buildings
States have also decided to encourage interstate and intrastate transmission of renewable energy through various measures like allowing open access, not charging wheeling charges, cross subsidy charges , banking charges etc.
States which are rich in wind resource agreed to put in place a mechanism for forecasting and scheduling of wind power by 1st January 2016.
In his concluding remarks Shri Piyush Goyal urged the states to take steps for clearing the dues of power generation companies by March 2016 so that next financial year can be started in a clean slate . The Minister appealed the states to stand by their commitments in additional allocation of power and renewable energy.
Ministers from fifteen states and Delhi attended the two day conference. They include, Shri. K. Atchannaidu, Minister for Labour, Employment & Sports, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Shri. Mahesh Gagda, Minister for Forest Law& Legislative Affairs, Govt. of Chhattisgarh, Shri. C. P. Singh, Minister for Urban Development Housing and Transport, Govt. of Jharkhand, Shri. D. K. Shivakumar, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Karnataka, Shri. Aryadan Muhammed, Minister for Power, Govt. of Kerala, Shri. Rajendra Shukla, Minister for Enegry, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Shri. Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister for Energy, New & Renewable Energy, Govt of Maharashtra, Shri. C. Kipli Sangtam, Minister for Power, Govt. of Nagaland, Minister of State for Energy, Govt of Rajasthan, Shri. D.D. Bhutia, Minister for Power and Energy, Govt. of Sikkim, Shri. Natham R. Viswanathan, Minister for Electricity, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Shri. G. Jagdish Reddy, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Telangana, Shri. Manik Dey, Minister for Power, Urban Development, Rural Development& Transport, Govt. of Tripura, Shri. Yasar Shah, Minister for Energy, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, Shri. Manish Gupta, Minister for Power, Govt. of West Bengal, and Minister for Power, Govt. of National Capital Territory, Delhi.
Senior officials including Secretary, Power Shri. P.K. Pujari Secretary, MNRE, Shri. Upendra Tripathy, Shr.A.K. Dubey, Additional Secretary, Coal, Shri. B.N. Sharma , Shri B.N. Pandey Additional Secretaries, Power and Power Secretaries of States and Union Territories attended the conference.
Source Link
Saying that discoms were trapped in a vicious cycle with operational losses being funded by debt and Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) will provide the financial support for their revival.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) reform is aimed at reviving ailing discoms. Goyal said, “The weakest link in the power value chain is distribution, wherein DISCOMs in the country have accumulated losses of approximately Rs 3.8 lakh crore over the past few years”. He said that discoms were trapped in a vicious cycle with operational losses being funded by debt and UDAY will provide the financial support for their revival.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/reviving-ailing-discoms-via-uday-piyush-goyal_4077001.html
The banking sector as a whole has a huge exposure to the near bankrupt state-run discoms to the tune of Rs 4.3 trillion in principle alone and over Rs 5 trillion if interest and unpaid dues are counted.
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said the implementation of the revival package of the near bankrupt state-run discoms will result in total savings of nearly USD 30 billion by FY 2018-19.
“If all goes as planned, the Uday scheme (the nomenclature of the revival package involving taking away the Rs 4.3 trillion debt of the discoms’ books), will help save nearly USD 30 billion in total by FY15,” Goyal told investors here this evening.
The banking sector as a whole has a huge exposure to the near bankrupt state-run discoms to the tune of Rs 4.3 trillion in principle alone and over Rs 5 trillion if interest and unpaid dues are counted.
These discoms have accumulated losses of about Rs 3.8 trillion. Goyal assured that the state-run Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation, which have an exposure of around USD 20 billion to the discoms, will not be forced to buy the bonds to be issued by the respective states under the scheme at 8.8.5 percent yield.
He also said this is aimed at protecting the balance sheet of PFC, which gets loans at 7.5 to 8 percent. “We will not stress PFC and REC’s balance sheets with these bonds which will be priced at 8-8.5 percent. It could only affect their working capital requirement,” he said, adding this is the reason why the government will be selling these bonds in the market.
Claiming that there is a huge appetite in the market for such bonds as the renewable and transmission sectors are doing well, the minister said he has already spoken to pension funds, provident funds and insurers.
He said once the scheme is implemented PFC and REC can unlock their USD 20 billion exposure and invest further in projects. “I believe they (PFC and REC) can even expand their loan book in the next two to three years. Both can fund up to USD 60 billion in the next five years in fresh investment,” Goyal said.
Source Link
“Delighted that an all time low solar tariff of Rs 4.63 (a kWhr) has been achieved during reverse e-auction conducted by NTPC,” Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.
Solar power tariffs have declined to an all-time low of Rs 4.63 per kWhr following bidding for new capacity to be installed in Andhra Pradesh, government said today.
“Delighted that an all time low solar tariff of Rs 4.63 (a kWhr) has been achieved during reverse e-auction conducted by NTPC ,” Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet.
The bids are for 500 MW of solar capacity to be installed in Kurnool district. The bidding took place on Tuesday. The price of Rs 4.63 per kWhr was quoted by US-based SunEdison in an electronic auction which was conducted by state-owned NTPC for buying power from solar power plants.
The bids are for 500 MW of solar capacity to be installed in Kurnool district. The bidding took place on Tuesday.
The price of Rs 4.63 per kWhr was quoted by US-based SunEdison in an electronic auction which was conducted by state-owned NTPC for buying power from solar power plants.
“We have got one of the lowest tariffs in the world for solar power. The tariff of Rs 4.63 per unit has been bid for power purchase agreement (PPA) of 25 years by SunEdison,” Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor told agency.
“Ten project of 50 MW each totalling 500 MW will come up in Andhra Pradesh,” he said. Kapoor further said that another company had also quoted Rs 4.63 but but the bid from Sun Edison came earlier.
In another tweet said Goyal said “delighted that solar tariffs in India have broken Rs 5 per kWh level. NTPC has received bids of Rs 4.8 per kWh through ongoing reverse e-bidding.”
Source Link
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/solar-tariffs-decline-to-all-time-low-goyal_3976901.html
The government buys rice and wheat from local growers to build a buffer for any emergency and to run its mammoth food welfare progammes. The state purchase also protects farmers from distress sale.
India has raised the price that the government will pay to buy new-season wheat from local farmers to 1,525 rupees per 100 kg, up from 1,450 rupees in 2015, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said.
The government buys rice and wheat from local growers to build a buffer for any emergency and to run its mammoth food welfare progammes. The state purchase also protects farmers from distress sale. Indian farmers grow only one wheat crop in a year. Planting starts in October, with harvests from March.
The government also raised the purchase price of rapeseed, the main winter oilseed, to 3,350 rupees per 100 kg against 3,100 rupees last year, Goyal told reporters on Thursday.
The price of chickpea, the main pulse, has been raised by 7.9 percent to 3,425 rupees per 100 kg, he said, adding, the government would ask state-run agencies to procure oilseeds and pulses in an attempt to protect farmers from distress sale.
India’s power distribution companies (discoms) could get a lifeline as early as this week.
Sources tell CNBC-TV18 the Cabinet will take up a proposal to restructure their debt this Thursday, adding that the headroom under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) scheme will be put to use and old loans will be converted into bonds.
This move could reduce interest costs by alteast 3 to 5 percent and interest outgo will come down by as much as Rs 15,000 crore per annum.
Below is the verbatim transcript of Piyush Goyal’s interview with Anshu Sharma on CNBC-TV18.
Q: How different will the discom resolution will be this time from 2012?
A: The final resolution is a collective effort of all stakeholders. The states are on board, the coal companies, the power generating units, transmission companies, all have worked together to find a permanent resolution. The big difference between the past and now is that (a) it is not foisted on the states on the top (b) it is not driven by subsidies.
It is not as if we are doling out or promising to dole out money but it is about handholding the states, it is about empowering them to be able to give electricity to everybody in their state 24/7. It is about helping them with technology, helping them to upgrade their transmission and distribution systems. So this time around it’s a completely new programme. We are also looking at it in the long run to make sure that in the future there is no incentive to keep these discoms in losses and I am confident that given the bipartisan support of all parties towards this programme, it strengthens my resolve to be able to give 24/7 power to everybody in this country.
Q: You have spoken that tariff increase is not the only way out for Discom resolution. You have spoken about monitoring all the centrally bad schemes. So how soon, how much time will it take for all the seven-eight states to come out of their debts?
A: Some of them will get out of annual losses in 12 to 18 months. It will depend from state to state. However, from the Centre, some of our officials are sitting down with the state government team in a partnership model. We are not micro managing their work but we are helping them evolve their own project plans for the next three-four years. Come 2019, I feel India will have zero loss of the discoms on an annual basis.
Q: In October 2012, the fair and remunerative price (FRP) was approved. The Cabinet is yet to take a nod on this discom resolution. How soon can we expect Cabinet to meet on this?
A: Let’s leave some of those decisions for the Cabinet Secretary to decide.
Q: What do you have to say about the national solar mission plan? We understand that the bid is around Rs 4.8. Is that viable and how much interest do you see coming in future?
A: I am delighted that the solar prices are coming down to levels which are very reasonable, in fact very close to grid parity now. I had always believed in that and I said it to you on your channel so many times and I believe that with economies of scale and with transparent and honest process of procuring this power, just like the light-emitting diode (LED) programme was a resounding success and we were able to bring down prices to Rs 72 against Rs 310 one year ago, similarly in solar power we have been able to substantially bring down prices.
Source Link
Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy presided over the review meetings of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) in Chandigarh today. In his presidential address, Shri Piyush Goyal called upon the managements of both the public sector bodies to increase their efficiency and their capacity to the highest level and appealed the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to forget and sink their differences for the overall development of the people of the region. The Minister said that a joint meeting of Chief Ministers of all these four states will be held shortly at Chandigarh to sort out the long pending issues, for the benefit of the people of these states.
He also directed BBMB Chairman to submit an action plan to him within a month for constituting some rapid action force for approval to strengthen the public warning system to avoid accidents by immediate release of water from dams. It will be adopted for every hydro plant in the country in a time bound manner. Union Minister directed that his instructions to start E-Bidding process be followed in letter and spirit.
Shri Piyush Goyal also directed the BBMB to make an inventory of all its assets, including its unused vacant land within 6 months.
Shri SK Sharma, Chairman BBMB and Shri KM Singh, Chairman cum Managing Director NHPC, briefed the Union Minister on their activities and performance. It was informed in the meeting that 17 government to government cases are pending in different courts, regarding water sharing and related issues. Senior officers of Union Ministries of Power and Water Resources, Concerned senior officers from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, senior officers of BBMB and NHPC attended the review meetings.
Source Link
WASHINGTON: Ahead of next month’s Paris summit on climate change, India has underlined the need for long term low-cost funding to keep energy cost affordable considering the development needs of its fast growing economy.
Participating in a panel discussion on ‘Unlocking Investment in Developing Countries’ at the State Department in Washington, Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said in the next five to six years, India needs huge capital investment around USD 250 billion to meet its renewable energy goals.
“In order to sustain the process of environment friendly economic development in the long run, development of new and renewable sources of energy acquires utmost importance for India,” he said.
He “emphasised the need for long term low cost funding to keep energy cost affordable considering the development imperatives of India’s fast growing economy.”
The Minister is here at the invitation of Secretary of State John Kerry to participate in the Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum 2015.
Observing that India’s renewable energy potential is vast and holds a great promise, he said it provides ample opportunities for trade and investment to set up manufacturing, leapfrog technologies and create volumes.
The discussion was moderated by Michael Liebreich, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the other panelist was Amos Hochstein, Special US Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs.
Mr Goyal underlined India’s commitment to pursuing a green path to growth through its plans for deployment of 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power, a media release said. Yesterday, Mr Goyal met Mr Kerry.
During his meeting with Kerry and other US officials, the two sides acknowledged a major positive shift in the trajectory of US-India relations and committed to explore new opportunities for co-operation.
The US officials appreciated India’s efforts to promote new and renewable energy sources and India’s commitment towards climate and clean energy.
At the State Department, Mr Goyal spoke about India’s concerted efforts to introduce new means of financing and innovative financial instruments that can leverage greater investments and broaden the investor base.
He outlined the steps being taken to improve the contractual/ counter-party risk framework which is critical to all investors; unlocking investment from domestic banking and capital markets; and significantly scaling of international capital flows.
Mr Goyal spoke about initiatives such as Greening the Grid; National Solar Mission: LED Programme for enhancing energy efficiency etc.
He also announced that a fund focusing on renewable energy within the National Infrastructure Investment Fund is under active consideration of the Government.
He reaffirmed India’s commitment to take all necessary steps to create a conducive environment for promoting investment in the renewable energy sector and strengthening the regulatory and institutional framework.
Source Link
Kolkata: The Coal Ministry today stressed upon meeting the production target of 550 million tonne for the current fiscal by mining major Coal India.
“In the first half coal production growth was nine per cent. The target is to cross 550 million tonne by March. I wish by March 31, Coal India chairman sends me a message that we have crossed the target,” Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said here today.
Goyal was attending the 41st Coal India foundation day ceremony here.
The Minister was confident about Coal India’s achieving the target and hoped the PSU would produce one billion tonne of coal by 2019-20.
Goyal said coal imports were coming down and in September imports were down significantly, but did’t give any number.
“I hope in two years there will be no imports, particularly for thermal coal,” he said.
Coal India chairman Suthirtha Bhattacharya said they were aiming to make Coal India a people’s brand.
Source Link
Vanijya Bhawan, 16, Akbar Rd, New Delhi - 110001
Lok Kalyan Karyalay - 56, Balasinor Society, SV Road, Opp Fire Brigade, Kandivali West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400067