T&D India: Special Digital Edition — August 2020

This special digital edition is meant to be a user-friendly guide for accessing recent updates on www.tndindia.com. All editorial entries have been discussed in brief but the “read more” link will take you to the full story. The contents of this edition have been grouped into: News, Orders & Contracts, Interviews, Special Reports and New Product Launches

News

 

General News

• IEEMA has welcomed Government of India’s move of restricting bidders from the country’s immediate neighbours. The industry apex body has also assured full support, on behalf of its members, to meet the country’s requirements. (read more)

 

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, in a video conference with some Central public sector enterprises (PSE), encouraged them to spend their capital outlay for FY21 properly and within time. (read more)

 

• NTPC Ltd has entered into an MoU with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), acting through National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL), to explore opportunities for investments in areas like renewable energy, power distribution among other areas of mutual interest in India. (read more)

 

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to scale up collaboration and advance progress on sustainability with increased focus on energy sector resilience in Asia and the Pacific. (read more)

 

• The Board of Directors of Tata Power has approved issuance of 49,05,66,037 equity shares on a preferential basis to Tata Sons Pvt Ltd for an aggregate consideration of Rs.2,600 crore. (read more)

 

• In view of the nationwide lockdown in May 2020, the eight core industries suffered a decline of 23.4 per cent in May 2020. However, this was still better than the 37 per cent fall seen in April 2020. During the first two months (April and May) of FY21, production of the eight core industries was down 30 per cent. (read more)

 

T&D News

• Tata Power aims to quadruple its customer base in the power distribution business, the company’s chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said during this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) speech. (read more)

 

• Adani Transmission, in its latest performance update, has said that the company’s transformation capacity saw a 17.2 per cent year-on-year growth, as of June 30, 2020. (read more)

 

• Torrent Power, according to information available in its latest Annual Report, has cut down T&D losses in its Bhiwandi franchisee area in Maharashtra to 11.93 per cent in FY20 from 15.13 per cent in FY19. (read more)

 

• With the re-imposition of lockdown restrictions in many parts across the country, the all India electricity demand is likely to decline by 5% to 6% in FY2021 over FY2020, against ICRA’s earlier estimate of 1% de-growth made in April 2020. (read more)

 

• The board of directors of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has accorded investment approval to Eastern Region Strengthening Scheme – XXIII. (read more)

 

• Sanjiv Goenka Group company CESC has been able to significantly reduce distribution losses in its three Rajasthan franchises– Kota, Bharatpur and Bikaner — during FY20. (read more)

 

• Sterlite Power has announced the successful refinancing of the loan for Gurgaon Palwal Transmission Ltd [GPTL] project, within three months of the project becoming fully operational in April 2020. (read more)

 

• The quantum of loan offered to states through PFC/REC may be increased from the current Rs.90,000 crore to Rs.1,25,000 crore, according to a report by ICICI Securities. (read more)

 

• Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) has signed definitive agreements with Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd for acquiring Alipurduar Transmission Ltd, a release from Adani Transmission said. (read more)

 

• ndian Energy Exchange (IEX) said that its Real Time Electricity Market (RTM) accomplished volume of 515.46 MU (million units or million kwh) in June 2020 –the first month of operations of the new segment. A total of 237 customers participated in the RTM segment during the month. (read more)

 

• Tata Power Delhi Distribution, for the first time, has tied up with Sharp for an exclusive scheme on efficient ‘5-star inverter AC with inbuilt air purifier. (read more)

 

 

E-Mobility

• With a focus on enhancing energy efficiency and promoting e-mobility, R.K Singh, the Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy, on July 20, 2020, inaugurated India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza, at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi. (read more)

 

• Hitachi ABB Power Grids today has launched Grid-eMotion ™ Fleet, a game-changing grid-to-plug EV charging system that delivers a step-change approach for public transport and commercial operators. (read more)

 

• Energy Efficiency Services Ltd has signed an agreement with the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) to promote electric vehicles and install public EV charging stations and related infrastructure. (read more)

 

• OKAYA has announced to have bagged a major contract from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd for supply, installation and commissioning of over 55 multi-standard EV chargers (100KW) as per CCS2/CHAdeMO Protocol, and 15 KW DC fast chargers as per DC-001 in Shillong, the capital of northeastern state Meghalaya. (read more)

 

 

Renewable Energy News

• Union power minister R.K. Singh, in a virtual ceremony, recently dedicated to the nation three wind projects developed by Sembcorp. (read more)

 

• The capacity addition in the renewable energy (RE) sector is expected to remain subdued at about 8 GW in FY21, notes ICRA in a statement. (read more)

 

• Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Ltd (GEDCOL) and NHPC Ltd recently signed a memorandum of understanding for development of 500 mw of floating solar projects in Odisha. (read more)

 

• Global safety science company UL has announced the launch of testing services for solar photovoltaic (PV) inverter manufacturers in India. (read more)

 

• At the launch of TERI’s new report, ‘Renewable Power Pathways: Modelling the Integration of Wind and Solar in India by 2030’, the power minister R.K. Singh said that India has the fastest growth rate in the world in renewable energy (read more)

 

• Tata Power Green Energy Ltd (TPGEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, received a Letter of Award from Tata Power Mumbai Distribution on July 13, 2020 to develop a 225-mw hybrid renewable project. TPGEL won this project in a bid recently finalized by Tata Power Mumbai Distribution. (read more)

 

• ReNew Power has announced that it intends to start manufacturing solar cells and modules in India. (read more)

 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power project to the Nation via video conference on July 10, 2020. (read more)

 

• Official statistics indicate that renewable energy sources like solar and wind have accounted for a higher proportion in electricity generation during the early months of the current fiscal year. (read more)

 

• Vikram Solar has commissioned a solar project atop “The 42” — Kolkata’s tallest skyscraper. (read more)

 

Power Equipment News

• NTPC announced, on July 20, 2020, that Unit-2 of its Lara supercritical power project (Stage-1) in Chhattisgarh has successfully completed trial operations. (read more)

 

• Electrical Research & Development Association (ERDA) has contributed to the KAPP-3 project by conducting critical tests amidst the inclement times of COVID19 pandemic. (read more)

 

International News

• In a world’s first, Siemens Energy is connecting three Offshore Transformer Modules® (OTM®), its range of AC offshore substation platforms, and will transmit the power generated from the 950-mw Moray East Offshore Windfarm project, located 22km off the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland. (read more)

 

• Installation began in May 2020 on the first major project in Europe featuring ACCC AZR Conductor, CTC Global’s new conductor variant featuring the use of AT3 alloy for exceptional wind/ice performance. (read more)

 

 

Orders & Contracts

• ABB will deliver the largest automation projects in the Indian agro-chemical industry for Deccan Fine Chemicals, a leading chemical manufacturer in India. This mission critical automation and safety system controls over 100 reactors at the largest multi-product plant, at their SEZ facility in Tuni, Andhra Pradesh. (read more)

 

• thyssenkrupp Elevator (India) has been chosen by IICC Ltd and the developer, Larsen & Turbo Ltd. to equip upcoming India International Convention & Expo Centre (IICC) with  high-end, efficient and elegant mobility equipment. The order, of unspecified value, comprises 53 elevators, 39 escalators and four moving walks. (read more)

 

• GE Power India Ltd has been awarded three contracts for a combined value of Rs.850.69 crore ($112.57 million) to supply its air quality control systems (AQCS) solutions. (read more)

 

• In an order worth Rs.120 crore, Hitachi ABB Power Grids India will be delivering its transformers to the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), an outfit of the Indian Railways, for the production of 400 passenger and freight locomotive engines. (read more)

 

Interview

• In this exclusive interaction, we have Amogh Nawathe, CEO, T&D Business, Sterling and Wilson Pvt Ltd, discussing a variety of issues whilst executing power T&D projects. (read more)

 

Special Reports

• The COVID-19 related lockdown appears to have had a detrimental effect on the country’s power transmission infrastructure upgrade programme, according to information released by Central Electricity Authority. (read more)

 

• In its latest Load Generation Balance Report (LGBR), Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has envisaged India to have an energy surplus of 2.7 per cent in FY21 with the peak surplus for the year estimated at 9.1 per cent. (read more)

 

• A recent report on project implementation released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MOSPI) shows that projects under the power ministry have seen total cost escalation of 44 per cent.(read more)

 

 

New Product Launches

• Siemens Smart Infrastructure launched its new building automation controllers Desigo PXC4 and PXC5 to transform buildings into high-performing, energy efficient assets. (read more)

 

• The newest version of EPLAN Data Portal, which provides users with component and device data for design engineering over the web, was released in early June 2020. The Portal is now exclusively integrated into the EPLAN ePulse cloud environment. (read more)

 

• Ambrane has launched a range of Smart Home devices — Smart Plug ASP-10  and Smart Plug ASP-16. (read more)

 

• Ingersoll Rand, engaged in mission-critical flow creation and industrial technologies, has announced the launch of new rotary screw compressor and small recip in India.  This is part of company’s larger plans of launching an extensive product portfolio in the year 2020~21 in India over the coming months. (read more)

 

• OMRON Asia Pacific has forayed into UVC disinfection with the launch of its robot – LD UVC. A co-creation with Techmetics Robotics, this robot aims to help organisations fight spread of infectious diseases effectively and conveniently (read more)

 

• Cleantech startup Skilancer Solar has announced the launch of its autonomous waterless robot for the cleaning of small-scale solar power plants installed on residential roof tops. (read more)

 

• Vertiv has introduced Vertiv™ Geist™ rack power distribution units (rPDU) with the new, patented Combination Outlet C13/C19 option that supports C14 and C20 plug types, simplifying the purchasing and provisioning of new rPDUs and other rack equipment. The Combination Outlet is available for shipment now in India for single-phase applications from 120-208V. (read more)

 

• ABB has introduced its ABB Tvisha range of switches and sockets, an innovative solution that helps users to keep bacteria at bay. (read more)