2 March 2010

I am delighted to note that the Indian Express Limited is bringing out a special edition

on the power sector in the country. The Indian Power sector is indeed worth telling

considering its immense potential, its geographic vastness and the wide demand.

As the development of Indias Power Sector is vital for the countrys sustained and

inclusive growth, the Government of India has embarked on an ambitious program to

provide power to all by 2012. It plans to increase generation capacity from the present

155 GW to over 200 GW by the end of XI Plan, including through mobilization of private

sector investment to the maximum extent possible. Cleaner energy sources hydro,

nuclear, solar, wind and biomass are also being developed.

Understanding the immense potential of power and its criticality in the coming years

for the country, I am glad to note that The Indian Express Limited initiated the annual

handbook titled Energising India, three years back.

It is indeed heartening that the newspaper is trying to create awareness about the

sector, the Governments initiatives and plans as well as analyzing the ambition set by

the Government.

It is indeed a commendable endeavour by the Group, which is known for its path

breaking initiatives.

I wish the Group all the best in its efforts and future endeavours.

Sushilkumar Shinde

Sushilkumar Shinde,

Minister of Power,

Government of India

Message

3 March 2010

Biju Mathews

General Manager

The Indian Express Limited

The Ministry of Power has set a goal - Mission 2012: Power for All. A compre-

hensive Blueprint for Power Sector development has been prepared encompassing

an integrated strategy for the sector development with objectives of sufficient

power to achieve GDP growth rate of over 8%, quality power, optimum power cost,

commercial viability of power industry and Power for all.

But the all India installed capacity of power stations located in the regions of

mainland and islands as on 31st December 2009 is only 1,56,092.23 MW, which in

itself is way below the demand. According to the governments safe mission of

Power for all, the target is to achieve an installed generation capacity of at least 2,

00,000 MW by 2012. But then in literal terms it does not even come close to Power

for all.

India does not have even one state which is currently power surplus. There is a

lot more to be done. To have an installed capacity that meets the requirement in

every nook and cranny of the country is the first challenge. The other challenge is to

be able to supply this power to the entire country which needs an expansion of the

regional transmission network and inter regional capacity to transmit power. The

latter is required because resources are unevenly distributed in the country and

power needs to be carried great distances to areas where load centers exist.

In the future, on a broader scale, the entire gamut of energy will be a global

industry, vital to economic development having strong political and social implica-

tions. The strong correlation between economic growth, welfare and energy use

means that future demand levels, security of supply, energy mixes, production levels

and general market dynamics will increasingly move to the fore as key issues.

In this edition of Energising India, we present a report on the Power for all

agenda of the government and the countrys preparedness to meet the same. We

have also covered the critical aspect of Rural electrification as well and the way it is

facing huge hurdles but is still flickering with hope of better times.

We have also presented Generation Giants of the country in terms of installed

capacity where we have featured top states, region-wise. The statistics from the

Central Electricity Authority clearly indicate the situation of power in the country.

We hope that with this edition of Energising India, in its third year; will again

give you a better understanding of the power situation of the country and the

challenges which it faces in the near future.

POWER FAR FROM ALL?

Power for All by 2012.

Are We Prepared?.....................6

Meeting the Vision of Power for

All by 2012............................12

Rural Electrification: Challenges

Galore, Hope Lives...................18

PowerGrid.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 JSW... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Websol.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

WinWind... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Sujana.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

NEEPCO... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 HPCL ......................................56 Generation Giants of

India.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Chairman of the Board : Viveck Goenka, Vice President & Head, B P D : Sandeep Khosla, General Manager : Biju Mathews,Chief Managers : Anthony Daniel, Y. S. Venkat Swamy, Managers : L. Francis Farias, A.K. Shukla, Dy. Manager : Vijay Kulkarni,

Editorial: Chief of Bureau : Vyas Sivanand, Reporters : Amguth Raju, Amal Tewari,Design & Layout : N. Prasad, Production & Circulation : M.E.A. Mujahid, Photographer : M. Vidya Sagar Rao,

Support & Co-ordination : M. Narender, B. Naresh, IT Support : M. Hemant Kumar, R. Suman Kumar

Copyright : The Indian Express Limited.All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission, is prohibited.

Articles by contributors are solely the authors views. They do not reflect the publications views.All correspondence should be sent to : The Indian Express Limited, Business Publications Division, 6-3-885/7/B, Ground Floor, V.V. Mansion, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-82

Tel: 23418672, 23418673/674, 679 to 680, 66631457 Tele Fax : 23418675 / 681 E-mail : bpd.hyd@expressindia.com Website : www.expressindia.com

AP Transco..........................37

6 March 2010

POWER FOR ALL BY 2012

ARE WE PREPARED?

Over the decades, the Five Year Plan of the Indian Government has been theblueprint of growth and development across all sectors of the Indian economy. Butno other sector has received as much importance and investment as the powersector has. Now with the implementation of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012),the governments power ministry has proposed a highly ambitious agenda ofPower for All by 2012. Many schemes, programmes and projects have beenintroduced and implemented to make this dream a reality, but with just two moreyears to go in the 11th Plan, just how prepared is the power ministry in achievingthis daunting task? We analyse the progress made thus far.

7 March 2010

Economic development and

improvement in the quality of

living of any country require Power

supply as one of the foundations. With

the ambitious agenda of Power for All

2012 set by the Indian Power Ministry,

the nation is expecting the power sector

to provide the citizens with uninter-

rupted quality power supply and offer

basic electricity services to all. To live up

to these expectations, the power sector

needs to incorporate optimal utilisation

of energy resources by implementing

efficient technologies in generating,

transmitting and distributing power.

Though there has been improvement

in the power sector, the growth in

demand for electricity has surpassed the

generation of electricity, resulting in the

continued shortage of power. In the 11th

Five Year Plan (2007-2012) a capacity

addition target of 78,700 MW has been

proposed to meet the present shortages

and the growing demand in the country.

Capacity addition projects of around

12,000 MW have already been commis-

sioned and projects totalling 66,000 MW

are under different stages of execution.

This Five Year Plan is also seeing growth

in the involvement of the private sector;

from less than 2,000 MW capacity added

in the private sector in the 10th Plan,

more than 20,000 MW of capacity

addition in the private sector is under

execution in the 11th Plan.

The Power Ministry has also taken up

the task of setting up many Ultra Mega

Power Projects (UMPPs) of 4,000 MW

each. Programmes have been imple-

mented to augment inter-regional

transfer capacity from 18650 MW to over

38000 MW by the end of 2011-12; though

it is required to step up the transfer of

power from surplus to deficit regions.

The Government also formulated

schemes for the renovation and

modernisation of existing Power Plants

for efficient power generation and

transmission - a restructured Acceler-

ated Power Development and Reforms

Programme had been undertaken for

bringing down the aggregate technical

and commercial losses of transmission

and distribution utilities below 15

percent. In addition, various energy

efficiency and conservation measures

have been initiated such as the Energy

Conservation Building Code and Bachat

Lamp Yojana.

The Power for All Agenda

Unfortunately, that is all that can

really be said about the Power Ministrys

endeavours to provide Power for All by

2012. This agenda set by the ministry

was meant to be a comprehensive

blueprint for Power Sector development,

prepared encompassing an integrated

strategy for the sector development. The

government was aiming to generate

sufficient power to achieve GDP growth

rate of 8%, while supplying reliable and

quality power at optimum costs, to make

the power industry commercially viable

and provide Power for All.

To achieve these aforementioned

objectives, the Power Ministry had

planned the following strategically

layered approach:

Power Generation Strategy with focuson low cost generation, optimisation of

capacity utilisation, controlling the

input cost, optimisation of fuel mix,

technology up-gradation and

utilisation of non conventional energy

sources

Transmission Strategy with focus ondevelopment of National Grid including

Interstate connections, Technology up-

Though there has been improve-

ment, the growth in demand for

electricity has surpassed the

generation of electricity, resulting

in the continued shortage of

power. In the 11th Plan a capac-

ity addition target of 78,700 MW

has been proposed to meet the

present shortages and the

growing demand in the country.

8 March 2010

gradation & optimisation of transmis-

sion cost

Distribution Strategy to achieveDistribution Reforms with focus on

System up-gradation, loss reduction,

theft control, consumer service

orientation, quality power supply

commercialisation, decentralized

distributed generation and supply for

rural areas

Regulation Strategy aimed atprotecting Consumer interests and

making the sector commercially viable

Financing Strategy to generateresources for required growth of the

power sector

Conservation Strategy to optimise theutilisation of electricity with focus on

Demand Side management, Load

management and Technology up-

gradation to provide energy efficient

equipment

Communication Strategy for politicalconsensus with media support to

enhance the general public awareness

The hope was that over the 11th Plan

(ending 2011-12), India would be

successful in adding 78,000 MW of

capacity and the 12th Plan (2012-17)

was targeting capacity additions of

another 100,000 MW. Although the

country hopes to achieve 78,000 MW in

new generation capacity in the five years

ending 2012, the speed with which

things are moving now make this target

look unattainable.

The country was producing an

estimated 1,55,900 MW of power by the

end of 2009, but the real picture of

lagging capacity addition comes into play

when the performance of the previous

year is highlighted; the power sector was

to add around 11,000 MW in the fiscal

year 2009, but it managed to add only

3,500 MW.

The government has time and again

said it would be able to add about

68,000-70,000 MW during the current

plan period and has also tried reassuring

that with some effort, the goal of 78,000

MW can be achieved. And even though

the Power Ministry has now set a target

of adding 13,000 MW of electricity

annually for the next three years, it

appears to be a tall order given the slow

movement of the new projects.

Private Sector Support

Though the government has

managed to award four 4,000 MW Ultra

Mega Power Projects to private develop-

ers, none of these are actually part of the

11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12). Ironically,

work on these UMPPs is progressing well

enough to actually get completed ahead

of schedule; and fortunately for the

Power Sector, these UMPPs might be

able to provide some needed capacity

addition for the 11th Plan.

The construction work on two of the

UMPPs so far awarded has begun.

Reliance Power which won three of the

projects has commenced work on Sasan

UMPP in Madhya Pradesh and Tata

Power is executing the Mundra project in

Gujarat - this project is likely to be

completed in 2012, two years ahead of

its deadline.

Tata Powers 4,000 MW ultra mega

power project coming up at Mundra is

hopeful of starting generation by 2012,

two years ahead of schedule. According

to the bidding requirements, the

projects first unit was to go on-stream in

2014. For the first 800 MW unit, 83 per

cent of the work for raising the structure

for boiler and turbine as well as the deck

for turbines and generators has been

completed. In case of the second unit, 78

per cent of the work for boilers is

complete and work on three other units

is progressing. A new coal jetty, 400 KV

evacuation lines and construction works

for coal and ash handling are also

progressing.

9 March 2010

Apart from Mundra - the Rs.17,000

crore project that will supply Gujarat

1,805 MW, Maharashtra 760 MW, Punjab

475 MW, Haryana 380 MW and

Rajasthan 380 MW of power, Tata Power

is also developing 5,170 MW thermal

projects and 98 MW wind energy

projects. Currently, Tata Power has 2,786

MW installed capacity.

The 4,000 MW Sasan UMPP,

developed by Reliance Power, is also set

to be commissioned ahead of schedule.

The commissioning of its first unit was

advanced by 16 months to December

2011, as against the original date of May

2013. The second unit will come after

three months in March 2012. Main plant

construction activities are in full swing

and significant progress has been made

on coal mine development. The govern-

ment plans to award eight or nine UMPPs

in all, of which Reliance Power is

executing Sasan, Krishnapatanam and

Tilaya projects.

Governments Financial

Predicament

To add on to the already existing

burden of slack capacity additions, the

government admitted that the countrys

power sector is suffering from a shortfall

in investment of more than Rs.5 lakh

crore. In the current scenario, when

India requires a multi-fold increase in

electricity generation capacity to sustain

the hoped 8 per cent Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) annual growth rate over

the next two decades, the insufficiency in

investments becomes a major roadblock

in the power sectors path to Power for

All.

At the recently held annual power

sector conference - India Electricity

2009, Bharat Singh Solanki Union

Minister for Power had revealed this

major financial deficit. As per latest

estimates, this is the gap in financing of

capacity addition projects, he said.

Solanki added that timely achieve-

ment of financial closure for projects

requires increasing the exposure limit of

banks, Foreign Institutional Investors

and Non-Banking Finance Companies and

said, The limit should be increased from

20 per cent to 30 per cent for individual

borrowers and from 50 per cent to 70 per

cent for group borrowers.

The minister also suggested bringing

the external commercial borrowing by

financial institutions like Power Finance

Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrifica-

tion Corporation (REC) under the

automatic route.

To add to the disappointments, the

government also made it clear that only

78 per cent of the 11th Plan periods

capacity addition target of 78,700 MW

will be possible.

We are optimistic that we will be

adding 62,000 MW in this plan, said

Union Power Secretary Hari Shankar

Brahma, also present at India Electricity

2009. So far, only around 17,000 MW of

the target has been met in the current

Plan period, which ends in March 2012.

Challenges to Meet

The challenges being faced by the

power sector are huge both in terms of

numbers and magnitude. By 2012, the

Power for All agenda of the government

envisages an installed capacity of nearly

200,000 MW, which still seems like a

Herculean task judging by the pace of

infrastructure development and second

generation reforms.

Though the government has

managed to award four 4,000

MW Ultra Mega Power Projects to

private developers, none of these

are actually part of the 11th Plan.

Ironically, work on these UMPPs

is progressing well enough to

actually get completed ahead of

schedule enabling some added

relief to capacity.

10 March 2010

For increasing the availability of

electricity, India has adopted a blend of

thermal, hydro and nuclear power

sources.

Out of these, coal based thermal

power plants and in some regions,

hydropower plants, have been the

mainstay of electricity generation.

Oil, natural gas and nuclear power

account for a small proportion. In recent

times, the emphasis is also being laid on

non-conventional energy sources - solar,

wind and tidal; but the progress on non-

conventional sources of energy is very

small.

Overall, the country faces many

challenges, which have existed over

decades, in setting up a reliable and

efficient power network. The main

challenges for the power sector in

meeting its promise are:

Insufficient power generation capacity

Lack of optimum utilisation of existinggeneration capacity

Inadequate inter-regional transmis-sion links

Defective and ageing sub-transmis-sion and distribution network

Transmission & Distribution losses

Large scale electricity theft anddistorted tariff structure

Lagging pace of rural electrification

Inefficient use of electricity by the endconsumer

S.S. Rao, Joint MD & CEO of JSW

Energy Ltd, opined The Governments

target of Power for All by the year 2012

can be achieved provided following are

adequately planned and ensured -

availability of fuel specially coal and gas;

implementation of all provisions of

Electricity Act 2003; open access for

uninterrupted sale of power from surplus

states to deficit states; upfront imple-

mentation of national grid matching with

the generation capacity; and

privatisation of distribution.

Slack capacity addition continues to

be a serious worry as it results in

jeopardising infrastructure development

as well as economic growth.

Thermal energy being the mainstay

of the power sector, the biggest

drawback against achieving targeted

capacity additions is the lack of availabil-

ity of coal for large thermal power plants.

Given the existing deficit in coal, public

sector companies such as NTPC Ltd are

importing it through high expenses.

Other obstacles include defaults by

customers, the electricity boards and the

mounting pressure on thermal power

projects due to carbon emissions.

Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of

the Bureau of Energy Efficiency stated,

The primary challenges being faced by

Indias energy sector are coal depletion

and pollution; oil consumption and rising

oil imports; demands for natural gas and

foreign dependency; very limited access

to nuclear energy; and inefficient electric

systems resulting in at least 30 percent

loss of power.

Due to these existing challenges

there has been continuous underachiev-

ing of targets through the previous Five

Year Plans and capacity addition has not

been able to keep pace with the growing

demand. This is the reason why the

country faces such a severe power

shortage today.

The Eleventh and Twelfth Plans seem

to try to make up the shortfall to a

certain extent, but the country is still far

from becoming an energy surplus nation.

11 March 2010

12 March 2010

MEETING THE VISION OF

POWER FOR ALL BY 2012

Power is a critical infrastructure in todays time and over the past few years, the Govern-ment of India has strived hard to meet the demand for this basic requirement of itspeople. Post the Electricity Act, 2003, which provided an enabling framework for accel-erated and more efficient development of the sector significant reforms have beenwitnessed till date. Section 3(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, required the Central Govern-ment to formulate the National Electricity Policy (NEP), in consultation with other stake-holders. Accordingly, the NEP was released in February 2005, and aimed at providingpower for all by 2012 an ambitious target given the state of the sector and the utilitiesoperating at that time. Today, after years of reforms in the power sector the country isstill far behind its ambitious goals with over 1 lakh villages (Progress report on VillageElectrification as on 30-06-2009, Ministry of Power website) still not having electricityconnection and the peak load deficit at 13,124 MW (on an all India basis for FY 2008-09 CEA Report, Power Scenario at a Glance, July 2009). Thus, this is the time to analysethe key issues and the measures and steps required so as to achieve the vision of Powerfor All by 2012.

Enabling Speedy Capacity Addition in Power Sector .A report by KPMG in India and CII.

13 March 2010

Key current and potential future

issues/ bottlenecks of the

various segments of the sector

have been identified and analysed below.

Generation

Peak load capacity deficit

The energy and peak power deficit in

the country has been estimated at close

to eleven percent and fourteen percent

respectively, with Northern and Western

Regions witnessing even higher deficits.

Inability to meet peak-load demand

has led to prolonged hours of load-

shedding faced by the consumers and

procurement of power from short-term

markets at very high rates (nearly INR 7

[As per CERC, weighted average price of

short-term transaction of electricity was

7.31 in FY 2008-09] per Kwh) by the

utilities during these periods. The

government focus on additional genera-

tion capacity development has resulted

in many private players setting up base

power plants indicating essentially the

persistence of peak load deficit going

forward.

As per KPMG in Indias analysis

related to projection of generation

capacity addition under various scenarios

and considering 16th EPS figures for

energy and peak demand, it is antici-

pated that while the off-peak deficit

situation is expected to ease to a fair

extent and could potentially even

become supply adequate; peak deficits

may continue going forward. This

analysis essentially highlights the need

for adequate focus on peaking capacity

creation and promotion of optimal mix of

generation capacity between base-load

and peaking plants including a favorable

hydro-thermal plant mix.

Some of the key areas requir-

ing focus for promotion of hydro-

power generation are:

Different states follow differentcriteria (Various parameters such as

upfront equity, share of free power,

cash-less equity stake in the project,

competitive bidding are key criteria for

award of hydro power) to award hydro

projects adding to confusion and delay

in hydro capacity development. Hence,

a transparent national level guideline/

policy is required for uniformity in

awarding of hydro power generation

projects.

Land acquisition has been one of thekey bottlenecks in the development of

power projects. State Governments

need to develop equitable Rehabilita-

tion & Resettlement (R&R) policy and

provide support for transparent

implementation of the R&R package.

Normally it takes 1 1.5 years tosecure the environment and forest

clearance for the project, hence

definite time-lines need to be specified

for providing different clearances from

State and Central Government

departments.

State and Central Government needto focus on development of integrated

organized database of geological

information of different prospective

hydro power generation sites. It

should help reduce the chances of

geological surprises and time period

for project development.

As hydro power generation projectsusually have large development period

and take 4-7 years of construction

period, there is a need for develop-

ment of debt market enabling lending

for long-term generation projects. It

should promote more investments into

hydro power generation.

Equipment supply

According to the CEA data (CEA

website; www.cea.nic.in; Project

Monitoring section), against the target of

78,700 MW, only 12,717 MW has been

commissioned in the XIth plan period (FY

2008-12 - Thermal: 8105 MW; Hydro:

3393 MW and Nuclear: 220 MW; Source:

CEA) so far. One of the key reasons for

delay is due to longer delivery time of

plant equipments by the suppliers. As

per CEA (CEA website; www.cea.nic.in;

Project Monitoring section), of the 67,

293 MW generation capacity under

Region Energy (MU) Deficit (%) Peak Deficit (%)

Requirement Demand (MW)

Northern 24,369 -13.6 35,932 -15.7

Western 20,990 -12.6 35,503 -19.6

Southern 18,465 -6.4 28,387 -8.4

Eastern 8,091 -6.5 12,829 -7.0

North Eastern 844 -12.9 1,760 -22.2

72,759 -10.7 114,412 -14.2

Source: CEA Generation Monthly Report, Aug 2009

14 March 2010

construction; EPC and BoP related factors

accounted for majority of delay in project

implementation. BHEL, key supplier of

power equipments in the domestic

market, has capacity to produce only

10,000 MW each year (Though it is

planning to ramp its capacity to 15,000

MW by end of 2009 BHEL financial

statement for FY 08-09). The company

order-book to turnover ratio of greater

than 4 for FY 2008-09 indicates long time

period for delivery of generation plant

equipment by this supplier.

Many private players have also

entered into equipment manufacturing

space in joint ventures with foreign

players for technology inputs. Such

capacity addition needs to be encour-

aged through favorable policies to meet

the growing demand from the power

sector.

Apart from costs (As per KPMG in

Indias analysis Chinese equipment

supplies are 10-20 percent cheaper than

Indian Manufacturers), the time-frame

for additional manufacturing capacity

commissioning and impending huge

order book size are some of the key

reasons for various project developers to

look at import of equipments from

countries such as China, Korea etc. Of

forty-three supercritical units bought by

Indian companies so far, orders for only

four have been placed with Indian

companies.

Chinese companies have bagged

orders for twenty six boilerturbine

generation sets (BTG). Koreans managed

eight, while three went to Russian

companies and two to Italian firms

(Internet search from financial chronicle

news article). However, there have been

some concerns raised relating to

suitability of these equipments in the

Indian environment. Generation project

developers need to identify the equip-

ment supplier considering not only the

competitiveness of the price offered but

also the reliability of delivery and quality

assurance of the equipments supplied.

Additionally, developers need to set-

up formal teams for identifying in

advance any likely delays in the supply of

the main and BoP plant equipments from

the equipment supplier(s) and initiating

appropriate mitigation mechanisms for

the same.

Issues in fuel supply

Transparent and speedy process forcoal allocation

The Ministry of Power (MoP) in order

to facilitate capacity addition through

Merchant Power Plants (MPPs), has been

coordinating with the Ministry of Coal to

identify coal linkages (for 1000 MW

plant) and coal blocks (for 500 - 1000

MW plant) for allotment to such plants

(Ministry of Power website; R.V. Shahi

paper on Indias strategy toward energy

development and energy security).

However, the framework for such fuel

allocation is yet to be notified and this

uncertainty is causing delays in plans for

new capacities.

Improvement in mining efficiency

The demand for coal has been

increasing at the rate of 8-9 percent per

year (Infrastructure Today magazine,

August 2009) while Coal India limited

production has grown at the CAGR of 5.7

percent over the last 5 years (Coal India

Limited website). In order to increase its

production, Coal India should need to

invest in new technologies (for both

under-ground and open cast mining),

process improvements for planning and

execution of projects, and institutionalize

a comprehensive risk management

framework with a plan to match

international productivity levels. As a

step in that direction CIL should look at

technology transfer arrangements

through mechanisms such as joint

ventures with technically advanced

mining players for coal mining. The

organization should also encourage

competition among its various subsidiar-

ies for efficient production and provide

Maximum Inter Regional Transmission Requirement (2014-15)

Reg ion Requirement Scenario

Northern 13500 Import Winter peak

Western 11000 Import Summer peak

Southern 4000 Import Winter/Summer peak

Eastern 25000 Export Winter peak

(23000 MW - Own Gen.

+ 2000 from NER

North-eastern 4000 Export Monsoon peak

Source: CEA website

15 March 2010

them support for introduction of newer

technologies.

Fuel transportation

The failure of transportation

infrastructure to keep pace with growth

in coal production has been causing

problems in timely supply of coal to

generating stations. According to the

internal assessment by Coal India

Limited, lack of freight corridors and

feeder routes has hindered transport

logistics (Business Standard article Coal

India blames infrastructure for supply

problems January 2008). Delays are

created because freight trains get a

lower priority than passenger trains.

Additionally, supply of coal during the

fair-weather period of November to

March to power stations has been a

problem as railway wagons during this

period were mostly used to ship fertiliser

for Kharif and Rabi crops. Since last

couple of years, substantial generation

capacity has been planned based on

imported coal hence transportation

infrastructure for the same needs to be

developed in a timely manner.

In order to increase freight capacity

from the coal-producing regions (central

and eastern India) to the demand

centers in the northern and central parts

of the country, it is necessary that Indian

Railways augment capacity. Special

freight corridors are required to enhance

speeds, cut costs, and increase the

systems reliability. In order to cater to

prospective increasing supply of

imported coal, State and Central

Governments need to work together to

identify potential projects for green-field

and brown field port capacity develop-

ment including the evacuation infrastruc-

ture at key locations along the eastern

and western coasts.

Transmission

Uncertainties in availability of

transmission system capacities had been

a concern for some of the Merchant

Power Plants who are not sure of their

customers. Significant portion of new

capacity is coming in the coal belt states

while the demand centers are in the

Northern and Western regions of the

country.

According to the PGCIL, planned

incremental inter-regional power

transfer capacity will be 19,000 MW by

2012 (Total inter-regional power transfer

capacity of the PGCIL has gone up to

18,700 MW as on Dec2008 and PGCIL

plans to increase the national grid

capacity to 37,000 MW by end of 11th

plan (Source:www.projectsmonitor.com).

Building this out in a timely manner is

critical for the power market to function

effectively. Till date only two projects

have been awarded to the private

developers (Tala transmission project

was awarded to Tata Power and REL was

selected to execute WRSS project.

Source: Ministry of Power website)

Government of India needs to

continue to take steps to speed up the

process of augmenting the transmission

network in India. The MoP has now

issued draft Standard Bid Documents for

selection of Transmission Service

Provider. The MoP has also notified

Power Finance Corporation and Rural

Electrification Corporation to act as the

Bid Process Coordinators to undertake

bidding for few identified projects.

Project implementation delays

Key milestones like statutory

State Cross-subsidy Sur-

charge

Maharashtra Rs.0.00/kWh

Delhi * Rs.0.00/kWh

Gujarat Rs.0.37/kWh

Source: Open-access orders

of State ERCs. * - Only for

Domestic category consumers

16 March 2010

clearances, land acquisition/Right of

Way, EPC selection & order and project

commissioning of integrated projects

need to be monitored closely at the

centralized level and any bottleneck

should be resolved with active assistance

from central monitoring authority.

Recent reports suggesting Ministry of

Power (MoP) has constituted a group of

ex-Power secretaries to monitor progress

of power projects, is a step in the right

direction.

Use of better technology for efficientproject implementation

Securing Right of way has been a

key issue in transmission project

implementation. Use of better technolo-

gies such as third generation technolo-

gies (FACTSFlexible AC Transmission

Systems) and new conductor technolo-

gies can help in achieving higher power

transfer capabilities across the same

Rights of Way (RoW). These technologies

should be seriously explored by Indian

power Transmission companies.

Distribution

Open-access as an enabler for ca-pacity creation

Open Access implies that a buyer can

choose his own supplier and vice versa

and the buyers and suppliers would be

entitled to the non-discriminatory use of

transmission lines or distribution system

for transferring power from generation to

consumption points. Freedom and ease

of getting open access down to the retail

consumer level is a significant step

towards moving to a fully competitive

power market and this is expected to

ultimately facilitate generation capacity

addition. Today, merchant power

developers have to depend largely on

tenders issued by state utilities through

the Case 1 route to tie up capacities

through long-term contracts. This is

essential for them to get comfort of

minimum off-take and achieve financial

closure.

However, if the retail segment were

to open up, then access to large

customers would have provided an

alternate option for tie-up on medium to

long-term basis.

Merchant developers could then be

proactive in identifying buyers to make

their projects viable rather than wait for

tenders to be floated and procurement

processes to be completed for setting up

power projects. This may speed up

capacity addition.

Most of the SERCs had fixed a

timeline of end 2008 for opening up the

distribution open access for consumers

with connected load of less than 1 MW.

Further, taking cues from the National

Tariff Policy, a few state regulators have

passed orders for reduction of cross-

subsidy surcharge in the recent past.

This is expected to promote open access

as reduction in cross-subsidies will help

maintain the attractiveness of a cheaper

power source.

Few regulators like the Maharashtra

State Electricity Regulatory Commission

have kept a zero level of cross-subsidy

surcharge (Maharashtra Electricity

Regulatory Commission website; Open-

Access Tariff Order) so as to promote

competition. While the retail market

represents a miniscule proportion of the

power market currently, this is expected

to increase going forward. As the

demand-supply gap begins to narrow

down, competitive advantage may begin

to shift towards access to customers. In

some states, this is likely to happen

sooner. Generators and power players

may do well through active planning to

develop their capabilities and strength-

ening their presence in this area as the

retail supply segment begins to open up.

Once we overcome the supply deficit

and retail competition establishes in its

true sense; i.e. freedom of choice,

availability of products and information

symmetry among consumers; the

inflection point is expected to be

reached.

A well functioning power market can

also go a long way in helping ensure that

the prolonged history of power deficit in

the country will not repeat itself in

future. Progress in open-access imple-

mentation is expected to boost invest-

ment in generation, transmission and

distribution capacity development.

Following initiatives/ focus

areas may assist de-bottleneck

open-access progress:

Implementation level initiatives:

Delay in decision with respect toopen-access application: There have

been numerous instances of STU/

Distribution utilities taking inordinate

time in according approval or rejection

to the applications received for open-

access. Absence of accountability

being fixed by the regulator and strict

compliance of the same allows

concerned authorities to delay open-

access implementation.

Notification of Intra-state ABT bystate regulators: Intra-state ABT helps

ensure efficient energy balancing and

settlement mechanism necessary to

facilitate open access transactions. As

per the compilation made by the

Forum of Regulators (FoR), only 8

states have notified intra-state ABT

17 March 2010

(Forum of Regulators Status Report

on Issues Pertaining To Tariff Policy,

2007-08). Lack of credible balancing

and settlement mechanism at the

state level acts as a bottleneck for

implementation of open-access.

Availability of sufficient transmissioncapacity: The peak demand (in MW) is

expected to reach a level of 1,52,746

MW by 2011-12 (www.cea.nic.in;

Demand as per 17th EPS) from the

current level of 1,09,809 MW at the

end of FY 2008-09. Given that open

access is critically dependent on the

availability of transmission capacity

both inter-region and within region,

Central and State Governments need

to plan and implement required

transmission capacity addition in a

timely manner.

Enhance planning and contractingefficiencies

Efficiency in planning is at the core of

a successful timely and cost-effective

infrastructure build-out. Planning has

various elements to it:

Designing of the right technicalsolution

The optimal phasing and roll-out ofthe infrastructure plan and

Choice of the right execution methods

Unfortunately, there seems to be a

serious lack of focus on this area among

the utilities, if one goes by the extent

and level of resources assigned to this

important task. Clearly, the need of the

hour is to give this activity the highest

focus. It would be worthwhile to

remember that over 80 percent of the

power infrastructure that will exist

twenty years hence is yet to be built and

efficient planning today will help us

achieve that in an efficient way (KPMG in

Indias Power Summit 2009: Meeting the

Goal of Power for All)

State utilities will do well to have a

state level agency dedicated with the

task of holistic planning at the state

level.

This should include planning related

to fuel mix, generation location,

transmission system and even choice of

technology related to these areas. Also,

important is to bring the element of

environmental sustainability as an

integral part of the planning process.

A well functioning power market

can also go a long way in helping

ensure that the prolonged history

of power deficit in the country will

not repeat itself in future.

Progress in open-access imple-

mentation is expected to boost

investment in generation, trans-

mission and distribution capacity

development.

Such an agency will also look at how

the projects could be executed in the

most efficient manner whether through

private participation route or state utility

route.

This would mean building significant

capability within the designated agency

to carry out this task. Adequate

resourcing, imparting the right skills and

setting up the planning processes for

such an agency are necessary. The role

of STU may be enhanced to play this

important role.

The other significant bottleneck is

the time taken to tender and award

contracts. This applies both for projects

to be executed through the PPP route or

self developed projects by the utilities.

A clear strategy to improve efficiency

of the tendering and contracting process

is urgently required. Utilities will do well

to apply their attention to this important

area and look at innovations and

procedures to expedite this.

18 March 2010

CHALLENGES GALORE,

BUT HOPE LIVES ON

Rural electrification is an integral component of poverty alleviation and rural growthof a nation. A developing nation like India has 72.2 percent people living in ruralareas. Still, electricity has not played an effective role in the socioeconomic growthof villages. Worldwide more than 3.6 billion people do not have access to electricity,of which 83 % live in rural areas. In India, over 63 percent of rural households in thecountry are still lurking in darkness having no access to basic electric power. Thereis a shortfall of about 15-20,000 MW of electricity in the country and we requireabout 140,000 MW of additional capacity by the end of 2010 with an estimated outlayof Rs. 5,50,000 crores.

Rural Electrification

19 March 2010

To sustain the rise in the economic

graph of India, the best suitable

option left with the country is to

energize its rural base. Considering the

future and the present energy circum-

stances the need of the hour is to

revamp and build a comprehensive rural

electrification structure that will last for

a longer period.

Realizing the importance of rural

electrification, the Government of India

had taken various steps towards this

end. Among these, the recently launched

RGGVY (Rajiv Gandhi Gramin

Vidyutikaran Yojana) is one such

significant programme which is intended

to provide Power for all by 2012.

According to P. Umashankar, CMD of

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited,

the vastness of the country is a major

hurdle in providing power to all villages.

But it is not an impossible task. If the

difficulties are differentiated in a

systematic manner and if each problem

is solved independently and integrated

together over a larger scale, very soon

the dream of electrifying the entire rural

gamut will be realized with triumphant

success, he said.

It is then understood that the

obvious requirement is the need of

staunch will power on the part of people,

the authorities and bureaucrats along

with the availability of gigantic magni-

tude of resources in terms of funds,

infrastructure, equipment and human

resources that are needed for planning,

construction, manufacturing and

installation of power generation and

power transmission projects in the

country.

At the time of independence there

were 15,000 villages of which only 0.3

percent was electrified.

Today, the number of villages have

risen to approximately 6,40,000 till 2008-

09, of which more than 60 percent are

un-electrified.

Some states had achieved 100%

electrification in 1987 while others were

at the 30%-44% level.

Rural electrification programmes

suffered from various shortcomings: large

farmers are the main beneficiaries; there

is slow progress in domestic and street

lighting programmes; small farmers are

constrained in their lack of access to

credit. Rural Electrification brings

electric power to farms, thereby raising

the standard of rural living and slows

down the migration of farm workers to

cities. The imminent need is efficient

power supply round-the-clock to

agriculture, industrial and housing

sectors. Feeder bifurcation programme

will improve the efficient distribution of

power with uniformity. The feeders

bifurcation system would definitely

enable 24 hour power supply in the

future, and we have already taken up this

program on pilot basis in Andhra Pradesh

and based on its success we shall

gradually extend it to the other parts of

the state said, Ajay Jain, CMD

APTransco.

Government Plans

The Government of India had set an

ambitious target of providing electricity

to all villages by 2010 and all rural

households by 2012.

Under this National Electricity policy

(NEP), the government is aiming to

achieve a per capita consumption of

1,000 Kwh by the end of 11th plan, by

adding a capacity of over 1,00,000 MW.

Steps have already been initiated with

Rural Electric Corporation, Power

Finance Corporation, Rural Electricity

Supply Technology Mission; State

Electricity Boards led reforms, Reforms in

Power Sector, Electricity Act 2003, etc.

Umashakar says, As on September

30, 2009, under RGGVY the Ministry of

Power has sanctioned 567 projects

involving electrification of 118,499 un-

electrified villages, intensive electrifica-

tion of 354,669 already electrified

villages and providing electricity

connections to 246 lakh eligible below

poverty line (BPL) households. Cumula-

tively, works in 165,206 villages (67,607

un-electrified and 97,599 electrified

villages) have been completed under

RGGVY up to December 31, 2009.

Connections to 83.87 lakh below poverty

line households have been released

under the scheme up to December 31,

2009.

Finance

Another giant corporation, PFCL

(Power Finance Corporation Limited) had

contributed its valuable financial services

to enhance the power sector in the

country.

It has provided finance to a number

of power generation and transmission

projects in the country.

We are all aware that the demand

for power has consistently outstripped

20 March 2010

the supply. In order to bridge this

demand supply gap, we require a

massive investment of over Rs.10, 00000

crore during the 11th plan period

including establishment of requisite

transmission and distribution system,

said V.K.Garg, CMD PFCL.

During the financial year 2008-09,

Government of India had announced

setting up of a National Fund as an

investment thrust for Transmission and

Distribution Reform in the Budget. The

proposed fund is expected to facilitate

higher inflow of investment for strength-

ening and augmenting the T&D network

commensurate with the capacity addition

programme and also targets T&D loss

reduction by providing grants on

achievement of loss reduction, thus

benefiting the ultimate consumer in

terms of reliable and quality power

cited Garg.

Initiatives

The initiatives of the Government of

India for adding the requisite capacity

have already started yielding the desired

results. A testimony to this is the

commissioning of over 9,250 MW

capacity during the 1st year of the XIth

Plan period, compared to about 21,000

MW commissioned during all the 5 years

of Xth plan.

In addition, over 66,000 MW is

already under construction and will be

supplemented by about 28,000MW from

renewable energy sources and captive

power plants. The above capacity

addition programme excludes capacity

addition of 12,000 MW through UMPPs

which has already been awarded and

necessary work is under progress for

their commissioning in a phased manner

in the initial years of XII Plan.

USAID & GEs Role

Rural electrification project is not only the concern of Government agencies. It

has also been shared by the Private Partners, Agencies and NGOs. Earlier in 2009,

USAID and GE announced a partnership to increase access to cleaner and more

affordable energy services in rural India. USAID plans to contribute $600,000 to

this program, while GE and its worldwide network of experts, technology centers

and partners will invest up to $2.7 million in direct and indirect funding.

In addition to the joint program with USAID, GE has pledged to support the

Power to All by 2012 and Rural Electrification/Rural Business Hub initiatives

that have been launched by the Indian government.

The GE Rural Electrification Program for India will incorporate a number of

renewable energy natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal

heat, which are naturally replenished. These technologies range from solar power,

wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation.

Through the GE Rural Electrification Program, GE Energy has signed a contract

with Malavalli Power Plant Private Limited (MPPL) to provide 30 Jenbacher

JMS320 engines, which will be used to generate combined heat and power to

meet electrical, refrigeration and heating needs within rural communities.

GE Energy will deploy a variety of power generation technologies to support

the India rural electrification effort. While GEs primary focus in India in the past

has been on gas turbines and gas engines, the company also believes there is

tremendous potential within this program for furthering energy independence of

communities through the use of solar and wind power. For the Rural Electrification

Program, the GE Global Research Center in Bangalore has developed an inte-

grated hybrid technology model, which combines various forms of renewable

energy and provides customized power solutions based on availability of local fuel

resources.

21 March 2010

22 March 2010

DURING HALF YEARLY PERIOD OF CURRENT FY 2009-

10, POWERGRID ACHIEVED A TURNOVER & NET

PROFIT OF RS. 3,646 CRORE AND RS. 1,007 CRORE

Powergrid has always exceeded the targets set under Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with ministry of power since signing of its first MoU in 1993-94 and has con-sistently achieved excellent rating. The company has been conferred with the presti-gious MoU Excellence Award consecutively for 2006-07 & 2007-08, by the Depart-ment of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises forbeing the top performer in the energy sector. In fact, Powergrid has received thisprestigious MoU excellence award on total eight occasions, and continuously forlast five years in a row, which is an outstanding achievement.

23 March 2010

Power Grid Corporation of India

Ltd. (POWERGRID) was incorpo

rated as a Government of India

enterprise on 23 October, 1989 under

the Companies Act, 1956 with the

mission of the corporation as Establish-

ment and Operation of Regional and

National Power Grids to facilitate

transfer of electric power within and

across the regions with reliability,

security and economy on sound

commercial principles. POWERGRID is

certified with Integrated Management

System (IMS) as per Publicly Available

Specification, PAS 99:2006 integrating

requirement of ISO 9001:2000 (Quality),

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment) and

OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health

& Safety Management System).

POWERGRID has also been audited for

Social Accountability System, SA

8000:2008 for all its establishments.

During FY 2008-09, with accreditation of

ISO 9001:2000 for all Regional Load

Dispatch Centres (RLDCs), the Quality

Management System (QMS) certification

for all establishments of POWERGRID is

now complete.

POWERGRID has implemented

various transmission projects and

enhanced its network to about 73,950

Circuit Kms, 124 sub-stations and

transformation capacity of about 82,100

MVA (as on December 31, 2009), which

was only 22,220 circuit kms and 42

substations with transformation capacity

of 12,200 MVA in 1992-93. The Company

has been able to display its capability by

consistently maintaining the availability

of this gigantic transmission network

over 99%, comparable with the best

international standards. POWERGRID

wheels about 45% of total power

generated in the country through its

transmission network, said S. K.

Chaturvedi, CMD, POWERGRID.

Financials

The Company displayed spectacular

performance during half yearly period of

current FY 2009-10, beating all the

expectations, achieving a Turnover & Net

Profit of Rs. 3,646 Crore and Rs. 1,007

Crore, increase of 16% and 43%

respectively as compared to same period

of last year. Gross Asset base of the

company has also been enhanced to Rs.

41,040 Crore at the end of Sep09. The

revenue realization has been 100% of

payable dues.

In fact, during FY 2008-09 also,

POWERGRID displayed an outstanding

financial performance with a turnover of

about Rs. 7,029 Crore and Net Profit of

Rs. 1,691 Crore as compared to Rs. 5,082

Crore and Rs. 1,448 Crore respectively

during FY 2007-08, an increase of 38%

and 17% respectively. Looking at the

wonderful financial numbers, all I can say

here is that our performance is exceed-

ing the expectations and is in line with

the strategy for achieving our objec-

tives, said Chaturvedi.

Keeping in view envisaged capacity

addition during XI & XII Plan and

projected 8-9% growth in Indian

economy, the growth prospects in the

transmission business are enormous for

the next 10 years and POWERGRID is

envisaging a steady growth for the

company.

As the head of the organization, my

job is to ensure that POWERGRID not

only achieves the annual targets

committed to Government of India and

maintain its growth momentum but also

contribute for overall development of

As the head of the organization, my job is to ensure

that POWERGRID not only achieves the annual targets

committed to Government of India and maintain its

growth momentum but also contribute for overall

development of Indian power sector. Accordingly, I

am making all out efforts towards ensuring availability

of resources to our employees for achieving the

goals.

- S. K. Chaturvedi, CMD, POWERGRID

24 March 2010

Indian power sector. Accordingly, I am

making all out efforts for ensuring

availability of resources to our employ-

ees for achieving the goals. Recognising

the fact that employees are vital asset

for achieving Companys objectives, my

priority is to ensure all round develop-

ment of our dedicated workforce and

prepare them for taking up enhanced

responsibilities, said Chaturvedi.

Projects

POWERGRID displayed excellent

performance on project implementation

front during FY 2008-09 commissioning

about 4,642 ckm of transmission lines, 09

nos of new sub-stations and added

transformation capacity of about 6,400

MVA. Transmission projects worth about

Rs. 3,734 Crore were commissioned

during the year. Major projects commis-

sioned during FY 2008-09 include

Transmission System associated with

Kahalgaon-II (Phase-II), Sipat-I

Transmission System, System Strength-

ening in South-West part of Northern

Grid, RAPP 5&6 Transmission System,

Western Region System Strengthening

SchemeI and Western Region System

Strengthening SchemeIII etc.

During the year 2008-09, 26 new

projects with an estimated cost of more

than Rs. 40,000 Crore involving about

21,180 ckm of transmission lines and 19

no. sub-stations with transformation

capacity of about 52,565 MVA and HVDC

terminals of 6,000 MW were approved

and taken up for implementation. Major

projects include Transmission System

associated with DVC and Maithon RB

generation projects, Transmission

System associated with Sasan & Mundra

Ultra Mega Power Projects, North East

Northern/ Western Region

InterconnectorI, etc. The Company is

making all out efforts for completing the

transmission elements identified to

facilitate transfer of more power to Delhi

on priority as a part of preparedness for

Commonwealth Games 2010. At the end

of March, 2009, transmission projects at

a cost of about Rs. 62,000 Crore involving

38,000 ckm of transmission lines, 44 new

sub-stations and transformation capacity

of 67,000 MVA are under various stages

of implementation.

Besides, POWERGRID has commis-

sioned National Load Despatch Centre

(NLDC) at Delhi in February, 2009 for

overall co-ordination of grid manage-

ment at national level. NLDC is the apex

body to ensure integrated operation of

the national power system. Further, our

consultancy assignment of construction

of Transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri to

Kabul in Afghanistan has been completed

in Jan., 2009, within the schedule

despite hostile working conditions

(passing over Hindu Kush region at a

height of 4000 mtrs above sea level,

which is covered with snow for 9 months

in a year).

Reach

POWERGRID, at present, is operating

about 74,000 ckt. kms of transmission

lines and 124 Sub-stations, spread over

the length and breadth of the country,

while maintaining a system availability of

over 99 % consistently. Presently, the

transmission company wheels about 45-

50 per cent of total power generated in

the country through its vast transmission

network. The Company has been

contributing significantly towards

development of power sector in India

through continuous innovations in

technical & managerial fields and by

undertaking coordinated development of

inter-State power transmission network

along with effective and transparent

operation of Regional and National Load

Despatch Centers, despite working in

tough terrains, hostile weather condi-

tions etc. In a short span of only 17 years

of commercial operations, the Company

25 March 2010

has grown by leaps and bounds and has

carved a niche for itself amongst the

largest transmission utilities in the

world, said Chaturvedi.

Diversification

India has now become the fastest

growing telecom market in the world,

and recently overtook China in terms of

net subscriber additions in the last 18

months (10 million subscribers per

month vs. 8 million subscribers per

month of China). POWERGRID could

foresee the telecom potential way back

in 1996-97 and diversified into Telecom

business for setting up of a country wide

high speed state-of-the-art optical fiber

network. Telecom business started in

2003 in right earnest after Govt. approval

and today POWERGRIDs telecom

network spans almost 21,000 kms and

covers more than 100 cities across the

country and is still growing.

POWERGRID holds National Long

Distance (NLD), Infrastructure Provider

Category-I (IP-I) and Internet Service

Provider (ISP) Category A licenses.

POWERTEL (the telecom arm of

POWERGRID) presently offers services

such as domestic leased lines, Internet

Services, Multiprotocol Label Switching

(MPLS) - Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

services (in association with partners).

Today all major telecom companies

are our customers in addition to various

other customers from the Govt. and

private sector. In telecom business, the

Company has earned revenue of about

Rs. 150 Crore during FY 2008-09, growth

of about 20% as compared to FY 2007-

08. Income from telecom business is

expected to grow substantially in the

coming years, said Chaturvedi.

POWERGRID has lined up major

expansion plans for its telecom network,

which include further diversification into

value added services such as MPLS-VPN,

NLD Switched Voice, Data Centres and

the Tower Infra business. With the focus

now shifting from urban to rural

connectivity, POWERGRIDs role in

telecom becomes even more significant

as it has presence in all rural/remote

areas of the country by way of its Power

Transmission network which can be

leveraged to provide telecom services in

such areas by co-locating Wireless

Antennas on Power Towers.

Technology

Our goal is to be the worlds

premier transmission utility and thus we

are aiming for operational excellence

surpassing efficiency benchmarks and

regulatory targets. I am giving major

thrust to our Research & Development

activities for keeping abreast with the

latest technology in the sector for

efficient operation of its system and

introducing new technologies for

effectively meeting the challenges of

power transmission in India. With its

strong technical expertise, POWERGRID

is today rated as the 3rd largest

transmission utility in the world as per

The World Bank, said Chaturvedi.

New Initiatives

POWERGRID has always given

priority to new initiatives, which are

mainly for optimization of cost of power

transmission and for conservation of

Right-of-Way (RoW). Towards this,

various new technologies have been

adopted suiting Indian power system

such as Up-gradation of transmission

lines on case to case basis, use of

Thyristor Controlled Series Compensa-

tion, high temperature endurance

During the year 2008-09, 26 new

projects with an estimated cost of

more than Rs. 40,000 Crore

involving about 21,180 ckm of

transmission lines and 19 no.

sub-stations with transformation

capacity of about 52,565 MVA

and HVDC terminals of 6,000 MW

were approved and taken up for

implementation.

26 March 2010

conductors, development of pole type

tower structure for 400KV transmission

lines, GPS/GIS based survey techniques,

etc. Having established the 500 kV

HVDC and 765 kV UHV AC transmission

technologies, POWERGRID is now

working on next higher transmission

voltages of 1200 kV UHVAC System and

800 kV HVDC in the country to achieve

efficient utilization of existing RoW and

increased power transfer capability for

transfer of bulk power over long

distances etc.. In this direction, 1200 kV

UHVAC Test Station along with a 1200kV

test line is being established at Bina in

Madhya Pradesh by POWERGRID, as a

collaborative effort with equipment

manufacturers, who will be able to field

test their indigenously developed 1200KV

equipment on long term basis.

Presently, designs and proto type

testing of 1200 kV towers and most of

the sub-station equipment have already

been completed. Tower foundations &

erection works are under progress. 1200

kV UHV AC shall lead to optimisation of

design of transmission line and substa-

tion equipment, Optimization of RoW &

cost and ease in O&M etc. Implementa-

tion of 800kV, 6000 Megawatt HVDC

Bi-pole line from North Eastern Region to

Northern Region (Agra) has already

commenced.

These technological initiatives are

pioneering efforts even globally. Apart

from construction of transmission lines,

their operation and maintenance also

assumes significance when it comes to

providing reliable and secured power

supply to consumers. We are deploying

modern and state of the art technolo-

gies, at par with best international

standards, for achieving high availability

of our transmission network. Live line

washing of insulators using helicopter

was carried out during the last year for

the first time in India on 12 critical lines

in Northern Region. This contributed

significantly in achieving safe, secure &

reliable operation of Northern Grid

during winter foggy weather conditions

last year, said Chaturvedi. In addition,

POWERGRID has also formed a joint

venture partner among NTPC, NHPC,

POWERGRID and DVC for setting up

Online High Power Test Laboratory for

various testing facilities including short

circuit testing facility.

Investments planned &

Future Plans

To meet the increasing power

demand, Government of India has

planned generation capacity addition of

78,700 MW in XI Plan (2007-12) and

envisages a generation addition of more

than 1,00,000 MW for XII Plan (2012-17).

This capacity addition has to be coupled

with matching expansion & strengthen-

ing of transmission and distribution

systems to make available reliable &

quality electric power.

For XI Plan, an investment of about

Rs. 55,000 Crore is envisaged to be made

by POWERGRID based on envisaged

generation capacity addition in Central

sector and other generation projects

including Ultra Mega Power Projects

(UMPPs) for which transmission system is

required to be built by POWERGRID.

Working towards this investment plan,

POWERGRID Board of Directors have

approved transmission projects costing

about Rs. 40,000 Crore during FY 2008-

09, which were taken up for implementa-

tion. During initial two years period of XI

Plan, we have already made an invest-

ment of about Rs.15,000 Crore, achieve-

ment of about 27% of total plan size. For

the current FY, a target of Rs. 10,500

Crore has been kept for POWERGRID.

Balance we are planning in the next two

years period of the XI plan, said

Chaturvedi.

27 March 2010

28 March 2010

JSW ENERGY HAS 995 MW OF OPERATIONAL POWER

PLANT AND HAS EXECUTED PROJECTS OF 1225 MW

JSW Energy is one of the early entrants into the power trading business; it hasbeen engaged in power trading since June 2006 and has the highest category oflicence F category. Today, JSW Energy has 995 MW of operational power plantand has executed projects of 1225 MW (including 230 MW group captive).

29 March 2010

JSW Energy Ltd. (JSWEL) is a group

company of Jindal South West

(JSW) group headed by Sajjan

Jindal. Other companies in JSW are JSW

Steel Limited, Jindal South West Mining

Limited, JSW Port, Jindal Praxair Oxygen

Company Limited (JPOCL), and invest-

ment companies.

JSWEL is the first Independent

Power Producer (IPP) to be set up in the

state of Karnataka. The company has set

up 2 units of 130 MW each and both

units are generating power using Corex

gas and coal. JSW Energy Limited was

incorporated in 1994 with the objective

to develop, construct and operate power

plants. JSW Steel was setting up a mega

steel plant at Toranagallu, district

Bellary in Karnataka. Since steel is high

energy intensive industry and requires

uninterrupted supply, JSW decided to

set-up their own power plant. At that

time JSW Group did not have experience

of setting up Independent power plants,

hence it formed a Joint Venture with

Tractebel of Belgium.

First, we took up 2x130 MW dual

fuel fired (Coal and Corex gas) power

plant for part supply of power to our

steel plant and to sell the balance power

to Karnataka SEB under a PPA. This plant

is able to generate substantial amount of

carbon credits by use of Corex gas as a

fuel. The 2x130 MW plant is in operation

since 2000, since then we are a continu-

ously profit making company. Our PAT

has grown from Rs 60.25 Crs in fiscal

2005 to Rs 276.69 Crs for fiscal 2009, at

a CAGR of 46.39%. JSW Energy has

realized its growth because it is an

established Power Company with a track

record, operational efficiency, industry

experience and a deep understanding of

the power industry in India. Today, JSW

Energy has 995 MW of operational power

plant and has executed projects of 1225

MW (Including 230 MW group captive).

JSW Energy is one of the early entrants

into the Power Trading business, it has

been engaged in Power Trading since

June 2006 and has the highest category

of licence F category, said SS Rao,

Joint Managing Director & CEO.

The average plant availability factor

since year 2000 has been 96.62%. PLF in

year 2009 was 97.88%. It has achieved

continuous improvement in heat rate to

2321 K Cal/ Kwh and auxiliary consump-

tion to 6.97%.

JSW Energys 260 MW Power Plant

at Karnataka has received the National

Award for Meritorious Performance for

the fiscals 2007 and 2008 from Ministry

of Power Government of India and the

National Award for excellence in Thermal

Generation by IEEMA and various other

awards at state level.

New initiatives

JSW Energy has established State ofArt Training Centre with 300 MW

simulator

JSW Energy has started PostGraduate Diploma Courses in Power

Plant Engineering in academic

collaboration with M.S. Ramaiah

Institute of Technology Bangalore.

To part finance their ongoing venturesthey had come out with IPO last year

that has become successfully over

subscribed and listed with premium.

Contribution

JSW Energys contributions for

Indias Power Sector are:

Generation

JSW Energy already has 995 MW of

Operational Power Plant and it will be

Today, JSW Energy has 995 MW of operational power

plant and has executed projects of 1225 MW (Including

230 MW group captive). JSW Energy is one of the early

entrants into the Power Trading business, it has been

engaged in Power Trading since June 2006 and has the

highest category of licence F category.

- SS Rao, Joint Managing Director & CEO, JSW Energy

30 March 2010

3140 MW by April 2011 and 11,390 MW

by September 2015.

Transmission

JSW Energy has formed a Joint

Venture with Maharashtra State

Electricity, Transmission Co. Ltd. It is the

First Public Private Partnership in

Transmission Sector in Maharashtra and

it is installing two 400 KV double circuit

(Quad conductor) transmission lines.

Equipment manufacturing

JSW Energy had formed a Joint

Venture with world renowned Toshiba

Corporation of Japan for manufacturing

of Supercritical Steam Turbine Generator

sets in India. The plant is being set up

at Chennai near Ennore Port.

Mining

JSW Energy along with Mahanadi

Coalfields Limited and two other

companies have been allocated Utkal A

Gopal Prasad (West) West Coal Block in

Orissa. Also, JSW Energys subsidiary

Raj West Power Ltd. along with

Rajasthan State Minerals and Mining

Limited has been allocated Kapurdi and

Jallipa Lignite mines at Barmer in

Rajasthan for captive supply of fuel to

JSWELs 8x135 MW Power Plant at

Barmer. Mining operations at both these

mines will be undertaken by the Joint

Ventures (JVs), JSW Energy is part of

both these JVs.

Trading

JSW Energy through its hundred

percent subsidiary JSW Power Trading

Company is one of the top Power Traders

in India since June 2006 and has traded

more than 7 billion units so far.

Training

JSW Energys Centre of Excellence

has been recognized by Central Electric-

ity Authority (Government of India) for

imparting Power Plant Training to their

employees as well as for fresh engineers.

Proximity of JSW Energys Centre of

Excellence to their Power Plants enables

it to train the engineers on different fuel,

unit size and technologies.

Technology

Besides, using highly efficient

Electrostatic precipitators which capture

the particulate emissions from the

effluent gases, high chimneys for wide

dispersion of particulates as per

environment regulations, JSW Energy is

setting up most efficient power genera-

tion equipment to contain the Environ-

mental Pollution. We also continuously

monitor emissions and take timely

corrective measures at our operating

power plants, said Rao.

JSW Energy is using CFBC Technol-

ogy Boilers for its Barmer Power Projects

which is very efficient and environmental

friendly technology to burn very low

calorific value, high sulphur and high

moisture lignite. Location of its Power

Plants is judiciously selected in coastal

areas enabling use of imported coal

which offers advantage of lesser

emission and reduced ash generation.

For all our new power projects

which are under development stage,

JSW Energy will be introducing most

efficient super critical technology for

power generation which will further

reduce the emissions to atmosphere.

Our quality & environmental systems are

certified to be in compliance under ISO

9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS

18001:2007, said Rao.

JSW Energy is also setting up an

environment friendly Hydro Power Plant

of 240 MW capacity at Himachal Pradesh.

Besides, JSW Energy has been allocated

5 MW capacity for development of

pollution free Solar Power Project by

Government of Gujarat

Financials

From 2006 to 2009 JSW Energys

revenue has grown at a CAGR of 50%,

EBITDA has been growing at CAGR of

31 March 2010

30% and PAT at a CAGR of 28%. JSW

Energy has successfully put on commer-

cial operation 995 MW of Power Plants

ahead of the target dates. We have set

a target of 3140 MW of generation

capacity by April 2011 and a target of

11,390 MW by September 2015. JSWEL

is working towards becoming the top

three full service integrated private

power company in the country within the

next three years with the presence

across entire value chain, said Rao.

MoUs & JVs

JSW Energy has formed a JointVenture with world renowned Toshiba

Corporation of Japan for manufactur-

ing of Super-Critical Steam Turbine

Generator sets in India. As per this JV

agreement, the JV Company will give

preferred customer treatment to JSW

Energy both for price and delivery.

This will ensure timely supply of most

efficient power equipment to JSW

Energy at a reasonable price.

JSW Energy has formed a jointventure with Maharashtra State

Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd. for

establishing two 400 KV double circuit

(Quad conductor) transmission lines.

This will enable JSW Energy to

evacuate Power from its 4x300 MW

Phase I and 4x800 MW Phase II Power

Projects at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

The company has entered into a MoUwith a European MNC for providing

Engineering & Training Services in

India for Nuclear Power Plants. This

will enable JSW Energy to have

exposure to Nuclear Power business

and be ready to participate in Nuclear

Power utility business as and when the

law is amended to allow private sector

participation in Nuclear Power.

JSWEL has entered into a MoU with alarge Japanese Power utility for joint

development of Thermal and Hydro

Power Projects in India and

neighbouring countries.

This will enable JSW Energy to

introduce state-of-the-art technologies

such as ultra supercritical power

generation, dry type desulphurization,

NOx reduction & development of

pumped storage Hydro Power Plants.

JSW Energys subsidiary Raj WestPower Limited has formed a Joint

Venture with Rajasthan State Mines

and Minerals Limited to develop and

operate the mines for supply of lignite

to its 1080 MW power projects under

construction at Barmer.

JSW Energy has also formed a Joint

Venture -MJSJ Limited with Mahanadi

Coal Limited and two other private

players for development of Utkal A

Gopala Prasad (West) Coal Block in

Orissa for capacity of 15 MTPA open

cast mining.

MoM has been signed with a US MNCfor exploring joint development of 100

MW Solar Power Projects.

With such joint ventures and

For all our new power projects which are under develop-

ment stage, JSW Energy will be introducing most efficient

super critical technology for power generation which will

further reduce the emissions to atmosphere. Our quality &

environmental systems are certified to be in compliance

under ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS

18001:2007

(Rs. Million)

2006 2007 2008 2009 H1 - FY 2010

Revenue 5,489 8,115 13,261 18,522 8,754

EBITDA 2,489 4,623 9,094 5,490 5,038

PAT 1,324 2,721 3,238 2,790 2,695

32 March 2010

strategic collaborations, JSWEL will get

a firm foothold in other related areas of

power generation and would emerge as

full service integrated power company in

the country, said Rao.

Overseas Presence

JSW Energy has signed a long term

coal supply agreement with an Indone-

sian Company for supply of coal for its

power plants.

JSW Energy has also entered into a

long term Fuel Supply Agreement with

JSW Natural Resources Mozambique, a

subsidiary of sister company JSW Steel

Limited for supply of Coal for its Power

Plants in India.

Besides, JSW Energy is exploring

opportunities for setting up Hydro Power

Projects in neighbouring countries like

Bhutan, Nepal and Georgia.

Significant achievements

Successful Commissioning andCommercial operation of 2x300 MW

units at Karnataka. Full Load Operation

was achieved within two to three

months of first synchronization.

Successful commissioning andcommercial operation of first 135 MW

unit at Barmer in Rajasthan.

The first synchronization was done

within a short span of 28 months for

this Greenfield project which is located

in very adverse climatic conditions. All

the eight units of 135 MW at Barmer

are expected to be commissioned by

October 2010.

The above achievements have given

full confidence to JSW Energy to

develop power generation capacity of

3140 MW by April 2011 and 11,390

MW by September 2015 besides

becoming an end to end Power

business company.

Following are the projects

under pipeline to achieve targets:

4x300 MW imported Coal basedpower plant at Ratnagiri in

Maharashtra, first unit of which will be

commissioned by March 2010. All the

4 units are expected to be commis-

sioned by Oct. 2010.

At Ratnagiri, the company will be

setting up 4x800 MW Super-Critical

units in Phase II which will be

commissioned by April 2015.

2 units of 135 MW at Barmer inRajasthan in Phase II which will be

commissioned by January 2013.

At Kutehr in Himachal Pradesh, JSWEnergy is setting up a 240 MW Hydro

Project which will be commissioned by

December 2015.

2x660 MW Super-Critical units atChhattisgarh which will be commis-

sioned by August 2014.

At West Bengal, JSW Energy issetting up 2 units of 800 MW Super-

Critical domestic coal based Thermal

Power Plant which will be commis-

sioned by February 2015.

2 units of 660 MW supercritical and 1

unit of 300 MW Sub-Critical domestic

coal based power plant at Jharkhand

which will be commissioned by August

2015.

Thus by the year 2015, JSW Energy

would become an integrated Power

Player with a generation capacity of

11,390 MW.

During the year 2008-09, 26 new projects with an esti-

mated cost of more than Rs. 40,000 Crore involving about

21,180 ckm of transmission lines and 19 no. sub-stations

with transformation capacity of about 52,565 MVA and

HVDC terminals of 6,000 MW were approved and taken up

for implementation.

33 March 2010

34 March 2010

Armed with strengths of customer focussed approach, speed and innovation,transparency in organisation, environment friendly approach in operations andregular investment in talent building, Websol Energy Systems Ltd is a successstory in its specialisation of manufacturing Solar PV cells and modules.

"THE PRESENT CAPACITY OF WEBSOL IS 40 MW

WHICH WILL BE RAMPED UP TO 120MW BY 2011"

35 March 2010

Formerly known as Webel SL energy

Systems, Websol Energy Systems

Ltd. was incorporated in 1990 and

has been engaged in manufacturing

Solar PV cells and Modules since 1994.

The Company was established as a

100% export enterprise through joint

venture between SL Industries Pvt Ltd,

Helios Technology SPA Italy and West

Bengal Electronic Industry Development

Corporation (WEBEL) with the vision: To

provide clean and dependable solar

energy that will sustain the environment

and improve global living standards.

The company started its operation with

recycled wafers with 1 MW which was

ramped up to 40 MW in 2009 with fresh

wafers.

According to S L Agarwal, founder

and Managing Director, Websol,

currently, India has about 700 MW solar

modules manufacturing and about 500

MW solar cells manufacturing capacity.

Major share of this production is

exported to Europe and USA. The total

installation in India is about 3.1 MW grid

connected systems and the estimated

potential of solar PV is about 50 MW per

Sq Kilometer. With proper utilization of

Solar PV technology the country can

generate enough electricity to address

the growing domestic needs to achieve

8-9% growth rate in GDP, he says.

Solar Power is the Key for rural

development since availability of

electricity in rural and remote areas is

very low.

With installation off grid and

decentralized systems in rural areas, the

country can achieve the social and

economic environment.

Speaking about Websol and its

significance in segment, Agarwal states

that Solar PV industry is driven by

technological development in terms of

improvement in cell efficiency and

a