The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has admitted Adani Power’s petition to adjudicate its dispute with utilities from Gujarat and Haryana over their power purchase agreement (PPA).

In its petition, Adani Power, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, raises several issues relating to the effect of Indonesian Regulations on its obligations to supply power at the rate discovered through the competitive bidding process and deviations in the fuel supply agreement (FSA) signed with Coal India.

Project-affected villagers pitch for technical and financial audit

It took 37 years to complete the Rajiv Sagar project on the tributary of the Wainganga river in the Godawari basin. The project, a joint venture between the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments, was started in 1975, with an approved cost of Rs 23 crore. However, this rose to a whopping Rs 1,407 crore. While Maharashtra contributed Rs 749 crore, Rs 658 crore came from Madhya Pradesh.

Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), which completed initial fuel loading at the Kudankulam plant, would soon seek the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) nod to close the reactor vessel before starting the process for the reactor to attain criticality.

Meanwhile, NPC and the Depart-ment of Atomic Energy are preparation its arguments on safety measures at the Kudankulam project for Thursday’s hearing in the Supreme Court. NPC has finished initial fuel loading in phase-I of the project on October 2.

Initial fuel loading having been completed, firm looks at safety measures at the project site for Thursday's hearing

Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), which completed initial fuel loading at the Kudankulam plant, would soon seek the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) nod to close the reactor vessel before starting the process for the reactor to attain criticality. Meanwhile, NPC and the Department of Atomic Energy are preparation its arguments on safety measures at the Kudankulam project for Thursday’s hearing in the Supreme Court.

Forum of regulators expects to promote involvement of private sector

Development of off-grid renewable energy (OGRE) projects with capacity up to 300 Mw would get a major boost after the Forum of Regulators (FoR) issues guidelines in October. The guidelines would also come in handy for electricity regulatory commissions to determine tariff in such projects. Off-grid renewable energy projects are standalone systems generating electricity from renewable energy sources. They are not connected to the grid. A network, including associated appliances, is used for distributing the electricity.

Consumers with contract demand of 1 Mw and above have been allowed open access in Rajasthan from April 1, 2008

A power regulator’s movecould stop open access plans for consumers having load in excess of 1 Mw. Contrary to the stand taken by the Union power ministry after seeking the view of the law ministry, the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) has ruled that it has the jurisdiction to determine the rates for all consumers, including those having load in excess of 1 Mw, according to the law.

To provide relief to the power sector, which is reeling under a fuel crisis, the Planning Commission has circulated a paper on public-private partnership in electricity generation. In the paper, the commission pointed to the problems faced by power producers using domestic, as well as imported fuel. It has suggested bidding be carried out at capacity charge, while the variable charge (which comprises fuel charges) would be passed on to consumers.

Capacity charge is the billed amount that covers the difference between the power a customer expects to be available and the power the customer actually uses.

If the ministry has its way, rates will not be fixed by appropriate commissions, but by competition

In a bid to provide a much-needed relief to crisis-hit power companies, the power ministry has proposed changes in the Electricity Act to reform the tariff determination mechanism. If the ministry has its way, rates will not be fixed by appropriate commissions, but by competition. However, the Forum of Regulators (FoR), a representative body of regulatory commissions in the country, has taken strong objection to the power ministry’s ministry’s proposal to amend the Section 62 and 63 of the Act, citing the Indian power market was still evolving and there was no need for such amendments at this point in time.

Regulatory inspections of nuclear power plants and research facilities have revealed there have been deviation from technical specifications and other regulatory stipulations, deficiencies and degradations in safety-related systems and procedural inadequacies.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which carried out 47 regulatory inspections, comprising 25 scheduled and 22 special inspections in 2011-12, observed there were shortcomings in safety design and safety support systems based on operating experience, including generic deficiencies.

State power utilities have been penalised for not complying with the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, while drawing power under the unscheduled interchange mechanism.

In a path-breaking order, the Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on utilities in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh, and Rs 90,000 each on utilities in Punjab and Tamil Nadu for not having letters of credit and thereby causing non-compliance.

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