Manch seeks info on load-shedding protocol

Manch seeks info on load-shedding protocol-Pune-Cities-The Times of India

Manch seeks info on load-shedding protocol
3 Dec 2008, 0012 hrs IST, TNN
Print Email Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
PUNE: The city-based Sajag Nagrik Manch (SNM) on Tuesday demanded that the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) should
suo motu declare the facts and figures that prompted it to select a load-shedding protocol suitable for power shortfall of 4,600 MW to 5,000 MW. The information is being sought under section four of the Right to Information Act.

The power utility on Monday announced the new load-shedding protocol after the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc) rejected the petition seeking increase in load-shedding hours on Friday.

In a letter to MSEDCL managing director Ajay Bhushan Pandey and chief engineer of power purchase, Manch founder Vivek Velankar said that the current protocol circular 23 issued by the MSEDCL was based on scenario five in Merc's order wherein demand supply gap is between 4600-5000 MW.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that since the last 15 days the demand supply gap crossed the 4,200-MW figure just two days for a couple of hours and has never crossed the figure of 4,600 MW . This has happened in spite of two generation sets at Dabhol not working and reduction in the Mahagenco thermal power generation due to shortage of coal," Velankar stated.

He said that in this background, the load-shedding protocol should have been ideally based on scenario three (suited for shortfall of 3,700 MW to 4,200 MW) if not at least safely on scenario four ( shortfall of 4,200 MW to 4,600 MW). "Considering the fact that there is an industrial slowdown, the demand is not likely to go up in the near future and, as it is winter the use of air-conditioners and fans will definitely go down the demand is not likely to go up," he added.

Velankar pointed out that the improvement in coal supply and resumption of Dabhol generation sets can improve supply in the next couple of weeks. "This means that in the next two months, at least, the demand supply gap is not likely to cross 4,600 MW. In spite of all this you have taken a decision to base load-shedding protocol on scenario five ( 4,600-5,000 MW shortfall )," he said in the letter.

He pointed out that as per Right to information Act 2005 section 4 (1) (C) & (D), the MSEDCL needs to publish suo motu (within 24 hours of the decision ) all the facts and reasons behind the decision to consider scenario five for the load-shedding protocol. He has urged the MSEDCL to publish this information on its website immediately.

Adani’s Gondia power plant faces coal block - Menaka Gandhi

Adani’s Gondia power plant faces coal block - Home - livemint.com

Adani’s Gondia power plant faces coal block

Former environment minister and Lok Sabha member Menaka Gandhi has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office to stop the project
Padmaparna Ghosh and Utpal Bhaskar


New Delhi: Protests by activist groups and a high-profile politician are threatening to block a coal mining project of the Adani Group in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district that is to come up near the Tadoba Andhari National Park, home to the endangered Bengal tiger.
This could jeopardize the group’s 1,980MW power plant that is to come up in the nearby Gondia district and be fed by coal from the Chandrapur mine.
Two public hearings held have seen a lot of protests against the project, said an official in the state’s forest department, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Such so-called public hearings are part of the process projects need to follow before they can be approved by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), which has to clear projects depending on their size.
The country’s former environment minister and Lok Sabha member Menaka Gandhi has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office to stop the project.
India’s top bureaucrat in the coal ministry said Gandhi had also written to the Maharashtra government and MoEF. He added that it was for “MoEF to take a view”. “The law is very clear and if something cannot be done under the law, it cannot be done. They (Adani Group) have to obtain necessary clearances.”
The mine falls within 15km of the ecologically sensitive area (ESA), as defined by MoEF.
This is a zone in which no industrial activity, including mining, can be undertaken. The mining lease at Chandrapur covers an area of 1,750ha, and 90% of this is forest land.
MoEF has partially cleared the power plant. It has approved a generating capacity of 1,320MW, the original capacity envisioned for the plant, and is now waiting for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of a proposal to enhance the capacity by 660MW.
An EIA looks at the environmental impact or fallout of a project. The failure to get an approval for the coal mining project, however, could jeopardize the power project.
The company is confident that MoEF will approve the coal mining project.
“The coal ministry has allocated and approved mine plan for Lohara West and Extension coal blocks, they are contiguous and will be worked as one mine only, with an estimated reserve of nearly 170 million tonnes. The process for obtaining clearances have started and public hearings have been carried out. Our power project is slated for complete commissioning by Q4 (fourth quarter) of 2011 and we will obtain necessary clearances before commencing the mining operations,” a company spokesperson said in an email.
Gandhi said the project reflected a larger trend where the local populace is often left poorer by mining. “For the last five years, the single biggest way to earn money has been through mining. It has destroyed Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra and, now, Madhya Pradesh. Mining is a short- term measure for politicians and bureaucrats to make money, but makes local people even poorer by stripping them of whatever they have left.”
Interestingly, the construction of Human (pronounced Hooman) Dam, with a capacity to irrigate 46,000ha, which was initiated in 1983, was stayed following a Supreme Court order in June, because it would threaten the tiger habitat.
Gandhi’s intervention comes in the backdrop of an MoEF committee’s observation, at a meeting held on 28 April, that almost the entire lease area of the mine is in dense forest land within the Junana Reserve Forest.
The minutes of this meeting state: “The committee desired that a detailed ecological study should be carried out. Since the project falls within 10km of an ecologically sensitive area, a comprehensive conservation plan should be prepared and furnished. The plan must incorporate dedicated corridors for movement of schedule-I fauna within the region.”
Schedule-I fauna refers to highly endangered species.
Once notified, any project in ESAs that involve a change in how the land will be used need an additional clearance from MoEF.
Maharashtra, however, is yet to notify the area an ecologically sensitive one, though an official maintained that the process was under way. “Maharashtra is yet to notify its ESAs, but it is under process,” said Jwala Prasad, principal chief conservator of forests, Maharashtra.
Kishor Rithe, wildlife conservationist and president of Satpura Foundation, an activist group, said: “No politician wants to take this step (of notifying an area as environmentally sensitive). People think everything will be stopped, but it is only projects like mines and thermal power plants which actually take away tiger habitats that would be affected. Roads or schools or primary health centres don’t get affected.”

padmaparna.g@livemint.com

Richest woman in the country

Chandigarh:

A low-profile minister in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana has emerged as the richest woman in the country. Savitri Jindal, 58, who is the chairperson of the Jindal Group, has been named as the richest woman in India in the latest Forbes list of richest Indians. Jindal is minister of state in the Hooda government looking after disaster management, consolidation, and rehabilitation and housing ministries.

According to Forbes, Savitri Jindal has a net worth of US$2.9 billion, and is ranked 12th overall among the top-40 richest Indians who include the likes of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, expatriate steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, Reliance-ADAG chairman Anil Ambani and realty baron K.P. Singh.

Jindal's net worth, according to Forbes, came down from $8.5 billion in 2007 to 2.9 billion, mainly owing to the global financial meltdown. Last year, she was ranked 11th. The only other woman to figure in the list is Times of India Group's
chairperson Indu Jain (17th). Jindal is the mother of Congress member of parliament from Kurukshetra and industrialist Navin Jindal. She has three more sons and five daughters. Her late husband, O.P. Jindal, had set up the Jindal empire from Hisar town in Haryana nearly four decades ago. O.P. Jindal, who himself was a cabinet minister in the Hooda government, died when his private helicopter crashed near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh Mar 31, 2005. His cabinet colleague Surender Singh, son of former Haryana chief minister and union defence minister Bansi Lal, was also killed in the crash.

The Rs.150 billion Jindal group has interests in the iron, steel and power
sectors. The group has nearly 50 plants in India and abroad, including South
American countries like Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Savitri Jindal was inducted as a minister of state with independent charge in the Hooda government just weeks after her husband died. She contested the Hisar assembly seat, earlier represented by her husband, in the 2005 by-election and won it by a huge margin. The Jindal family mainly operates from Hisar, 300 km from Chandigarh. The family runs a well known school, Vidya Devi Jindal School, in the town.

Maytas Infra to Build Rs 39 crores township for JSW at Ratnagiri

Maytas Infra bags Rs 39 crores order from JSW- Steel-Ind'l Goods / Svs-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Maytas Infra bags Rs 39 crores order from JSW
4 Nov, 2008, 1732 hrs IST, PTI

Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
HYDERABAD: Maytas Infra Ltd, a construction and infrastructure development company, has bagged a Rs 39 crore order from South West Infrastructure
Private Ltd, a group company of Jindal Steel Works (JSW).

This is Maytas Infra's second order from JSW, a press release said here on Tuesday.

The order bagged involves construction of a township for the employees of JSW Power Project coming up near Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra State.

The project entails construction of 3 BHK units of 18 flats, 2 BHK units of 132 flats, and 96 Hostel units. The order excludes cost of steel and cement and is to be completed with 12-14 months, the release said.

"We are glad to have bagged this order from JSW again. The fact that clients are coming back to us for all their infrastructure needs is a tribute to Maytas Infra's relentless focus on delighting its clients", CEO of Maytas, P K Madhav said.

Kolkata firm meets CM over power plant- Raigad

Kolkata firm meets CM over power plant

Times of India 17 Oct 2008, 0036 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar, TNN

MUMBAI: A high-level team comprising senior officials of Kolkata-based Universal Success Enterprises Group (USEG) led by Prasun Mukherjee made a presentation before chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh over the setting up of a Rs 25,000 crore thermal power plant near Raigad. The on-going agitations in the entire coastal Konkan region over new power projects and acquisition of lands for SEZ projects did not hamper their efforts.

Industries secretary Aziz Khan and his energy counterpart Subrato Ratho confirmed that nominees of the universal group recently called on Deshmukh for setting up a 5,000 MW power plant along the coastline. Immediately after the meeting, Deshmukh set up a three-member committee comprising Ratho, maritime board secretary Sudhir Srivastava and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation chief executive officer Rajiv Jalota to study the proposal. "The committee will study the proposal and is expected to draft new guidelines for setting up industrial units along the coastline,'' a senior official told TOI.

Post Nandigram and Singur violence, the proposal assumes political significance. "It is for the first time that a leading industrial house from Kolkata, having overseas operations, has knocked on the doors of the state chief minister,'' the official said.

USEG vice-president T G Shridhar also confirmed that his organisation members had a prolonged meeting with Deshmukh about setting up a thermal power plant. "We were impressed by his approach. We were given a red carpet welcome,'' Shridhar told TOI.

Elaborating on the project, Shridhar said the project will require 2500 acres of land in the Konkan region. "As we plan to import coal by the sea route, we are looking for locations near the coast. Of course, we will be happy if no social problems occur in the process of acquisition of land,'' Shridhar said.

Major power projects in the Konkan region have been indefinitely delayed owing to the state government's failure to provide land. "All four power projects in the private sector have the approval of the authorities, but as we are unable to provide land, none of these projects were able to take off in a real sense,'' a senior energy department official said.

A senior Congress minister said it was welcome news that entrepreneurs were keen on investing in the Konkan region despite violent agitations.

N-trade: It's a $40 billion opportunity

N-trade: It's a $40 billion opportunity-India-The Times of India

11 Sep 2008, 0648 hrs IST,
Srinivas Laxman,TNN
NEW DELHI: The NSG waiver is a truly global opportunity. As India opens its doors for nuclear trade, it will generate worldwide business worth $40 billion, allow Indian companies to supply components to foreign N-plant makers, offer power-generation opportunities to Indian firms and increase the nuclear power level in the country to 52,000 megawatt by 2020 from the present 4120 megawatt, according to nuclear experts."India will set up 24 imported civilian nuclear light-water reactors along its coasts in the next 11 to 15 years," chairman and managing director of Nuclear Power Corporation S K Jain said on Wednesday. The corporation headed by Jain manages all the civilian nuclear plants in India.Speaking to TOI, Jain said apart from countries like the US, France and Russia, more vendors will now be knocking at India’s atomic door for a share in Rs 2.4 lakh crore project. In fact, the French nuclear major, Areva, has already set up an office in Mumbai, waiting to begin formal business discussions with the NPC.Disclosing that the plan to import reactors to enhance India's nuclear power programme formed a part of the 11th five year plan between 2007 and 2012, the NPC chief said, "We will begin the modalities of financing the acquisition now that we have the NSG clearance."With regards to the imported reactors, Jain said that every chosen region of the country will get reactors from one particular country only. For example, at Jaitapur in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district all the reactors will come from France.Jain, one of the top nuclear officials in the country, added that the setting up of imported reactors will give a chance to Indian companies to collaborate with foreign companies. "Western technology will be married to the competitiveness of Indian industry," he said.Since the NSG approval also permits export of nuclear components from India, Jain said the US manufacturers may source components from India. "Now armed with the NSG approval, India will compete with other nuclear powers to collaborate with these nations to set up their atomic power plants," Jain said.According to some NPC officials, it is possible that the organisation may form a separate wing for international collaboration. "We now have a huge business opportunity and will now become truly global nuclear player," an official remarked.Secretary-general of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce R K Chopra also sees good opportunities for Indian firms. "A number of Indian companies could become a manufacturing hub for making nuclear-related parts and export them to the US and other countries. India can also team up with the bigger countries and export components to smaller nations," Chopra said.The waiver will also open business doors for many Indian companies. A spokesperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry told TOI that the NSG green signal has now directly opened up business opportunities worth Rs 1,20,000 crore for global and Indian firms in the next 15 years.According to the CII official, NTPC, Jindal, L&T, Tata Power and Reliance Power are among the key companies that would have huge business opportunities now. "Other companies, which have traditionally not been in this field are likely to foray into the area as well, owing to the magnitude of the business potential," he said, expressing confidence that once the US government gets the deal approved in the Congress, India would modify its Atomic Energy Act of 1962 to allow private sector participation in nuclear power generation in the country.The waiver will not only help nuclear power, according to experts, it will also benefit trade in high-technology areas like pharma, semi-conductors, precision engineering, defence equipment, advanced and speciality chemicals, electronics, sensors, environmental technology, space, automation and robotics.

Asia's biggest solar thermal power plant at Nagpur

There is good news too ....

Nagpur to have Asia's biggest solar thermal power plant

Nagpur to have Asia's biggest solar thermal power plant



Nagpur, Sept 2 (PTI) Asia's biggest solar thermal power plant will be set up here to generate 10 MW electricity for the national grid.
"The generated power will be put on the national grid. It is a small step but a big leap for solar energy generation," Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar said today.

The unique 10 MW solar thermal generation facility will serve the purpose of demonstration for solar energy enthusiasts across the country, he told PTI here.

Nagpur has been selected because of high sun radiation besides its central geographical location, the minister said adding solar energy is environment friendly and pollution free.

Besides, the plant load factor is between 80 to 90 per cent of the installed capacity, he said.

Moreover, there are no transmission and distribution losses in generation of solar energy unlike in thermal power generation.

Muttemwar said his ministry has approached the Maharashtra government for allotment of land, so that the process of setting up the plant could start. PTI