The Indian Railways’ newly launched solar diesel multiple unit trains (DEMU) are expected to save hundreds of crores for the government in fuel bills as well as reduce the carbon emissions. The Indian Railways spends a huge amount of money on diesel to power its trains each year which, apart from the monetary impact, also takes an environmental toll. To address the issue, the Railways is looking seriously at solar and flagged off a solar DEMU rake recently. The department has already increased the speed of installing rooftop solar in railway stations and railway crossings. The solar DEMUs will take the energy saving plan of the department a step further.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has set a target of saving the Railways Rs 41,000 crore in energy expenditure over the next 10 years. For that, the solar power project is crucial. In the 2016-17 budget, Prabhu targeted setting up 1,000 MW solar power generation capacity to reduce the reliance on diesel.

According to an energy policy report published by the Indian Railways in November 2016, the cost of energy consumed by the Railways is 24.16 per cent of its ordinary working expense which breaks into 14.72% diesel expenditure and 9.44% on electricity. The diesel bill of the Railways increased from Rs 7,297 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 22,716 crore in 2014-15. It is one of the largest consumers of diesel fuel in India. In 2013-14, the diesel consumption of Indian Railways was around 2.6 billion litres, as per official data.

According to the Railways, the solar DEMU system helps reduce carbon footprint of these commuter trains and cuts carbon dioxide emission by 9 tonnes per coach per annum. It projects a saving of 21,000 litres of diesel per DEMU train with six trailer coaches and that will translate into savings of Rs 12 lakh per year. The proportional rise will be seen as coaches increase to 10 coach rake with eight trailer coaches. The Indian Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai has manufactured the new train which will run on a 1,600 hydraulic horsepower (HHP) DEMU unit.

The Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore conducted a research and trial runs of such DEMU rakes and projected an ideal return on investment period of about 7.5 years. However, it said that the period could go up to as much as 10.6 years if the annual rate of depreciation of the solar photovoltaic system is considered. The coach has a life of 25 years. Considering the fact that Indian Railways operates over 63,500 coaches and most of them are exposed to sunlight of at least 300 days on average according to the Railways, this system could be expanded to save hundreds of crores of rupees for the department.

The newly built coaches have a passenger capacity of 89 people for one coach. In each train, two coaches are motor coaches on each end of the train. The passenger coaches in between are called trailer coaches. Each passenger coach costs Rs 1 crore and the motor coaches cost Rs 2.5 crore. Each solar panel that is installed on the rooftops of the trains cost Rs 9 lakh. A total of 16 solar panels are installed on each coach on the train and each generates 300 watts of power. The power that is generated through these panels, will be used in the train for non-daylight operating hours.

For now, the train has been flagged off between Sarai Rohilla station in Delhi to Haryana’s Garhi Harsaru Junction. The train will operate in place of the non-solar powered rake on the route.

The fare of the coach will remain the same and with reduced operational costs, it means increased returns for the Railways. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu estimates the return to be as much as 20 per cent.

The IISc estimated that the annual power yield in a solar rail coach will be between 6,820 and 7,452 kWh. This would result in an annual saving of 1,862 litre of reduction in diesel consumption per coach per annum. It would also decrease CO2 emission of around 4.5-4.9 tonnes. The study estimated that if all the 63,511 coaches under operation are accounted for and considering the Railways employ 20 coaches on average in a train, the solar rail coaches could generate 433,145,020 kWh of electricity per year. This would save 108,476,788 litres of diesel in a year. The total CO2 emission reduction would then stand at 2,88,339 tons. The move would save the Railways a lot of money and help in achieve its climate and energy goals.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/solar-demu-trains-start-rolling-this-is-how-much-indian-railways-will-save-4764899/

Combined losses of state-run power utilities in 26 states and the Union territory of Puducherry in 2016-17 fell 21.5% from a year ago to Rs40,295 crore on account of efforts under Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the turnaround scheme aimed at improving operational and bill collection efficiency.

A central government official aware of the performance of state utilities said on condition of anonymity that power utilities in some states have managed to cut down their losses significantly. Utilities in Rajasthan, for example, reduced losses by 54% in 2016-17 to Rs5,208 crore from a year ago. Those in Tamil Nadu lowered losses by 35% to Rs3,783 crore in the same period, while those in Uttar Pradesh cut losses by 14% to Rs6,619 crore.

The reduction in losses is on account of increased bill payment compliance by consumers including by way of reduction in power theft and tight monitoring of the utilities’ operations by state governments which took over three-fourths of their accumulated debt under UDAY scheme, approved by the cabinet in November 2015.

The UDAY scheme allowed state governments to take over half the outstanding debt of utilities in 2015-16 and another 25% in 2016-17. The remaining was to be refinanced by the distribution companies through state-guaranteed bonds, which would help them reduce interest cost.

Power distribution remains the weakest link in the energy value chain, which has an impact on the financial health of power generation companies as well as on Coal India Ltd, the state monopoly supplying fuel to power plants. Losses constrain distribution firms from expanding their network to cater to the unmet demand. State governments have tried various options to turn around this segment including privatization and adopting a franchisee model to bring in efficiency.

Many conventional thermal power generation companies are now left with plants which are not viable as demand from distribution firms remains sub-optimal amid competition from renewable power.

The woes of generation companies are compounded by the fact that industrial consumers, bogged down by the cross-subsidy burden meant to benefit household consumers, are relying more on solar power which is available at a cheaper tariff than those for industries.
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Federal policy think tank NITI Aayog last month recommended in a draft energy policy that power utilities should be allowed to realize full market price from all consumers by doing away with cross-subsidy provided to poor consumers. “With nearly 304 million Indians without access to electricity, and about 500 million people still dependent on solid bio-mass for cooking, it may be acknowledged that the country has still a long way to go on securing its energy security objective,” the document stated.

It also projected that India’s power demand will go up more than four-fold by 2040 on account of strong economic growth. At present, it is about 1.1 trillion units.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/Industry/K3vFtw9b6RiNTCzxDJwseP/Staterun-discoms-cut-losses-by-215-in-FY17.html

देहरादून की सभी स्ट्रीट लाइट्स एलईडी से बदली जायेंगी, जिससे बिजली की बचत होगी, और बचत से प्राप्त पैसा अन्य विकास कार्यों में लगाया जा सकेगा

यूपी की योगी आदित्यनाथ सरकार प्रदेश के गरीबों को 23 जुलाई से मुफ्त में बिजली का कनेक्शन देगी. ये जानकारी प्रदेश के ऊर्जा मंत्री तथा सरकार के प्रवक्ता श्रीकांत शर्मा ने ट्वीटकरके दी. इस योजना का सीधा लाभ गरीब परिवारों को मिलेगा जो बीपीएल कार्ड धारक होंगे.

प्रदेश के ऊर्जा मंत्री तथा सरकार के प्रवक्ता श्रीकांत शर्मा ने बताया कि कहा कि सीएम योगी आदित्यनाथ 23 जुलाई को बीपीएल परिवारों को मुफ्त कनेक्शन व सुगम संयोजन देने के कैम्प में सभी दलों के विधायकों से शामिल होने का अनुरोध किया है.

प्रदेश सरकार के एक विशेष अभियान के तहत बिजली कनेक्शन के दस्तावेज मुफ्त में बांटे जाएंगे. बिजली कनेक्शन शहर और गांव दोनों ही जगहों के बीपीएल परिवारों को मिलेंग. वहीं बीपीएल परिवारों को मुफ्त बिजली कनेक्शन जन प्रतिनिधि प्रदेश के समस्त जिलों में 23 जुलाई को देंगे. श्रीकांत शर्मा ने बताया कि हमने हर प्रकार की शिकायतों के लिए टोल फ्री नंबर नंबर शुरू किया है.

Source: http://hindi.news18.com/news/uttar-pradesh/lucknow-city-yogi-adityanath-government-will-give-free-electricity-connection-to-bpl-families-1053268.html

The State government which is swiftly progressing ahead with integrated development of both urban and rural areas has decided to kick start yet another revolutionary program of energy efficient LED street lighting to significantly change the appearance of villages.

The villages which having an inadequate lighting in the past shall now glow brightly with energy efficient LED street lighting. The shifting of street lights to LED is set to give an average of Rs 77 crore annual revenue to the gram panchayats.

Minister for IT and Panchayat Raj, Nara Lokesh, had directed the officials to complete installation of 10 lakh LED street lights in around 7,094 gram panchayats of 7 districts in nine months. These street lights would be installed by M/s. Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), in coordination with the State government.

Lokesh would also monitor a tripartite agreement to be entered between Panchayat Raj, EESL, Central government and the Andhra Pradesh State Energy Efficiency Development Corporation (APSEEDC) on July 17. Minister for Energy K Kalavenkata Rao would also be present when the government signs the historical tripartite agreement.

The State which has created world record in installation of more than 6 lakh LED street lights in all 110 municipalities and is reaping benefits with 40-45 per cent energy and monetary savings is going to re-write its own record by installation of huge number of LED street lights in the villages this time.

With Zero-upfront investment by the State governemnt, the Panchayat LED street lighting is implemented in a unique economic model, wherein 20 per cent of the deemed savings under the project shall be shared with the panchayats, while the remaining 80 per cent of the savings will serve as a re-payment to EESL and the Central government.

Out of the 30 lakh LED street lights to be installed, the government would install 10 lakh LEDs in seven districts of Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Chittoor, Ananthapur and Prakasam. In addition to this, the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP (NREDCAP) will install 5 lakh LEDs in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam and the two Godavari districts.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/ap-to-install-led-street-lights-in-villages/articleshow/59620947.cms

झारखंड के एक-दो नहीं दर्जनों गांव जगमग हो गए हैं जिसके बाद से यहां के लोगों की खुशी का ठिकाना नहीं है। दरअसल आजादी के करीब 70 साल बाद झारखंड के कुंदा प्रखंड के दर्जनों गावों में बिजली पहुंची है।

झारखंड के उन गांवों में बिजली पहुंचनी शुरू हो गई है जहां अभी तक बिजली का नामो-निशान नहीं था। कुंदा, मोहनपुर, बरवाडीह, साहपुर, मेदवाडीह, इचातू, मांझीपारा, टिकुलिया गांव में बिजली की आपूर्ति शुरू हो गई है। मांझीपारा गांव में पावर सब स्टेशन का निर्माण किया गया है। इस पावर सब स्टेशन का निर्माण कार्य 2008 में शुरू हुआ था।

जंगलों और पहाड़ो से घिरे कुंदा प्रखंड में बिजली पहुंचाना एक मुश्किल काम था लेकिन केंद्र और राज्य सरकार के प्रयास के से ये सफल हुआ है। कुंदा में बिजली पहुंचाने के लिए प्रशासन को भी कड़ी मेहनत करनी पड़ी।

आपको बता दें कि केंद्र सरकार गांव- गांव बिजली पहुंचाने की दिशा में तेजी से काम कर रही है। एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार उत्तर प्रदेश में अब सिर्फ छह गांव ऐसे बचे हैं, जिन तक बिजली नहीं पहुंच पाई है, जबकि कुछ समय पहले तक यह संख्या 1,500 से भी ज़्यादा थी। इसके अलावा बिहार में 319 गांव ऐसे हैं जहां बिजली पहुंचाने का काम बाकी है।केंद्रीय ऊर्जा मंत्री पीयूष गोयल के मुताबिक ग्रामीण विद्युतीकरण मामले में बिहार तीव्र गति से आगे बढने वाले राज्यों में से एक है।देश में अभी 3997 गांवों में बिजली नहीं पहुंची है। एक मई 2018 तक पूरे देश के गांवों में बिजली पहुंच जाएगी और गांव-गांव रोशन होगा।

Source: http://hindi.oneindia.com/news/india/electricity-reaches-12-village-jharkhand-first-time-after-independence-415552.html

In a major fillip to Swachh Bharat Mission, the environment ministry has given a blanket exemption to all solid waste management projects from taking prior environmental clearances.

The exemption from prior environmental clearances for projects, barring landfill sites, comes as a major relief for Modi government’s cleanliness initiative as it would cut down the time taken by waste treatment projects to get off the ground. According to urban development ministry officials, the time taken, which was anywhere between six months and a year, would now be cut down by at least six months.

The biggest problem the ministry of housing and urban affairs was facing in the implementation of solid waste treatment and processing projects was different rules for different facilities.

The ministry had then written to environment ministry to revisit the issue. An expert group was formed in June in environment ministry and it recommended that apart from a proposal of a fresh landfill site, no other projects would be required to get environmental clearances.
Environment Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha has intimated the new move to the ministry of housing and urban affairs. In his letter, reviewed by ET, Jha has said, “It has been seen that locating a landfill site or municipal solid waste disposal site is a contentious issue and there is a tendency to locate them far from the habitation but near forest, rivers, ponds, wetlands and low lying areas etc which are ecologically sensitive sites and require proper environmental management.It may not be appropriate to exempt this activity of municipal solid waste disposal site or landfill site from the requirement of prior environmental clearance.”
The environment ministry has spelt out waste to energy plants up to a capacity of 15MW would not require any environmental clearance. “Municipal solid waste management involves various steps like door-to-door collection, segregation, composting, refuse derived fuel making, waste to energy generation through waste to energy plants and disposal in scientific landfills.

The above activities, except landfill site, if proposed as standalone activites… do not require prior environmental clearance,” the ministry has clarified.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/solid-waste-management-projects-get-blanket-exemption-from-taking-prior-green-clearance/articleshow/59624039.cms

The State Government has prepared the blue print of it, under which the rural feeders of these districts will be strengthened and the power infrastructure will be improved as per requirement, said chairman and managing director of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), Shatrujit Kapoor while addressing the sarpanches and panchayati raj representatives of Pataudi, Manesar and Farukhnagar area.

Kapoor shared the plan of the State Government with the panchayat representatives to make district Gurugram, 24×7 power supply district from coming Independence Day and also to seek support from them in keeping the works of infrastructure improvement moving in their villages by forming a ‘Bijli Sudhar Samiti’ in each of their villages.

He asked them not to let the infrastructure works hindered. He asked the sarpanches to take all villagers into confidence.

Kapoor was given assurance by the sarpanches that they will adopt ‘Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon’ scheme so that their village get 24 hours power supply. The CMD told them about the benefits of round the clock power supply and said that the aim is to provide round the clock power supply to 70 percent of the population which resides in villages and which is being supplied electricity for 12 hours daily.

He said that for supplying 24 hours power supply, the village panchayat is required to submit a resolution stating that it wants to adopt ‘Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon’. Such villages must form ‘Bijli Sudhaar Samiti’ which will help resolve the issues coming in the way of infra projects.

Presently, 17 villages of district Gurugram are already included into Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon scheme, said Kapoor.

He said that the defective electricity lines will be replaced and new transformers will be installed and other infra improvement projects will be taken up in the villages adopting this scheme, for which estimates of about Rs 45 crore have been prepared and approved.

Work on these projects would start soon. The sarpanches have got an opportunity to do something worthwhile for their village, which will be remembered afterwards, added he.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/gurugram-ambala-to-get-24-hr-power-supply-from-august-15.html

Stressed power assets can be a source of low-cost electricity, replacing costly supplies, says power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal. In an interview with ET , he also said the goods and services tax (GST) had rolled out smoothly and that it will end corruption and create jobs. Excerpts:

What is the outlook for stressed assets and the ultra mega power projects?
In both, I have no role to play on the face of it. There’s no licensing, no power ministry approvals. At the same time, as an Indian, I do recognise these are assets where banks have lent money, investments have been made. They will ultimately generate power the country certainly needs. In many cases, I also recognise that some of them could be (stressed) for factors beyond their control.

Like the Indonesian coal issue?
True. One can argue that they should have foreseen that there may be a change, but there is no limit to how much one can imagine about change. I’m not directly a party. I do believe these are national assets, Indian money has been invested in them and an early resolution will be in India’s interest, more so because the more power we can generate, the more the competition and efficiency in the sector. I’ve met with the bankers. They have a viewpoint that I’ve taken very seriously and I’m trying to play the role of a facilitator to see how we can help banks find a resolution. Wherever required, we’re also willing to help with management, technology, or interface with various departments to make processes smoother, approvals smoother.

On the coal side, my biggest stress is that I don’t have enough outlets to sell the large amounts India produces. I’ll be delighted if more plants come up. It will lead to more demand for low cost power and more consumption of coal. This is now a national issue. All of us have to work together to find a solution.

What is the way forward?
SBI Capital Markets is engaged with various stakeholders and trying to see the best way forward for consumers. The objective is for the consumer to get 24×7 affordable and quality power. Keeping that in mind, whatever needs to be done in national interest, should be done. This is certainly very attractively priced power but if companies keep making losses and banks stop funding them, or if they shut down totally, we’ll have to assess what is the impact on transmission of power in that region; on availability of power and the transmission infrastructure to move power. It’s a large quantity of power centred in one area, supplying to five or six states. We’ll have to see if alternative power is available at those prices, or will it make it more expensive.

Can states take over stressed assets?
That’s between bankers and states. If at all, the decision of what has to be done with it will rest with bankers and promoters, but states also will probably have an interest because if the large volume of low-cost power is removed from the system, (it may lead to) power shutdowns or inadequate availability. It could also be more expensive. In some states, it may be a zero-sum game, they may be able to live without it.

How optimistic are you on resolving issues?
Within the framework of law and keeping in mind that the consumer should not suffer, the larger perspective is that consumers should not have to pay for the problem. I think a solution can always be found.

What about the other stressed assets?
We’ll have to see what’s the cost to complete them and what will be cost of power. Some are very strategically located at pitheads. Those may be much easier to resolve and provide low-cost power. We’ve launched an app, Merit. In Merit, we’re transparently putting in public domain at what cost each discom is buying power from each supplier. Fixed cost, one can say, they have to pay. In variable costs we found some fantastic stuff. Some states have the ability to buy low-cost power but are still sourcing from a plant that is more expensive. Any such case they’ll have to justify (the reason) — technical or coal was not enough, or breakdown.

So, the system ensures corruption-free purchase of power. Earlier, this was very opaque, it was in the files of the government. We’ve demystified power purchase. Wherever states are buying expensive power, these stressed assets can go to serve and replace the expensive power.

Can the government take over these assets?
That’s for banks to do. I’m not in the picture at all.

In Gujarat, companies have offered to sell equity to the state for Re 1…
Gujaratis are smart people. That’s all I can say. The Gujarat government knows what’s in the interest of consumers. When they plan, they ensure they can save every single rupee, or earn every single rupee for the state government and bring power at lowest cost to the consumer. They are tightfisted in their approach. So, they must have looked at the entire scenario,what benefits they can get, what alternatives are available. They might be approaching the issue clinically. So far, they’ve not intimated anything, but banks are still studying the whole scenario.

CIL has concerns about coal’s long-term outlook. Neyveli Lignite has bagged big solar projects. Is coal’s outlook uncertain?
Not at all. I can’t inject renewables into a grid that doesn’t have base load. Coal will be the mainstay of our energy needs. Coal has a very bright future. There are two causes of diversification: A) it’s a big business opportunity; B) I’ve been pushing them on renewables. While I genuinely believe they have to burn coal, they also have to be responsible citizens. They have money and ability. My approach is that if NTPC has to go from 50,000-1,00,000 MW, that journey will have a lot of renewables.

You have set a target of 1 lakh MW for NTPC?
Our government believes in scale.

Will a government company like NTPC take over stressed assets?
Not taking over, but they will certainly support any such effort. There’s no proposal to take them over. We’ll let banks find ways. SBI Cap is working on this. Bankers have a very positive attitude… As we speak, power at Rs 2.23 is available; 5,322 MW surplus power is available at the exchange. If they all start buying this, there’s another 10,000 MW waiting to come.  In a year or two, as these all get consumed, these stressed assets will start feeding the power.

What is the assessment of GST rollout so far?
Frankly, the smooth way in which it’s been rolled out is very redeeming, very satisfying. The technology and systems they’ve created are outstanding. The business community, traders, industry have all adapted and adopted it in a very supportive fashion. They are willing to appreciate any such transformational change of this dimension never before embarked anywhere in the world is bound to have some transitional issues. All these issues will be placed before the GST Council. Every party has supported it. Parties not in government have also supported it. This is the biggest example of cooperative and collaborative federalism that India has ever seen. It’s a shared legacy of the entire country. It belongs to every political party, to every citizen. You will see prices falling of everything. Almost universally, costs are coming down. Average household budgets will be lower.

Will the government’s revenue rise?
Direct and indirect revenue will rise. Jobs will go up. If a truck does 14 trips instead of 10 trips in a month, many more jobs will be created. Logistics is one of the biggest gainers. Corruption and leakages will certainly come down. For example, if excise (department) caught somebody, VAT and income tax would never come to know. Here, sales are being reported honestly, and the system is so beautifully designed that if you don’t report your sales honestly, you’ll be caught somewhere in the chain. Gradually, we’ll move towards an honest society where people will not compete on the ability to evade taxes but on ability to compete on quality of goods, quality of service. That will be the determining factor.

Certainly, I’m quite confident that as revenue goes up, as more compliance is there, funds will be available to serve the poor, farmers, women and youth in a far more efficient way. At some stage, we can start looking at revising some rates to make them more market friendly. Gradually, it will lead to more investment. A lot of foreign investment didn’t come before 2014 because of uncertainty. To my mind, it’s a great move.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/post-gst-you-will-see-prices-falling-piyush-goyal/articleshow/59622698.cms