Energy News Monitor | Volume XI; Issue 3

NEWS BRIEF

OIL & GAS

July 1, 2014. The development of R-series fields in Reliance Industries-operated KG-D6 blocks, which can significantly increase gas output in future, depends on the price of natural gas that the government allows the operator to charge, Niko Resources, which holds 10% in the block, said. However, the planned investment would not be deferred if the government announces the new price by October 1, Niko said. The government had approved doubling the price of natural gas to about $8.4 per unit from April 1, 2014 but this was blocked by the Election Commission. After the Narendra Modi government came to power, the Cabinet deferred the decision by three months and said that the existing price of $4.2 per unit would continue until the end of September. Reliance has already initiated arbitration saying billions of dollars of investment are at stake. Niko also commented on RIL's plans to optimise output in the existing D1 and D3 fields in the KG-D6 block. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 30, 2014. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), along with its partner British Petroleum (BP), plans to invest about ` 800 crore to carry out exploratory drilling in an offshore block in the Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu coast. RIL is the operator of the offshore block CY-DWN-2001/2, also known as CY-III-D5, with 70 per cent equity, while BP holds the remaining stake. Thus, of the total ` 800-crore investment, BP's contribution would be ` 240 crore. The block is off the east coast of India between Puducherry and Karaikal off Tamil Nadu. The deep-water block covers an area of around 10,655 sq km with its nearest boundary about 22 km from the shore. In 2011, BP joined hands with RIL for joint exploration for its 21 oil and gas blocks for a 30 per cent stake. RIL and BP have since relinquished 15 blocks owing to weak prospects. RIL had struck a $7.2-billion deal with BP for the deal. In August 2013, RIL and BP announced gas discovery in the offshore block. The discovery was named D-56. RIL received environmental clearance to carry out 11 exploratory wells off the Tamil Nadu coast. As on date, eight wells were drilled and hydrocarbon was discovered in two wells, said RIL. Investment in each of these wells would be around ` 100 crore and the exploratory drilling campaign is expected to commence from the last quarter of FY15 and it will be a temporary phase extending three-four months for a well at a location. RIL's existing supply base at Kakinada, which was established for the ongoing exploratory and development projects, will be used for the proposed drilling programme. Seismic data and the drilling campaign in the area also revealed the presence of hydrocarbons. However, to ascertain the quantum and economic viability of extraction of hydrocarbons, the company is required to drill 11 more exploratory/ appraisal wells within the block area. If the company succeeds in the discovery of hydrocarbons and if it is commercially viable to extract, then the project will help reduce the supply demand gap of hydrocarbons in the country, said RIL. In FY13, the production of crude was 0.75 million barrels a day, which is 21 per cent of the consumption of 4.35 million barrels a day. Indigenous crude oil production has remained stagnant over the past five years and it is unlikely to improve in the near future unless new discoveries are made, said RIL. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) said it will invest over ` 5,700 crore in redevelopment of its giant Mumbai High (North) oil and gas field off the west coast. The project will yield an incremental 6.997 million tonnes of crude oil and 5.253 billion cubic metres of gas by 2030, the company said. The project is designed to carry forward the success of the previous two editions of redevelopment projects of the fields that were discovered four decades ago. This will give a new lease of life to the giant field.

The project cost includes ` 2,586.42 crore in creation of surface facilities, ` 1,992.11 crore in new oil and gas wells and ` 1,127.94 crore in sidetracking of existing wells. The facility parts under the project are scheduled to be installed by April 2016, while drilling of wells and the overall project completion is scheduled for May 2017. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 30, 2014. Close on the heels of a GAIL pipeline blast at Nagaram in Andhra Pradesh that claimed 19 lives, a leakage in another pipeline belonging to Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) was detected at Tatipaka. ONGC, however, appealed to the people not to panic as it had replaced the leaked pipeline. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. At least 15 people were killed in a fire that followed a blast at a GAIL natural gas pipeline in south India. The federal government has ordered an inquiry in to the cause of the fire, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. GAIL has closed a section of the pipeline that was carrying gas from a field operated by Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) to Lanco Infratech Ltd.’s power station in Andhra Pradesh state, GAIL said. The incident follows a series of accidents this month. A fire broke out at a vacuum-gasoil treating unit at a refinery operated by HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd. in Punjab state on June 20. Six people died and 36 were injured after a gas leak at Steel Authority of India Ltd.’s plant in Chhattisgarh state in central India on June 12, according to the company. ONGC has shut some gas wells in the area, ONGC said. The company’s oil refinery near the site is operating normally, ONGC said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 27, 2014. An ex-gratia of ` 25 lakh each would be given to the kin of those who died in the gas pipeline fire in Andhra Pradesh (AP), Chief Minister (CM) N Chandrababu Naidu said after visiting the mishap site. A high-level inquiry would be conducted into the incident involving GAIL gas pipeline in East Godavari district and those responsible for it would be punished, he said.

Of the ` 25 lakh compensation, GAIL would provide ` 20 lakh, while the Centre and AP government would give ` 2 lakh and ` 3 lakh respectively, Naidu said. ` 5 lakh each would be given to those who suffered permanent disability, Naidu said. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said a high-level inquiry would be conducted into the mishap which left 15 people dead and 18 injured when a huge blaze raged through Nagaram following a blast in an apparently leaking GAIL gas pipeline. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. In view of GAIL gas pipeline blast in Nagaram village in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, the proposed laying of pipeline from Kochi to Dharmapuri District via Coimbatore should be stopped or find an alternate route, former CPI(M) MP P R Natarajan said. The tragedy should be an eye opener to the GAIL, which, despite protests from farming community, was continuing laying of pipeline through their lands, he said. The farmers of five districts in Tamil Nadu were opposing the project for the last three years, fearing such blasts and a case was pending in Madras High Court, he said. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said its pending plea before the SAT against Sebi is not related to any insider-trading, but challenges the regulator's arbitrary decision to shut the consent mechanism window on it. The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) concluded a near four-year hearing on RIL's plea against market regulator Sebi's allegations of the company violating the FUTP (fraudulent and unfair trade practices) norms in its dealings on the shares of one of its arm Reliance Petroleum in 2007. SAT will pronounce its order. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. The Centre said the situation in Iraq was a matter of concern and hoped that the turmoil in the Gulf country will not affect the oil supplies to India. Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said talks with Pakistan for resolving bilateral issues can progress if Islamabad fulfills its commitment of not allowing its territory to be used against India by the terrorists. Singh said talks cannot be held when guns roaring. He said situation in Kashmir was not only under control but had improved over the years. Asked if India still perceived China as a threat, the Minister said New Delhi will have to remain cautious about all the countries with which it had had issues in the past. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2014. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has once again extended the bid deadline for licences to retail CNG and piped cooking gas in 14 cities, including Bengaluru and Pune, by one month to August 11. Bid for the latest round of city gas distribution (CGD) licences were originally due on February 11 but the regulator in January extended the deadline to May 12. On April 23, it extended bid deadline to July 10 and now it has further pushed it back to August 11. Accordingly, the last date for sale of bid document will now be August 4 and bids will close by 1200hours on August 11. PNGRB had invited bids for development of CGD networks in Eranakulam in Kerala; Rangareddy/Medak, Nalgonda and Khammam in Andhra Pradesh; Bengaluru rural and urban districts in Karnataka; Raigarh, Pune and Thane in Maharashtra; Daman; Dadar & Nagar Haveli; Shahjahanpur in UP; Guna in MP; Panipat in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab. Bidders have been asked to quote the tariff they will charge for the pipeline network to be laid in the city and the compression charge for dispensing CNG (compressed natural gas) over the 25 years. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2014. Price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was hiked by ` 16.50 per cylinder and that of jet fuel by over half-a-per cent after international oil prices surged due to the ongoing Iraq crisis. The increase in rates of non-subsidised LPG and ATF accompanies the ` 1.69 a litre hike in petrol and 50 paisa a litre in diesel announced. The price of non-subsidised LPG, which customers buy after using up their quota of 12 subsidised cylinders, was raised by ` 16.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder, the first hike in six months. Each non-subsidised 14.2-kg cooking gas cylinder will now cost ` 922.50 in Delhi, up from ` 906, according to Indian Oil Corp (IOC). (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2014. State oil marketing companies raised the price of petrol by ` 2 a litre, the biggest increase in nine months in Delhi, as international gasoline rates have surged and the rupee has depreciated following unrest in Iraq. Companies also increased the price of diesel by about 56 paise in the Capital as their revenue losses on the fuel have increased to about ` 3.90 per litre from ` 1.62 in the previous fortnight. All-India price increase is ` 1.69 per litre on petrol and 50 paise on diesel, but the impact of the hikes would differ in different cities because of local levies, IndianOil said. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 30, 2014. The petroleum ministry foresees very little possibility of a disruption in India's oil imports due to the on-going violence in Iraq. Iraq is India's second largest crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, supplying about 25 million tonnes (MT) in 2013-14, to meet over 13 per cent of India's oil needs. Saudi Arabia was the largest supplier with around 38 MT. For the current year, oil marketing companies (OMCs) planned to import 19.4 MT, of which 18.7 MT was for Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL). (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 29, 2014. After putting off implementation of a contentious gas pricing formula, the new government will start consultations afresh with all stakeholders to arrive at an acceptable increase in natural gas rates. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had deferred a decision on raising gas prices based on a formula approved by the previous UPA government by three months to hold consultations with all stakeholders keeping public interest in mind. The formula approved by the previous government would have led to prices of gas, which is used mainly for power and fertiliser production, more than doubling to around $8.8 per million British thermal unit. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 28, 2014. Former oil and gas minister Mani Shankar Aiyar felt that instead of concentrating on pricing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should leverage his diplomatic position to network for energy security in the Asian region. He said this region is the largest producer of oil and the largest consumer of oil and so the price of oil should be decided by an Asian index like the earlier Dubai index. Mani Shankar Aiyar who was holding additional and temporary charge as minister for petroleum and natural gas in the UPA-1 government said that the ministry of petroleum and natural gas should not be concerned with gas pricing but should be more concerned with energy security and technology for deep sea water drilling. He said when he was the minister his focus was on securing sources for oil and tried to push for the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline. (www.asianage.com)

June 27, 2014. With more than a dozen people killed in a deadly fire at a gas pipeline in Andhra Pradesh, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed shock at the lack of a statutory body for formulating safety measures for the oil and gas industry. The Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD), under the Petroleum Ministry, carries out safety audits of oil and gas installations, besides formulating and standardising procedures and guidelines for design, operation and maintenance. However, the body lacks statutory authority. The then Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy had in August 2012 suggested giving statutory powers to OISD but the proposal has not materialised so far. The new government would work towards giving statutory powers to OISD, which currently is only a recommendatory body. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had in 1986 constituted the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) to enhance safety in the industry. There are hazards on account of inherent risks associated with the oil and gas industry such as extreme physical conditions in addition to potential fire and explosion from accidental release of flammable hydrocarbons. Reddy had proposed transferring the work of Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) to OISD. At present, PESO comes under the Ministry of Commerce but has high synergy with the oil and gas sector. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. The government is weighing the option of switching to a mechanism of fixed return on investment for producers and setting domestic gas prices in rupees instead of dollars to shut out exchange rate volatility. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley raised these points when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs met to put off the plan to revise domestic gas prices for another quarter, or three months till September 30. The UPA government had approved a complex formula suggested by a panel headed by C Rangarajan, then head of PM's Economic Advisory Council. This formula was benchmarked to averaged rates at major global gas trading hubs and cost of Indian and Japanese liquid gas imports. According to this formula, gas prices would have risen to $9 per unit, considered unviable. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

June 26, 2014. A day after the hike in natural gas prices was put off by three months, India's largest gas producer ONGC said it was unfair to expect a decision on such a complex issue from a government that's one month old. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) stocks plunged as the markets reacted negatively to the decision by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ONGC, the biggest beneficiary of a gas price hike, expects the new government to take a decision on the matter by balancing the interests of producers and consumers. ONGC said gas prices have a direct bearing on the costs of power, fertilisers, CNG and cooking gas. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. The government plans to impose an additional penalty of USD 578 million on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for producing less-than-targeted natural gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 block. The penalty in the form of disallowing costs incurred on the field will be for missing the target in 2013-14. With this, the total costs disallowed will increase to USD 2.375 billion. The government had previously issued a notice to RIL disallowing a total of USD 1.797 billion in costs for falling short of production during 2010-11 (USD 457 million), 2011-12 (USD 548 million) and 2012-13 (USD 792 million). RIL, which disputed the levy and initiated arbitration against the government, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Production from the main gas fields in the KG-D6 block has dropped to about a 10^th of the planned 80 million standard cubic meters per day. The fall in output meant that facilities created at huge investment went unutilised. The production sharing contract allows RIL and its partners BP Plc and Niko Resources to deduct all capital and operating expenses from the sale of gas before sharing profit with the government. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. Putting speculations at rest, the government said it is not considering raising prices of LPG and kerosene. Speculation was rife that the government might raise prices of cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene aimed at wiping out the ` 80,000 crore subsidy on the two fuels. Subsidy on LPG currently is a staggering ` 432.71 per 14.2-kg cylinder and at ` 5 per month increase it will take 7 years to wipe out the subsidy. On kerosene, the subsidy currently is ` 32.87 per litre and at a hike of ` 1 per month, it would take more than two-and-a-half years to wipe out the subsidy. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

POWER

July 1, 2014. BHEL has successfully commissioned another 250 MW thermal unit, valued at ` 990 crore, at Chhabra plant in Rajasthan. Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited had placed an order valued at nearly ` 990 crore for setting up two units of 250 MW each as part of the expansion of Chhabra thermal plant. The equipment for the project was supplied by BHEL's Haridwar, Trichy, Ranipet and Bangalore plants, while BHEL's Power Sector - Northern Region undertook erection and commissioning of the equipment. At present, BHEL is executing on Engineering, Procurement and Construction basis a 2x660 MW coal-fired project based on eco-friendly super-critical technology at Suratgarh in Rajasthan. BHEL is executing the 2x700 MW Rajasthan Atomic Power Project of Nuclear Power Corporation in the desert state. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 30, 2014. Delayed by over two years due to natural calamities, the 1200 MW Teesta III hydropower project in Sikkim is scheduled to commence commercial production in the first quarter of 2015. With over 100% of cost overrun, the project has so far seen investment of ` 7000 crore from public institutions and over ` 1200 crore in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) from major private equity players including Morgan Stanley, Everstone Capital, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs Investment Management, Ashmore Group and Norwest Venture Partners. Teesta III is considered to be one of the largest FDI flows into the country's power sector. Commencement of Teesta - lll is expected to make the tiny Himalayan State not only self-sufficient in electricity, but a net power exporter. About 12 - 15% of Teesta-III power will be available free of cost to the state of Sikkim. About 70% of the rest will be transmitted to power-starved states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, while balance 30% will be sold on spot basis, providing significant relief in peak summer months of the northern India. Sikkim's peak hour demand is 114 MW which can go up to 144 MW in a couple of years. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) together have agreed in principle to extend a loan of around ` 7,842 crore for upcoming projects in Andhra Pradesh (AP), according to an energy department. The funds will be used for the construction of two super critical thermal power units, each having a capacity of 800 MW, at Vijayawada and Krishnapatnam power stations. The total project cost of these two units is ` 10,426 crore. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asked the energy department to expedite the work on these two projects since the state needed additional supply of power. (www.business-standard.com)

June 26, 2014. India's 10 nuclear reactors with a total generation capacity of 1,940 MW have now put under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. This was after the BJP led NDA government has ratified the additional protocol, a commitment given under the Indo-US civil nuclear deal by the UPA government to grant greater access to the IAEA to monitor country's civilian atomic programme. The list of nuclear reactors which have been put under IAEA safeguards include Tarapur, Maharashtra 1 & 2 (320 MW), Rawatbhata, Rajasthan 1 to 6 (1180 MW) and Kakrapar, Gujarat 1&2 (440 MW). These reactors, which are currently operating on imported fuel with plant load factor of 94%, are part of the country's total nuclear installed capacity of 4,780 MW. The remaining reactors with generation capacity of 2,840 MW have not yet been put under the IAEA safeguards. The Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) is currently operating these total 19 reactors with both indigenous and imported fuel. The IAEA safeguards in the country are implemented in accordance with the agreement entered between Government of India and the IAEA. (www.business-standard.com)

July 1, 2014. Electricity consumers in Maharashtra might face additional load shedding if the monsoon is delayed further in the state. The generation plants run by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco) have started taking a hit due to depleting water in reservoirs, coupled with decreasing availability of coal. Currently, the state distribution company, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MahaVitaran) is carrying out daily load shedding ranging between 350 MW and 900 MW, which might increase further if power plants face closure. Besides, the burgeoning rates of power on exchanges make purchases dearer for MahaVitaran, which it might not be able to bear for long. MahaGenco is merely generating 500 MW to 600 MW from the Koyna hydro project, against the total generation capacity of 2,000 MW, in order to save water if the situation worsens further. MahaVitaran has to purchase power from exchanges at rates ranging between ` 3.70 & ` 4.62 a unit. The state distribution did not draw power from exchanges when the rates crossed ` 5.62 a unit. (www.business-standard.com)

June 30, 2014. A team of top officials from Telangana met Chhattisgarh officials to work out a plan to purchase power from the latter. Earlier, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao spoke to his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh over phone on the matter. The Telangana state has sought 1,000 MW of power from Chhattisgarh, principal secretary- energy department Aman Singh said. The state government was examining the proposal, he said. Singh said Telangana wanted to reach a long-term agreement with Chhattisgarh for power purchasing. The new state expected Chhattisgarh to supply power to it for the next 25 years. (www.business-standard.com)

June 29, 2014. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) will invest ` 5,800 crore for upgrading its network in Gujarat over the next three to four years, its Executive Director D K Singh has said. Power Grid will invest ` 5,800 crore in Gujarat to increase the number of Extra High Voltage (EHV) substations to 12 from the existing five. It will also be used for increasing the transmission capacity to 19,000 mega volt ampere (MVA) from the existing 4,000 MVA. The transmission lines shall be expanded to 7,575 kms in Gujarat from the existing 5,610 kms, he said. Singh was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of Chinese company TBEA's ` 1,000 crore Ultra-High-Voltage (UHV) power transformer plant at Karjan. The TBEA plant was inaugurated by Gujarat's Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal has promised uninterrupted power supply to at reasonable rates to Andhra Pradesh (AP). Goyal conveyed this decision to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu during a meeting with him. The central government has said it would speed up work on three railway lines key to transporting 100 million tonnes of coal per year from remote mines, a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to supply continuous power to all. Coal India Ltd, the world's No. 1 coal miner that controls about 80% of India's output, says better connections could push its annual production up by as much as 300 million tonnes from 462 million now. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. Tata Power Delhi Distribution, the electricity supply arm of Tata Power, said it controlled power theft to the tune of ` 1.12 crore in Delhi by using automated systems. The company is using technology in its area of distribution in North and North-West Delhi, Tata Power Delhi Distribution said. The company has installed AMR (Automated Meter Reading) based energy systems at Distribution Transformers (DT) level and carries energy audit of all DT on a regular basis. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 26, 2014. With lack of transmission infrastructure hurting electricity availability, the power ministry approved a ` 12,500 crore package for development of nine high capacity transmission projects. The package of new lines and substations, when commissioned, will ramp up the country's transmission capacity by three-fourth and boost supply across five states. These transmission projects will benefit several states such as Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Utar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra by enabling high capacity 765 Kilovolt lines carrying up to 2,100 MW each apart from construction of new 765 KV substations, the power ministry said. (www.business-standard.com)

June 26, 2014. Coal India Ltd (CIL) has so far signed fuel supply pacts with power plants for a capacity of only 73,075 MW. The coal and power ministries are now under one Minister- Piyush Goyal. Out of 78,000 MW capacity as on date Coal India (CIL) signed fuel supply agreements (FSAs) for a capacity of 73,075 MW, the Coal ministry said. Pacts for the remaining 4925 MW could not be signed till date due to issues, including "extension of coal supplies beyond the period admissible under tapering linkage policy", the ministry said. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. Power Exchange India (PXI), the Mumbai-based electricity exchange, has alleged discrimination in allocation of the limited transmission corridor it has to share with its bigger competitor the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). The National Stock Exchange (NSE)-promoted electricity exchange that accounts for less than five per cent of the ` 8,600-crore exchange-based short-term trading market in India has knocked on the doors of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), seeking change in the allocation methodology. (www.business-standard.com)

July 1, 2014. Environment minister Prakash Javadekar has assured the Arunachal Pradesh government that forest clearance for the 3000 MW Dibang Hydropower Project will be expedited. According to a communique from the chief minister's office, the assurance by Javadekar was given when Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki met him in New Delhi. The 3000 MW hydro power project has been rejected by the statutory green panel, Forest Advisory Committee, on two occasions—the most recent being at its meeting in April. The panel had rejected the project on the grounds that it required the diversion of 4577.84 hectares of biodiversity rich forest land and the felling of 3.24 lakh trees Javadekar is understood to have assured the chief minister that the entire clearance mechanism was being overhauled in order to speed up the implementation of hydropower projects in the state. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2014. Government's crackdown on delays in development of coal mines is set to spread to state-run entities. One of the biggest beneficiaries of captive coal mine allotments, NTPC, appears to be next in line for a closer scrutiny. NTPC has come on the PMO radar due to the rising decibel of demand for coal from private power producers, who are facing acute fuel shortage. An explanation is likely to be sought from the company for failing to start production from its mines allotted as back as January 2004. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 29, 2014. Karnataka is mulling the possibility of reducing subsidised power to farmers and meter the power supplied to irrigation pump sets.

This move will not only help improve the revenues for the electricity supply companies but also prevent any misuse of power by installing illegal IP sets, said D K Shivakumar, minister for energy, government of Karnataka. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. Uttar Pradesh (UP) government will launch a 60-days campaign, aimed at tightening the screw on power pilferage and installing 25 lakh new power connections starting July 1. Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan directed divisional commissioners, DIGs, district magistrates and police chiefs through video conferencing in this regard. He said that a target of collecting ` 30,000 crore in revenue has been fixed by releasing new connections in the current fiscal year. Power pilferage would not be allowed at any cost as it leads to revenue loss and emergency roistering in districts due to supply deficit, Ranjan said. He said that another review would be conducted by the end of July month and officers with poor performance would be penalised. He said that government plans to ensure round the clock power supply in urban areas and 18 hours supply in rural areas by October 2016. He said that FIRs would also be lodged against people indulging in power thefts. (www.business-standard.com)

June 27, 2014. How easy is it to set up an integrated power plant in India? Not very, given that companies have to seek 90 clearances during construction and 53 clearances, while starting operations. Besides, compliance reports have to be filed on 1,982 counts, nearly half of which attract imprisonment for failure. A majority of these norms are good for justifying the existence of a vast pool of officials in various government departments, they have little relevance in business and economic environment and often times substantially contribute in projects getting delayed. Industry insiders say the burden finally falls on consumers by way of higher tariff due to rising IDC (interest during construction), which is loaded on to costs that decide the final tariff. Besides, the delays also put the project viability at risk. A World Bank report last month tagged India as "less than favourable" for doing business. India was ranked 131^st in 2013 but slipped to 134^th position among 185 countries; even lower than its BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) counterparts. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is slated to visit Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) shortly — most likely in the first week of July and is expected dedicate to the nation the ` 2,100 crore and 240 MW Uri-II hydroelectric project located near the Indo-Pak border. Power minister Piyush Goyal will also accompany Modi to J&K. Constructed by the NHPC, the Uri-II hydro power project is located on river Jhelum near Uri in Baramulla District of Jammu & Kashmir. It comprises of four units of 60 MW each and is the second stage project of NHPC, the first being the 480 MW Uri-I hydroelectric project. (www.hindustantimes.com)

June 26, 2014. The power ministry was understood to have set up an advisory group headed by former power minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, Suresh Prabhu. The seven-member panel will be called “Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy.” The group’s mandate includes looking into subjects including optimal energy mix; state action plan for 24X7 power for all; requisite transmission and distribution infrastructure; development of renewable energy from sources like oceanic, bio-mass, coal bed methane and coal gasification; optimising fuel supplies; energy efficiency; research and development; and innovation. The advisory group will be assisted by the officers of the power, coal and renewable energy ministries and would meet as often as required. (www.business-standard.com)

June 26, 2014. There is enough scope for utilities to ensure uninterrupted power supply without tariff shocks but consumers too need to do their bit by willing to pay for getting 24X7 service and actively help stop electricity theft, minister for power and coal Piyush Goyal said. Goyal said every entity involved in the electricity chain — generators, transmission and distribution utilities as well as coal companies — have to improve their operations instead of covering inefficiencies by raising a debate over inadequate tariffs or absence of tariff revisions. Goyal's statement comes in the backdrop of the power ministry recently telling the Prime Minister's Office that the country loses 27 units in transit out of every 100 units being generated due to inefficiency and theft, euphemistically described by the industry as 'aggregate technical and commercial losses'. Also, the minister's strong views are likely to force regulators to look more closely at arguments and numbers being forwarded by utilities in several states, including Delhi, for revising tariffs. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. With Coal Ministry rejecting the Power Ministry's request to provide fuel to 9940 MW plants of companies like Essar Power, GMR and Power, the latter has sought intervention of Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal into the matter. The Cabinet had decided that coal may be supplied to similarly placed projects without affecting 78,000 MW of power projects. The criteria for similarly placed, among other things, state that the plants should be commissioned before March, 2015 and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) should be signed. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. Keen to kick-start reforms, Power Minister Piyush Goyal wants states to replicate the Gujarat model which provides 24-hour electricity supply. The Minister, who recently visited the western state of Gujarat, was all praises for the separate feeder segregation and metering consumption model followed by the state government. He said that some other states such as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have also adopted this model. Gujarat's Jyotigram Yojana is a scheme to make available 24 hours three-phase quality power supply to rural areas. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

OIL & GAS

June 27, 2014. Rising U.S. shale gas production is driving fear out of the futures market, says Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and will constrain prices for the next two decades. Gone will be the near tripling of costs to $15.78 as in 2005 as traders remain confident the fuel will be there when needed. Natural gas will trade “largely” at $4 to $5 per million British thermal units for the next 20 years, says Goldman Sachs. Societe Generale SA sees prices at $5 through 2019. Bank of America Corp. forecasts $5.50 for 2017, while BlackRock Inc. projects $4 to $5 for the next decade. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts natural gas prices will average below $5 through 2023 and less than $6 until 2030. The fuel will average less than $5 through 2017, based on analyst estimates. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 27, 2014. Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by 15 to 1,873, according to Baker Hughes Inc. Oil rigs rose by 13 to 1,558, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count increased by 3 to 314, the Houston-based field services company said. Pioneer Natural Resources Ltd. and Enterprise Products Partners LP said the U.S. Commerce Department gave them approval to export ultra-light crude processed at gathering facilities in the fields of south Texas. The decision could lead to more drilling in wet gas plays, Vienna-based JBC Energy said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 26, 2014. Africa Oil has announced new discovery at the Sala Prospect in Block 9 of onshore Kenya. A large 80km² anticlinal feature has been drilled along the northern basin bounding fault in the Cretaceous Anza graben and identified various sandstone intervals containing oil and gas shows. Africa Oil said there is a great need for power in Kenya and also the potential for downdip oil and additional prospects on trend. Additionally, Africa Oil is planning to drill an appraisal well on the crest of the Bogal structure to identify the large potential gas discovery, which has closure over a 200km² area. (drillingandproduction.energy-business-review.com)

June 26, 2014. Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s decision to pay billions of dollars for new deep-water oil rights increases the chances that the state-run producer will sell shares to raise cash, according to Banco BTG Pactual. Petrobras agreed to pay 15 billion reais ($6.8 billion) through 2018 to produce as much as 15 billion additional barrels from a region that holds the giant Buzios field, it said. It is considering selling assets and restructuring other projects to help shoulder the cost. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. Japan’s oil refining industry may be forced to cut about 10 percent of capacity as the government is set to impose new targets to improve efficiency and spur restructuring and mergers. Refiners will be required to increase the volume of high-value fuels such as gasoline and diesel they produce in relation to the output of low-quality by-products by either renovating their facilities or reducing oil-processing volumes, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The new targets may force them to cut about 400,000 barrels a day from the country’s current 3.95 million a day of capacity, the ministry said. Japan’s oil demand has declined due to its shrinking population and a shift to more energy-efficient cars, prompting refiners to lower output. Further reductions would be needed as about 22 percent of the country’s capacity would be redundant by fiscal year 2018, METI said. Under the proposed rules, the average ratio of the industry’s capacity to process residues compared to simple crude distillation should be improved by the end of March 2017 to about 50 percent, from 45 percent now, according to METI. The new rules would allow the refiners to take into consideration three types of units not covered by the 2010 order: fluid catalytic crackers, residue desulfurization units and solvent de-asphalting units. Previously, only residue fluid catalytic crackers, cokers and hydro-crackers were counted. Refiners will also be allowed to cut crude distillation nameplate capacity, unlike the previous rule, which required them to close units. The companies will be required to submit their plans by end of October. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. OAO Gazprom’s plan to monopolize a pipeline to be built as part of a $400 billion deal to supply Russian gas to China would be illegal, rival OAO Rosneft said. While Gazprom is Russia’s pipeline export monopoly, it must allow others access to the network to supply domestic customers in the east of the country, Rosneft said. The company plans to use only its own gas to fill the pipeline and for its contract with China. Gazprom and Rosneft are jockeying for position as Russian President Vladimir Putin pivots to China as a buyer of gas to cut reliance on the European Union. The U.S. and EU have threatened to broaden sanctions against Russian companies and officials, saying Putin is supporting separatists in Ukraine. The U.S. blacklisted Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin but not his company. Gazprom agreed a 30-year natural-gas deal with China overseen by Putin in May after a decade of negotiations. The accord includes plans for the pipeline and will allow the company to invest $55 billion to develop gas fields. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. Increased U.S. exports of liquefied petroleum gas amid higher shale oil production will boost demand for ships that carry gases such as propane, butanes and ethane, Latsco Shipping Ltd., said. Shipments of LPG from the U.S. rose to a record 506,000 barrels a day in April, up 65 percent from a year earlier, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show. Production of the gases has grown as high oil prices and improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have allowed producers to tap into crude and gas trapped in layers of shale rock more than a mile beneath the Earth’s surface. The EIA projects the U.S. will be a net exporter of LPG through 2040, because of continued increases in natural gas and oil production. Shale gas production in the U.S. will grow to 19.8 trillion cubic feet in 2040 from 9.7 trillion cubic feet in 2012, according to the EIA. Greece has the world’s largest merchant fleet with over 3,400 vessels accounting for almost 16 percent of global carrying capacity, according to the Greek Shipping Ministry. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. Kazakhstan-focused Max Petroleum announced that it has commissioned a new oil pipeline, and associated oil terminal, connecting its Zhana Makat field with the regional oil export pipeline approximately seven miles away from the field. Max said that it is now be possible to deliver oil directly from the Zhana Makat Central Processing Facility to the national Kazakh pipeline network. Oil produced at the Zhana Makat, Borkyldaty, Sagiz West and East Kyzylzhar I fields can now be transported to end users via the pipeline at a transport cost saving of approximately $4 per barrel, the firm said. (www.rigzone.com)

June 29, 2014. Libya’s largest oil-export terminal, the port of Es Sider, may re-open in August after the North African nation’s new parliament takes office, said the rebel group that shut the facility almost a year ago. Ras Lanuf is the second of two ports still under control of the Barqa rebels. The rebels’ Executive Office for Barqa seeks self-rule for the region known also as Cyrenaica. It occupied oil ports in eastern Libya at the end of last July, demanding an oil-revenue sharing agreement to make up for the neglect the area experienced under Muammar Qaddafi’s 42-year rule. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 28, 2014. As many as 500,000 barrels of light oil a day may be eligible for export under a new government classification, helping to soak up surging U.S. shale oil production. Significant oil exports would help relieve a glut of oil on the Gulf Coast, where inventories rose to record levels this spring as production reached the highest since 1986. That could narrow the discount for U.S. oil relative to the rest of the world, weakening an advantage that U.S. refiners have enjoyed since 2011. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude has averaged a $7.96 a barrel discount to European Brent crude, the international marker. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 26, 2014. At Russia’s largest private-sector oil company, the Ukraine crisis is forcing a change of strategy. OAO Lukoil will cut spending to reduce its dependence on international debt markets, billionaire shareholder Leonid Fedun said. It also plans to build a cash reserve of $30 billion over the next five years to guard against the risk of further disruption to capital markets and to finance future acquisitions, Fedun said. To boost cash, the company will offer at least $1 billion in shares in Hong Kong as early as next year and reduce capital spending by a quarter, he said. Lukoil’s new tack shows the impact the collapse in relations with the U.S. and EU is having on Russia’s largest companies after President Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea from Ukraine. The Moscow-based oil producer, which pumps about 20 percent of the country’s crude, postponed plans to sell $1.5 billion of Eurobonds. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 26, 2014. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 266–150 to pass a bill that cuts federal red tape and accelerates liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe and other allies. The Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act (H.R. 6) authored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) now moves to the Senate. Experts suggest it has a 20% chance of being enacted. The bill seeks to expedite the construction of LNG facilities to ensure exports can begin by at least 2018. It essentially provides that once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission completes an extensive environmental review for a project, complying with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) will have only 30 days to issue a final decision on the pending application. Significantly, it also amends the Natural Gas Act and requires that before authorization is granted to export LNG, applicants must publicly disclose where the exports are going. The DOE proposed to suspend its current practice of issuing conditional decisions on applications to export LNG from the lower-48 states to countries without free trade agreements with the U.S, and to instead act on applications only once an environmental assessment is completed. (www.powermag.com)

June 25, 2014. Koch Supply & Trading, a unit of Koch Industries Inc., will start buying and selling European electricity and expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business to take advantage of a globalizing market for the fuel. The trading unit of the second-largest closely held U.S. company by revenue is hiring one or two power traders in Geneva and plans to be ready for trading next year. The company will expand into Turkey and the Caspian region in 2015 and open an office in Tokyo for its LNG business this year. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. New York’s cities and towns can block hydraulic fracturing within their borders, the state’s highest court ruled, dealing a blow to an industry awaiting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision on whether to uphold a six-year-old statewide moratorium. The Court of Appeals in Albany upheld rulings dismissing lawsuits that challenged bans enacted in the upstate towns of Dryden and Middlefield. The ruling may lead the oil and gas industry to abandon fracking in New York as Cuomo considers whether to lift a statewide moratorium instituted in 2008 that he inherited when he took office. Fracking in states from North Dakota to Pennsylvania has helped push U.S. natural gas production to new highs in each of the past seven years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), while the practice has come under increasing scrutiny from environmental advocates. Parts of New York sit above the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that the EIA estimates may hold enough natural gas to meet U.S. consumption for almost six years. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. Scotland may have billions of barrels of shale oil buried under its most densely populated areas, geologists said. Scotland’s central belt, running between Glasgow and Edinburgh, may have 6 billion barrels of oil in place, according to a report by the British Geological Survey. While only a fraction of the resource will end up being viable, the deposits could supplement the U.K.’s 3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, held mostly in North Sea fields off Scotland. The oil and gas industry is central to the debate on Scotland’s independence ahead of a referendum in September. The Scottish government says existing fields in the North Sea will underpin the economy of an independent nation while opponents say declining production from offshore reserves leaves the region vulnerable. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. A boom in the search for unconventional forms of energy such as shale gas or oil sands has led to a record high in new oil and gas patents filed across the world, research showed. Inventors filed a total of 12,062 oil and gas patent applications in 2013, up a third from 2012 and three times as high as approvals sought ten years ago. Mature oil basins are running low on easily recoverable hydrocarbons and countries are increasingly looking at tapping fresh domestic resources to cut import dependence. The search for unconventional sources of energy has been accompanied by innovations in technology to help improve hydraulic fracturing or to enter deeper and more treacherous offshore locations. Around 60 per cent of all new oil and gas patents filed now come from China where 7,243 applications were made last year, data showed. In the United States total oil and gas patents filed rose 18 percent year on year to 2,188 in 2013. In Britain, which is at the early stages of exploring for shale gas, oil and gas patents have halved over the past ten years, with only 150 applications made in 2013. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 26, 2014. Egypt's Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said that BP's $10 billion gas project, stalled for three years, had restarted and that production would begin in 2017, a sign of progress in efforts to ease the worst energy crunch in decades. Sherif Ismail also said Egypt would pay $1.5 billion of the money it owed to foreign energy companies by the end of 2014. The minister said that production at BP's North Alexandria concession would begin in 2017, with 450 million cubic feet per day initially being extracted. He said output would rise to 800 million cubic feet per day in 2018. (www.rigzone.com)

June 25, 2014. France sold a 1.5 billion euro ($2 billion) stake in GDF Suez SA, the country’s largest natural-gas distributor, as it seeks cash to buy a holding in Alstom SA. The state offloaded 3.1 percent, trimming its holding to 33.6 percent, Finance Minister Michel Sapin and Economic Minister Arnaud Montebourg said. The government planned to sell the stake at 20.18 euros to 20.81 euros. The joint book runners for the sale were Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Societe Generale SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. France has proposed to buy as much as a fifth of Alstom from Bouygues SA as part of a $17 billion deal for General Electric Co. to buy Alstom’s gas-turbine unit. Alstom and GE plan steam-turbine, renewable-energy and power-grid ventures. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 25, 2014. The U.S. Commerce Department opened the door to more U.S. oil exports as long as the crude is lightly processed, tempering the impact of a law that’s banned most overseas petroleum shipments for the past four decades. The department widened its definition of what’s traditionally been considered a refined product eligible for shipping to customers abroad. That means more of the oil being pumped from U.S. shale formations may be eligible for export after being run through small-scale processing units. (www.powermag.com)

POWER

July 1, 2014. Toshiba has signed an agreement with GDF SUEZ to boost development of Moorside new nuclear power project on the West Cumbria coast in northwest England. Under the terms of the agreement, Toshiba will acquire a 60% stake while GDF SUEZ own the remaining stake in the UK-based nuclear energy company, NuGeneration (NuGen) which is planning to contract three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in West Cumbria.

The project, which is forecast to create between 14,000 and 21,000 jobs, will deliver around 7% of the UK's future electricity requirements. Scheduled to come online in 2024, the Moorside plant, when fully operational, is expected to have a combined capacity of 3.4 GW, which is sufficient to deliver power to six million homes. (nuclear.energy-business-review.com)

July 1, 2014. Chinese PV manufacturer and the largest PV system integrator, TBEA SunOasis has secured agreements with Tongxin County in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region of China to build two 100 MW PV power plants. The second 100 MW plant was said to have a construction time of three years with a capital cost of around US$161 million. (www.pv-tech.org)

July 1, 2014. Huaneng Group has announced the commercial operation of the Huaneng Nuozhadu Hydropower Station, which has a total installed capacity of 5,850 MW, the fourth largest hydropower station in China and the largest hydropower station in Yunnan Province. The hydropower station has a total reservoir capacity of 23.703 billion m³, equivalent to 16 times the storage capacity of the Dianchi Lake. (hydro.energy-business-review.com)

July 1, 2014. Sunwest Water and Electric Company’s (SUWECO) 8 MW hydropower plant is scheduled to be commissioned in July. SUWECO said that the Villasiga 1 will be ready for commissioning on 5 July but an official inauguration ceremony will be held in August. SUWECO had signed a 20-year power supply agreement in July 2013 with Antique Electric for the output of Villasiga 1. SUWECO, in addition to the 8 MW plant, is planning to develop the 9.4 MW Villasiga 2 within the same area worth about PHP 2000m ($45.7 mn). (hydro.energy-business-review.com)

June 30, 2014. The Russian company Technopromexport, which is part of the Rostec Corporation, has confirmed it is conducting negotiations on the construction of power plants in Iran. The company had negotiated the construction of 5 power plants with Iran’s Ministry of Energy. (en.itar-tass.com)

June 25, 2014. Semirara Mining Corp., the Philippines’ largest coal producer, plans to spend $400 million to boost power plant capacity, forecasting that two-thirds of profit will come from generation in three years. The company may sign a syndicated loan for 70 percent of the cost of the expansion. Fresh supply is being added as the Southeast Asian nation saw power demand rise by 50 percent in the 10 years to 2012, more than three times the 16 percent increase in generation capacity over the same period, according to government data. The expansion will increase the Calaca coal-fired power plant’s capacity by 350 MW to 1,200 MW. (www.bloomberg.com)

Jun 25, 2014. Zimbabwe said it terminated China Machinery and Engineering Co.’s (CMEC) $1.3 billion contract to expand the southern African nation’s biggest power plant after the contractor failed to stick to agreed times. CMEC won the tender to build two 300 MW units at the Hwange facility in 2012. The capacity of the plant, which is run by Zimbabwe Power Co., is 920 MW. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. A Russian group of hackers known as “Energetic Bear” is attacking energy companies in the U.S. and Europe and may be capable of disrupting power supplies, cybersecurity researchers said. The hackers, also called “Dragonfly,” appear to have the resources, size and organization that suggest government involvement, security company Symantec Corp. said. The attackers are targeting grid operators, petroleum pipeline operators, electricity generation firms and other “strategically important” energy companies, it said. Those group’s activities highlight the increasing reach of cyberattacks as ever-larger parts of the economy become connected and controlled via the Web. They may also be symptomatic of governments using hacking to support political strategies. More than half of the infections found were in the U.S. and Spain, Symantec said, while Serbia, Greece, Romania, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Italy and France were also targeted. The hackers, who have been active since at least 2011, appeared to work a standard week, operating 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, in a time zone shared by Russia and other eastern European countries, Symantec said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested more than RON320m (€75 mn) for an 8.6% stake in S.C. Electrica, a Romania-based electricity distribution firm. The bank's move will help finance Electrica's investment strategy to upgrade its infrastructure. The company's network will become more flexible with the help of EBRD's funds as Romania recently had an increase in its variable renewable energy capacity. (utilitiesnetwork.energy-business-review.com)

June 26, 2014. Doble Engineering has secured a contract to help National Grid Saudi Arabia in developing and maintaining an electric power grid. Under the deal, Doble and National Grid Saudi Arabia will work together to carry out an asset health review of about 1000 transmission transformers. (utilitiesnetwork.energy-business-review.com)

July 1, 2014. Jordan has given the green light to a $2.4 bn oil shale-fuelled power plant. Energy and mineral resources minister, Mohammad Hamed said the cabinet has approved the construction of the 470 MW project by Enefit. The plant, which will be set up on a build-own-operate basis, will increase Jordan’s current installed power generation capacity of 3,200 MW by 15%. (www.utilities-me.com)

June 30, 2014. The U.K. government said it will reduce the risk of power blackouts by guaranteeing payment for about 80 percent of peak demand for electricity generation. Generators of power from fuels including gas, nuclear, oil and gas will get the payments in return for ensuring electricity is provided when needed, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said. Contracts will be awarded in so-called capacity market auctions as part of the government’s strategy to prevent blackouts as the U.K. increases reliance on renewables such as solar and wind power, where generation changes with the weather. The gap between supply and peak demand may fall to as low as 2 percent in the 2015-2016 winter from as low as 5 percent now because of power-plant closures, the energy regulator Ofgem said. The U.K. energy department will contract 53.3 GW of power, or about 80 percent of demand, during the first year of operation for its so-called capacity market starting April 2018. Most of that will be offered in December, when contracts for 50.8 GW will be sold. The rest will be offered in 2017. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 28, 2014. Germany is headed for its biggest electricity glut since 2011 as new coal-fired plants start and generation of wind and solar energy increases, weighing on power prices that have already dropped for three years. Utilities from RWE AG to EON SE are poised to bring units online from December that can supply 8.2 million homes, 20 percent of the nation’s total. That will increase spare capacity in Europe’s biggest power market to 17 percent of peak demand, say the four companies that operate the nation’s high-voltage grids. The benchmark German electricity contract has slumped 36 percent since the end of 2010. The new coal plants are starting as Germany aims to almost double renewable-power generation over the next decade. Wind and solar output has priority grid access by law and floods the market on sunny and breezy days, curbing running hours for nuclear, coal and gas plants, and pushing power prices lower. The profit margin for eight utilities in Germany narrowed to 5.4 percent last year from 15 percent a decade ago. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 26, 2014. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) pledged to restart reactors at the world’s largest atomic plant, rejecting a bid by anti-nuclear shareholders to scrap the units over safety concerns after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The company’s annual general meeting voted down motions advanced by Greenpeace and other activist groups holding Tokyo Electric shares to decommission the reactors and to revise the company’s recovery plan to exclude nuclear power. The vote comes as Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, pursues a turnaround strategy that hinges on cutting fossil fuel costs by resuming two units at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in northwest Japan. Nuclear restarts anywhere in Japan are opposed by 59 percent of those who responded to a poll in March. Tepco’s board had recommended shareholders reject the measures, arguing the reactors provide an important source of baseload power without which the company can’t meet customers’ needs. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. India, the world’s second-biggest rice, sugar and cotton grower, recorded the lowest June rainfall since 2009 amid predictions for an El Nino that previously caused droughts and cut crop output, the state forecaster said. The country got 92.4 millimeters (3.6 inches) of rain last month, or 43 percent less than the average between 1951 and 2000, the India Meteorological Department said. The monsoon has made no progress over India’s western and central regions since June 15.

With 90 percent of India getting deficient rains, sowing of crops from rice to corn, soybeans and cotton has been delayed, hampering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to rein in inflation and revive growth from near a decade low. An estimated 833 million people out of the 1.2 billion population depend on agriculture for their livelihood and the sector accounts for 14 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. As countdown for next UN Climate Change conference in Paris has begun, India underscored to the developed world that they should 'walk the talk' by giving finance and transferring green technologies to developing countries. Minister for Environment and Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, after a meeting with visiting Foreign Minister of France Laurent Fabius, said that he conveyed to him that India was playing an active role in reducing emission of green house gases.

During the meeting, the Environment Minister also pointed out to Fabius his suggestion made at the recent Nairobi Conference that the Green Fund of 100 billion dollars should be used for buying IPR of green technologies and then it should be transferred free of cost to developing and poor countries. When asked about France's offer for one billion Line of Credit to India for sustainable development of urban infrastructure, Javadekar said let the details of the offer come, and then we would see what were the conditions, and whether there were any riders, and how it was to be used. (www.newkerala.com)

July 1, 2014. India has opposed US move to junk the Kyoto Protocol and a founding principle of the climate convention common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) at the recently concluded United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. The stern message from India came even as the Barack Obama administration is keen on building strong relations with the Narendra Modi-led government. Nisha Desai Biswal, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia in Obama Administration had come to India soon after Modi took over as Prime Minister on May 26. The diplomatic overtones had no bearing on India’s negotiating priorities on climate change as retaining the principle of CBDR — mandatory global warming causing carbon emission cuts for rich nations and voluntary climate mitigation action for the developing world — in future’s climate treaty is the most important agenda for India. This principle is enunciated through Kyoto Protocol extended till 2020 in Durban two years ago. (www.hindustantimes.com)

July 1, 2014. The blooming of rhododendrons heralds the onset of spring in the Himalayas, but thanks to climate change they are now flowering early in the winter itself, research shows. A study by a group of scientists of the G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora, has generated evidences of changes in flowering phenology of Rhododendron arboreum flower in Uttarakhand. Rhododendron arboreum is a small evergreen tree and is known for the captivating beauty of its deep red or pale pink flowers. Throughout the region, the species commands a high socio-cultural reverence and has been designated as the state tree of Uttarakhand. (www.thehindu.com)

June 30, 2014. India will strengthen its climate change negotiation team and will do "better homework" before discussing with all stakeholders, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said. Fresh from India's "success" at the Nairobi environment conference, Javadekar said the country has decided to "reposition" its role in the global stage on climate change issues by intensely "lobbying" for a "good strategic relationship" with like-minded nations on the matter. He was speaking after leading the Indian delegation in the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) of the United Nations Environment Programme held at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi. He said the 21^st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to be held in Paris in 2015 was "very important" and it is one year window in which the post Kyoto Protocol will be decided. Javadekar said unlike the past UN Climate Conferences, India will organise side events and dinner meetings to highlight the world's largest democracy's role in tackling the Climate Change. (www.newindianexpress.com)

June 30, 2014. The Power Ministry may seek dropping of the proposal to levy anti-dumping duty on imported solar power equipment on the plea that the current manufacturing capacity is not sufficient to meet the requirements of electricity generating firms in the sector.

The Commerce Ministry has recommended levying anti-dumping duty on solar cells imported from the US, Malaysia, China and Chinese Taipei, a move that would provide relief to struggling domestic manufacturers. Power Minister Piyush Goyal said at present, the country has solar power equipment manufacturing capacity of 700-800 MW, which is inadequate in meeting the huge plans that the government has for expanding renewable energy sources. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 29, 2014. With a view to reducing its dependence on conventional sources of energy, Railways is looking to harness solar power in a big way and is likely to include a plan for the same in its upcoming budget.

A blueprint to set up solar grids of photo-voltaic cells for substantive solar power generation is likely to be unveiled by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda in his maiden Rail Budget 2013-14 on July 8 in Parliament. Promotion of non-renewable energy in the Railways is one of the main agendas of the Narendra Modi government and it will be adequately reflected in the first Rail Budget under the present NDA dispensation, Railway Ministry said. Besides giving a major push to solar power projects, the Rail Budget is also likely to spell out its plan for LNG and ethanol-based diesel locomotives as it looks to develop alternative fuel for the national transporter. According to plan, rooftops of railway platforms, buildings, colonies, workshops and barren land will be used for generating solar power across the country. (zeenews.india.com)

June 28, 2014. Emphasising on the need to decarbonise electricity generation, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chairman RK Pachauri termed as a "wasteful approach" by the government to opt for coal-based power projects and pressed for the use of renewable and nuclear energy sources to satisfy the country's power needs.

Noting that major investment and time goes into coal-based energy generation in the country, Pachauri said by that time 300 million people, who are electricity deprived, can be served power using renewable energy sources. He said huge losses are involved in transmission and distribution of electricity generated from coal-based power plants. He said the world emitted around 49 gigatonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent of Green House Gas in 2010 as against 39 gigatonnes in 2000. As per the latest IPCC report, India's high vulnerability and exposure to climate change will slow its economic growth, impact health and development, make poverty reduction more difficult and erode food security. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 27, 2014. A Delhi-based think tank proposed a model to eradicate energy poverty in India and claimed that their model would ensure at least 12 hours of electricity to every household per day especially in the rural areas. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) advocated for a new "mini grids" or renewable based decentralised distributed generation of power model. It said that these projects should be made bankable and investor friendly and provided with performance-based incentives to make them sustainable in the long run. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 26, 2014. Demand for Indian renewable-energy credits rose to a three-month high in June as state utilities sought to comply with clean-energy targets after being slapped with fines. There were 139,184 bids to buy wind, hydropower and biomass credits, the most since March, according to data from trader REConnect Energy Solutions Pvt. The government requires state-run electricity distributors and large industrial companies including Coal India Ltd. and Tata Power Co. to get as much as 10 percent of their energy from renewables. Those unable to get enough locally must purchase credits from clean-power plants sold over power exchanges in monthly trading sessions. www.bloomberg.com)

June 25, 2014. Suzlon Energy Ltd. regained its position as India’s top wind-turbine supplier from Wind World (India) Ltd. as agreements to reschedule its debt allowed it to complete orders in a resurgent market.

The Pune-based company installed 403 MW of turbines out of an industry total of 2,055 MW in the year ended March 31, according to data compiled by the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers’ Association. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 25, 2014. Independent solar power producer Astonfield Renewables and Solesa, an international engineering and project management company, announced a strategic partnership to deliver solar power solutions to industrial businesses with a focus on combating rising energy costs in India. The partnership also announced the commissioning of its first project in Tamil Nadu - a 100 kW ground-mounted solar-diesel hybrid system for Indo Shell Cast. Marketed as Astonfield Solesa Solar, the company will deploy customizable solutions that can save commercial and industrial businesses up to 30-40% on their diesel fuel costs. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

July 1, 2014. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and partners will provide a 6.3 billion yen ($62 million) loan for a biomass plant developed by a unit of First Energy Service Co. A loan agreement for the 18 MW woody-biomass plant in the southwestern prefecture of Oita was signed with a group of banks that included Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Bank, First Energy Service said. Separately, Sumitomo and others will provide a 2.2 billion yen loan for a woody biomass plant in northern Japan being developed by a unit of Fujikoh Co. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and two other banks will also join, Sumitomo and Fujikoh said. Japan saw a spike in the number of applications for biomass projects in March. The trade ministry approved projects with a combined capacity of 691 MW in a one-month period, adding to the 874 MW of capacity that had been approved since the introduction of an incentive program in July 2012. (www.bloomberg.com)

July 1, 2014. Renewable energy may reap as much as two-thirds of the $7.7 trillion in investment forecast for building new power plants by 2030 as declining costs make it more competitive with fossil fuels. About half of the investment will be in Asia, the region where power capacity will grow the most, according to the forecasts in a report released. That will help global carbon dioxide emissions peak by the end of the next decade the London-based researcher said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s biggest wind-turbine maker, won orders totaling 450 MW from Electricite de France SA’s renewable unit to supply two U.S. wind farms. Vestas will deliver 225 machines to EDF Renewable Energy’s Roosevelt project in New Mexico and its Slate Creek farm in Kansas, according to the Aarhus, Denmark-based manufacturer.

Both wind farms are scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015, Vestas said. Its factories in Colorado will be involved in manufacturing key components, including the nacelles, blades and towers, it said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 30, 2014. The market for servicing wind turbines will almost double by 2020 as capacity grows, the Danish advisory firm Make Consulting said. Annual revenues from monitoring and repairing wind turbines may surge to more than $13 billion in 2020 from $7.1 billion last year, Aarhus, Denmark-based Make said. It projected that 300 GW of capacity will be installed through 2020, doubling current generating capacity and boosting the needs for maintenance. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 29, 2014. China is turning to aerial drones to monitor pollution, with its biggest mission to date finding illegal emissions by some of the largest industrial companies in the country’s northern provinces. A unit of Hebei Iron & Steel Group, China’s No. 1 steelmaker, Shanxi Huaze Aluminum & Power Co., and Inner Mongolia Yihua Chemical Co. were found to have “serious environmental problems,” the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. Data gathered by the drones indicate a quarter of the 254 businesses targeted may be involved in illegal practices, it said. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 27, 2014. Europe could coax utilities to shift from burning coal to cleaner natural gas by quadrupling the price that financial markets place on carbon dioxide emissions, the head of Spain’s biggest power generator said. Ignacio Galan, chairman and chief executive officer of Iberdrola SA, said European Union leaders should take steps to boost prices in the EU Emissions Trading System in addition to setting a target to reduce pollution by 40 percent by 2030. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 27, 2014. Indonesia needs about $5 billion in aid to hit its target for reducing emissions, according to the agency set up to protect rainforests and peatlands. Norway’s commitment of $1 billion in 2010 is just the beginning of what is needed in Indonesia, ranked as the world’s third-largest emitter because of its shrinking forests, said Heru Prasetyo, head of the agency for Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation, known as REDD+. Indonesia’s target is to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 26 percent using its own funds or as much as 41 percent with international aid. That compares with projected emissions of 2.95 giga tons by 2020 if the nation takes no action. The nation started dozens of demonstration projects for REDD, a program sponsored by the United Nations to measure the climate benefits of slowing deforestation and awarding credits based on each ton of emissions prevented by saving forests or peatlands. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 27, 2014. The U.K.’s National Audit Office (NAO) said it’s “not convinced” the government decision to award 16.6 billion pounds ($28 billion) of contracts to eight clean-energy projects is worth the risk to taxpayers. The Department of Energy & Climate Change’s contracts with five offshore wind farms, two coal-to-biomass plants and a biomass heat and power plant may be needlessly generous to developers, according to a report from the NAO, which scrutinizes state spending on behalf of Parliament. The beneficiaries include Drax Group Plc, Dong Energy A/S, SSE Plc, Statoil ASA and Statkraft AS. The projects may produce as much as 5 percent of the U.K. total power demand in 2020. The government estimates it needs to get about 30 percent of power from renewables to meet a European Union target of deriving 15 percent of all energy from clean sources by then. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 26, 2014. The European Union’s regulatory arm is considering proposing a 2030 energy-savings target of 27 percent to 30 percent, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. The final number hasn’t been decided yet and is subject to discussions in the European Commission, according to the people, who asked not to be identified, citing policy. The energy-efficiency plan would become the third pillar of the EU’s energy and climate strategy for the next decade, which European leaders aim to agree upon in October. The commission in January proposed that the 28-nation bloc adopt a binding goal to cut greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2030, accelerating the pace of emissions reduction from 20 percent in 2020 compared with 1990 levels. It also recommended an EU-wide target to boost the share of renewables in energy consumption to 27 percent. (www.bloomberg.com)

June 25, 2014. The US has launched a new large scale off-grid clean energy initiative with India to bring clean energy to the country and help it deploy "advanced space cooling technology". The initiative is a part of Obama administration's effort to engage major economies on climate change, the White House said.

The White House said the initiative with India is to help bring clean energy to those under-served by the electricity grid, as well as an initiative to help India deploy advanced space cooling technology. The Obama Administration has also launched climate change initiatives with several other major economies. It is working closely with China towards an ambitious and inclusive 2015 global climate agreement and the two countries agreed on new cooperative measures on heavy-duty vehicle pollution and fossil fuel subsidy peer review during Vice President's visit to Beijing in December 2013. The White House said the US was committed to strong common-sense standards for fuel quality, emissions, and efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)

June 25, 2014. The U.S. economy faces losses that may run into the hundreds of billions of dollars this century as the changing climate erodes coasts and threatens agriculture, according to a report by a bipartisan group of political and financial leaders. The report from the Risky Business Project urges businesses and industrial companies to curb carbon emissions in an effort to slow global warming. The initiative was spearheaded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and billionaire investor Tom Steyer. The group’s findings echo those of scientists, the United Nations and environmental groups, which have been issuing similar warnings with increasing urgency. Those warnings sometimes fall on deaf ears in Washington, where a significant number of elected leaders dispute the notion that the planet is warming. (www.bloomberg.com)

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