Company Highlights: Key developments over the past 12 months

The country witnessed an energy crisis in the beginning of April 2022, marked by power outages and peak demand shortages. Post-pandemic demand recovery, heatwaves witnessed in several parts of the country, inadequate coal availability and logistics constraints in coal transportation were some of the main factors that led to a power shortage. Despite these challenges, the sector was able to achieve several critical milestones. On the generation front, a number of thermal and renewable energy projects were commissioned by public and private sector players. In the renewable energy space, tenders gained traction in areas such as floating solar, round-the-clock (RTC) power and manufacturing. Several equipment contracts were awarded for installing air quality control systems in thermal power plants (TPPs). In the distribution segment, the key highlights were the signing of MoUs in the areas of smart metering and electric vehicles (EVs). For transmission, major players won bids for transmission line projects through the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route. The power sector witnessed the signing of several MoUs, and the incorporation of joint ventures (JVs) and subsidiary companies by leading power companies for their renewable energy business.

Power Line presents a round-up of the key developments in the power sector during the past 12 months…

Key projects commissioned – Generation

During the past 12 months, capacity ad­d­ition in the coal-based segment was led by public major NTPC Limited and oth­er state gencos including Uttar Pra­desh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limi­ted, Te­langana State Power Genera­tion Cor­po­­ration Limited (TSGenco) and Rajas­than Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limi­ted (RRVUNL). In the hydropower segment, capacities were added by NHPC Li­­mited, UJVN Limited as well as private player GMR Energy. Significant renewable capacity was added by several players during the year, including NTPC and private majors Tata Power Renewable En­ergy Limited (TPREL), ReNew Power, Azure Power, among others.

• Du­ring the past 12 months, NTPC ex­panded its generation capacity both in thermal as well as renewables. In Sep­tember 2022, NTPC commissioned the 20 MW Auraiya floating solar PV pro­­ject at Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. In Augu­st 2022, NTPC commissioned the 56 MW Kawas solar PV project at NTPC Ka­was, Gujarat; the 250 MW Kol­yat solar PV project at Bikaner, Ra­jasthan; and the 296 MW Fatehgarh solar project in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Further, it commissioned the first part capacity of 10 MW out of the 20 MW Gandhar so­lar PV project in Gujarat. In July 2022, it commissioned a 100 MW floating solar PV plant at NTPC Ramagun­dam in Telangana, while in June 2022, NTPC commissioned the 92 MW Kaya­m­kulam floating solar pro­ject in Kera­la. Meanwhile, in March 2022, it commissioned the 160 MW Jetsar solar pro­ject in Rajasthan. In the thermal power seg­­ment, NTPC commissi­o­­n­ed Unit 3 of 660 MW capacity of its wh­­olly own­ed subsidiary Nabinagar Po­wer Gene­ra­ting Company Limited in Mar­ch 2022. In November 2021, it commissioned Unit 4 of 250 MW ca­pa­city of the Nabinagar TPP (4×250 MW) of Bh­a­rtiya Rail Bijlee Company Li­mited, a subsidiary of NTPC located in Bihar. In November 2021, NTPC co­mmissio­n­ed Unit 1 of 660 MW capacity of Barh STPP Stage I in Bihar. Besi­des this, in April 2022, NTPC Sail Po­wer Company Limited, a JV of NTPC and Steel Autho­rity of India Limited, operationalised a 250 MW ca­p­tive power unit in Rour­kela, Odisha.
• In August 2022, TPREL commissioned a 150 MW solar power project in Loha­r­­ki, Rajasthan. In May 2022, TPREL co­mmissioned a 100 MW/138 MWp solar project for Maharashtra State El­ec­­tricity Distribution Company Limi­ted (MSEDCL) in Partur, Maharashtra. Fur­ther, it commissioned a 120 MW solar project in Mesanka, Gujarat. In Ap­ril 2022, TPREL commissioned a 300 MW solar project in Dholera, Gu­ja­rat; and in January 2022, it commissioned two solar PV projects of 50 MW each at Pra­yagraj and Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
• In August 2022, Rays Power Infra Pri­va­te Limited commissioned a 150 MW grid-connected solar power plant in Rai­chur and Koppal, Karnataka.
• In July 2022, GMR Energy’s 180 MW Ba­joli Holi project in Himachal Prade­sh became operational. The project was built by GE Renewable Energy’s hy­­dropower business, part of GE Po­w­er India Limited.
• In June 2022, the biggest solar power plant in the Northeast, the 70 MW Am­guri solar park, was commissioned in Si­vasagar district of Assam. The project has been executed by Jackson Po­w­er Private Limited with the infrastr­ucture developed by Assam Power Ge­neration Corporation Limited.
• In June 2022, O2 Power Private Limi­ted launched commercial operations of its 250 MW solar plant in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The power produced will be sold to SECI at Rs 2.50 per kW, with SECI selling the power to Rajas­than Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.
• In May 2022, Azure Power commissio­n­ed a 90 MW solar power project in Ass­am. In March 2022, Azure commissio­ned its 300 MW interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected solar power project, Rajasthan 8, in Bhadla. In Jan­uary 2022, it commissioned a 600 MW ISTS-connected solar project allocated by SECI in Bikaner, Rajas­than.
• In May 2022, ACME Solar Holding Li­mi­ted commissioned a 300 MW solar po­wer project for MSEDCL at village Badiseed in Jodhpur district of Rajas­than, which will supply electricity to Maharashtra.
• In May 2022, state genco UJVN Limi­ted commissioned Units 1 and 2 of 60 MW each of the Vyasi hydropower pro­­­ject in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• In April 2022, JSW Renewable Energy (Vijayanagar) Limited commenced op­erations of a 225 MW solar plant at Vi­ja­yanagar, Karnataka. The project is pa­rt of the earlier announced 958 MW so­lar and wind projects signed with JSW Steel under the group captive scheme.
• In March 2022, SunSource Energy co­m­missioned the first phase of its 45 MW open access project in Shivala Ka­lan village of Uttar Pradesh.
• In January 2022, TSGenco completed the execution of the 4×270 (1,080) MW Bhadradri thermal power station, a greenfield project near Manuguru in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, Tela­n­­ga­na, with the commissioning of Unit 4 of the project. The first three uni­ts co­m­menced commercial operation in June 2020, December 2020 and March 2021 respectively.
• In January 2022, Ayana Renewable Po­w­er Private Limited (Ayana) commis­s­i­o­­ned a 300 MWac ISTS-connected so­lar PV project at Bikaner, Rajasthan.
• In December 2021, ReNew commissi­oned the 300 MW SECI-VI solar proj­ect and the 300 MW SECI-IV solar pro­­­ject in Rajasthan.
• In November 2021, as per the CEA, SEPC Power Private commissioned the 525 MW Unit 1 of the Tuticorin TPP Stage IV project in Tamil Nadu.
• In October 2021, RRVUNL commissio­n­ed the 660 MW Unit-8 of the Surat­garh STPP in Rajasthan. BHEL was gi­ven the work order for the project in March 2013.
• In October 2021, BHEL completed the renovation and modernisation, and commissioning of the third and final units of NHPC Limited’s 3×60 MW Bai­ra Siul hydropower station in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

Key projects commissioned – Transmission

In the transmission segment, public sector major Power Grid Corporation of In­dia Limited (Powergrid) and private pla­yers such as Sterlite Power Transmis­sion Limited and Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) commissioned several key projects.

• In May 2022, Powergrid energised its 400/220/132 kV, 1,400 MVA Sitamarhi substation in northern Bihar. The substation involved a cost of about Rs 6.44 billion. Earlier, in October 2021, Pow­er­grid Khetri Transmission System Li­mited commissioned the transmissi­on system associated with Rajasthan Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) Part C. The pro­ject involves a new 765 kV substation at Khetri (Rajasthan) and connects the capital of the country at Jha­tikara (Delhi) through a 765 kV double circuit transmission line. It also connects Sikar (Rajasthan) throu­gh a 400 kV double-circuit transmission line. During the same month, Power Grid Mithilanchal Transmission Limited commissioned the transmission system associated with the Eastern Re­gion Strengthening Scheme-XXI set up on a build-own-operate-maintain ba­sis. In September 2021, Power­grid co­m­missioned another TBCB project developed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Powergrid Fatehgarh Tra­ns­mission Limited, in Rajasthan. Du­ring the same month, Powergrid’s special purpose vehicle (SPV) Medini­pur-Jeerat Transmission Limited commissioned the 3,000 MW, 765/400 kV New Jeerat substation and associated tra­ns­mission lines in West Bengal.
• In September 2022, Sterlite Power’s su­b­­si­diary Mumbai Urja Marg Trans­mi­s­sion Limited commissioned the 400 kV Banaskantha, Kansari and Vadavi tran­s­mission lines in Gujarat to evacuate around 1,000 MW of renewable power from the pooling station at Bhuj in Gujarat to the national grid. Earlier, in January 2022, Sterlite Power Trans­mi­ssion Limited commissioned the Khar­gone Transmission Limited project worth Rs 16.62 billion in Madhya Pra­desh to evacuate 1,320 MW of po­wer generated by the Khargone TPP to the 765 kV Khandwa substation.
• In December 2021, ATL completed the construction of 897 ckt. km of the intra-state power transmission line in Uttar Pradesh. The transmission line, set up by ATL’s subsidiary Ghatampur Trans­mi­ssion Limited, will connect the Gha­ta­mpur TPP in Kanpur district to the Hapur substation in Uttar Pradesh.
• In August 2022, Madhya Pradesh Pow­er Tra­nsmission Company Limited (MPPTCL) completed the last Green Energy Corridors project – the 400 kV, 179 km Ashta-Ujjain double-circuit tra­nsmission line. Further, it completed the construction of the 132 kV Dhi­mar­kheda extra high voltage substation and associated transmission line in the state as well as the state’s first gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation of 50 MVA capacity in Indore.
• In August 2022, Punjab State Trans­mis­sion Corporation Limited completed two key transmission projects with an investment of Rs 360 million. The company commissioned an additional 500 MVA, 400/220 kV interconnecting tra­n­s­­former (ICT) at the 400 kV Rajpura sub­station in village Chandua Khurd; and installed an ICT and high temperature low sag conductor on the 220 kV Jalandhar-Kartarpur line.
• In February 2022, JKSPDC commissioned line-in line-out (LILO) of the 400 kV Kishanpur-New Wanpoo line located at the Baglihar hydroelectric project in Ramban district to directly transmit power from the project to Ka­sh­mir. Jammu and Kashmir State Pow­er Transmission Company Limi­ted’s (JKSPTCL) projects were also inaugurated during the same month – inclu­ding the 160 MVA, 220/66 kV Samba grid station, the 220 kV double-circuit Jatwal-Samba transmission line; the 160 MVA, 220/66 kV Kathua II (Ghatti) grid station, including the 220 kV double-circuit LILO of the Thein-Hira­na­gar transmission line, among others. Meanwhile, in December 2021, JKSPTCL commissioned the first GIS substation in Pulwama’s Lassipora area.
• In October 2021, Kalpataru Power Tran­smission Limited (KPTL) executed a 22 kV power transmission line under a cross-border economic initiative under India’s Neighbourhood First policy. The 106 km Koshi corridor transmission li­ne, with a cost of NPR 10.4 billion, is built under the Government of India’s line of credit of $550 million. Pack­age 1 of this project was executed by KPTL and handed over to the Nepal Elec­tri­city Authority.

Projects secured

Several key tenders for transmission line projects, renewable energy projects and EV charging stations were secured by po­wer majors in both domestic and in­ternational bids.

• In September 2022, NTPC Renewable En­ergy Limited (NTPC REL) secured 200 MW of capacity by quoting Rs 2.82 per kWh in an auction conducted by MSEDCL to procure power from 500 MW of grid-connected inter or intra­state solar projects (Phase VIII) on a long-term basis. In August 2022, NTPC secured contracts under the Interna­tional Solar Alliance to help set up solar projects in Cuba, Niger and Ma­la­wi. The project management consultancy contract has been awarded for setting up 900 MW of solar projects in Cuba, 100 MW of solar projects in Ma­la­wi and 50 MW of solar projects in Niger. Earlier, in December 2021, in SECI’s solar auction for 1,785 MW of solar power projects (Tranche IV) in Rajasthan, NTPC REL had won 500 MW of capacity, quoting a tariff of Rs 2.17 per kWh. In September 2021, NTPC won 1.9 GW of solar power projects under the Central Public Sector Undertaking Scheme Phase II. The company won the projects under Tra­n­­che 3 of the 5 GW tender.
• In September 2022, in an auction conducted by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Li­mi­ted (RUMSL) for the development of 750 MW of wind-solar hybrid power projects in Madhya Pradesh, Sprng Oj­as Private Limited was awarded 160 MW, Tata Power Renewable Energy Li­mited 200 MW, TEQ Green Power IX Private Limited 90 MW and ReNew So­lar Power Private Limited 300 MW. The project will be designed to deliver energy to a substation of MPPTCL.
• In September 2022, Avaada Energy won 300 MW of capacity at a tariff of Rs 2.83 per kWh in an auction conducted by MSEDCL to procure power from 500 MW of grid-connected inter- or intra-state solar projects (Phase VIII).
• In August 2022, JSW Renew Energy Fi­ve Limited, a JSW Energy Limited SPV, emerged as the lowest bidder in a SECI auction for setting up pilot projects of 500 MW/1,000 MWh standal­one battery energy storage systems (BESSs). The tender is for two battery storage projects at the Fatehgarh III substations in Rajasthan. In July 2022, JSW Neo Energy Limited, a wholly ow­ned subsidiary of JSW Energy Limi­ted, received a letter of award (LoA) for 300 MW of wind capacity from SECI aga­i­n­st tariff-based competitive bids invi­ted by SECI for setting up 1,200 MW of ISTS-connected wind power projects (Tranche XII).
• In August 2022, Amp Energy India was declared one of the winners in RUMSL’s auction for India’s 600 MW floating so­lar project. It signed a po­wer purcha­se agreement (PPA) with RUMSL in Ma­dh­ya Pradesh to develop 100 MW/140 MWp capacity at the Om­ka­re­sh­war Reservoir.
• In July 2022, Powergrid won a tra­ns­mission project for the evacuati­on of electricity from the Neemuch SEZ in Madhya Pradesh. The company was de­clared as the successful bidder un­der TBCB to establish an ISTS for the evacuation of power from the Nee­much SEZ on a build-own-operate-tra­nsfer basis.
• In July 2022, TP Saurya Limited recei­v­ed an LoA from SECI for setting up a 600 MW wind-solar hybrid power project in Karnataka. Earlier, in December 2021, TP Saurya had received an LoA from MSEDCL for setting up 300 MW of hybrid power capacity. In Decem­ber 2021, Tata Power Solar Systems Li­mi­ted won the contract for setting up a 100 MW (AC) solar project with a 40 MW/120 MWh BESS to be set up at Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.
• In July 2022, Torrent Power Limited re­ceived an LoA for a 300 MW wind po­wer project from SECI. The project will be set up in Karnataka at an estimated cost of Rs 26 billion.
• In July 2022, Hero Future Energies em­erged as a successful bidder in Ke­rala St­ate Electricity Board Limited’s (KSEBL) tender for the construction of a 10 MW/20 MWh grid-connected en­ergy storage plant.
• In June 2022, Powergrid acquired Mo­han­lalganj Transmission Limited, an intra-state transmission system in Ut­tar Pradesh, for over Rs 91.1 million. In May 2022, Powergrid acquired Khetri-Narela Transmission Limited, an ISTS, for an aggregate value of around Rs 225 million. Both the projects were ac­qu­ired under TBCB from Power Fi­nance Co­r­poration Consulting Limit­ed (PFCCL).
• In May 2022, GR Infraprojects Limited won the bid for the Rajgarh Trans­mis­sion Limited interstate transmission project from RECPDCL through a TBCB process.
• In March 2022, Sterlite Power won a TBCB project from PFCCL to build, own, operate and maintain a critical tra­nsmission project in Jammu & Ka­s­h­mir for a period of 35 years. The tra­nsmission system will be used for the evacuation of 1,000 MW of power from the Pakaldul hydroelectric project to the Kishtwar substation. In De­c­ember 2021, Sterlite Power acquired the Nan­galbibra-Bongaigaon ISTS pro­ject from PFCCL.
• In March 2022, ReNew Transmission Ve­­n­tures Private Limited won the bid for the construction of the Trans­mi­s­sion Scheme for the SEZ in Gadag (2,500 MW), Karnataka – Part A. It was selected by RECPDCL through the TBCB pro­cess.
• In March 2022, Torrent Power Limited won the bid for the privatisation of the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Ha­ve­li (DNH) and Daman & Diu (DD). It entered into a share purchase agree­me­­nt and shareholders agreement with DNH and DD, the holding entity and DNH-DD Power Distribution Cor­poration Limited, an SPV. The agreement is for the purchase of 51 per cent equity share capital of the SPV from the holding entity.
• In August 2022, SJVN Limited secured a 90 MW floating solar project at Om­ka­reshwar, Madhya Pradesh, from RUMSL at a tentative cost of Rs 5.85 bi­ll­i­on. In March 2022, SJVN Limited se­cured a 100 MW grid-connected so­lar po­wer project in Gujarat through TBCB conducted by Gujarat Urja Vi­kas Nigam Limited. In February 2022, SJVN also secured a 15 MW grid-connected floating solar PV power project in Bilaspur, Himachal Prade­sh, throu­gh an e-reverse auction held by SECI. In January, SJVN secured a 125 MW grid-connected solar power project in Uttar Pradesh via a letter of in­tent (LoI) issued by the Uttar Pra­desh New and Renewable Energy De­velo­p­ment Agency.
• In February 2022, Project Eight Rene­wable Power (Ayana Renewable Pow­er) secured a capacity of 300 MW at a tariff of Rs 2.36 per kWh in SECI’s auction for 1,200 MW of ISTS-connected solar power projects (Tranche X) in Kar­nataka.
• In February 2022, SolarOne Energy (Fo­r­tum) secured a capacity of 300 MW at a tariff of Rs 2.37 per kWh in SECI’s auction for 1,200 MW of ISTS-con­nected so­lar power projects (Tran­che X) in Karnataka.
• In January 2022, ATL won two power transmission pro­jects – Karur Trans­mission Li­mi­ted and Khavda-Bhuj Tra­nsmis­sion Limi­ted.
• In January 2022, Tata Projects Limited secured orders totalling $323 million for transmission and distribution (T&D) projects across Africa. In Nov­ember 2021, Tata Projects Limited se­cu­red the 400 kV 120 km long doub­le-circuit Barapuku­ria-Bogura transmission line project valued at about Rs 9 bi­llion from Po­wer Grid Company of Ba­ngladesh Li­mited on a turnkey basis.
• In December 2021, Sprng Energy Natu­ral Power Source won 200 MW of capa­city quoting a tariff of Rs 2.17 per kWh in SECI’s solar auction for 1,785 MW of solar power projects (Tranche IV).
• In December 2021, a consortium of In­diGrid 1 Limited and IndiGrid 2 Li­mi­ted won the bid for the transmission project for supplying electricity from 1 GW of renewable energy projects in Os­manabad through a TBCB tender.
• In December 2021, Azure Power recei­ved an LoA for its second wi­nd-solar hy­brid power project of 200 MW from Maharashtra State Electri­city Distri­bu­tion Company Limited to supply po­­wer at a fixed tariff of Rs 2.62 per kWh for 25 years. It entails setting up of 133 MW of solar and 67 MW of wind capacity in Rajasthan and Maha­ra­sh­tra respectively.
• In October 2021, Jindal India Solar En­ergy, Shirdi Sai Electricals, Reliance New Energy Solar and Adani Infra­str­u­c­ture emerged as the lowest bidders for IREDA’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Jindal India sought the low­est incentive of Rs 13.9 billion, Shirdi Sai of Rs 18.75 billion, Reliance Rs 19.17 billion and Adani Rs 26 billion.
• In October 2021, Green Infra Wind En­ergy Limited, a subsidiary of Semb­corp In­dustries, received an LoA for a 180 MW wind power project in the 11th na­tio­n­wide wind power auction held by SECI. The project will be located in Karnataka.
• In October 2021, Adani Renewable En­ergy Holding Fifteen Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Green Ener­gy Limited (AGEL), received an LoA for setting up a 450 MW wind energy project, in a tender issued by SECI for setting up a 1,200 MW ISTS-connected wi­nd power project (Tranche XI).

Key equipment contracts – Generation

In the power generation segment, a nu­mber of equipment contracts were aw­ar­ded to BHEL, L&T Power, Andritz, Ther­max and GE Steam Power for ins­talling main plan equipment in the thermal, nuclear and hydro segments, as well as em­ission control equipment for TPPs. Or­ders for wind and solar projects also gai­ned traction and were won by majors su­ch as Suzlon and Siemens Gamesa.

• In September 2022, BHEL received an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) order from NTPC Limi­ted for setting up the 2×660 MW Talcher TPP Stage III in Talcher, Odisha.
• In September 2022, the Suzlon Group se­cu­red an order for the development of a 180.6 MW wind power project for Gr­een Infra Wind Energy Limited in Ka­nakagiribad, Bagalkot, Karnataka. Suz­lon will install 86 wind turbine generators with a hybrid lattice tubular tower and a rated capacity of 2.1 MW each.
• In August 2022, Gensol Engineering Li­­­mited secured orders worth Rs 1.53 billion for building solar power projects with a capacity totalling 58.8 MW in August 2022. The company secured orders for solar power projects in Ja­m­mu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Punjab, Ra­jas­than, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
• In August 2022, Inox Wind Limited se­cu­red an order from NTPC REL for a 200 MW wind power project to be co­m­­­missioned by January 2024 at the Da­yapar site in Kutch district, Gu­ja­r­at. Additionally, in November 2021, Inox Wind secured an order for a 150 MW wind power project from NTPC REL, to be executed on a turn­key basis at the Dayapar site.
• In August 2022, Siemens Gamesa secu­red an order from Azure Power India Pri­vate Limited to supply wind turbi­nes for a 346 MW project in Karna­ta­ka. Earlier, in June 2022, it had signed a deal with Vena Energy to supply turbines to a 133 MW wind project in Ko­ppal district, Karnataka. Even earlier, in December 2021, the company had won an order for supplying wind turbines for a 302 MW project of Ayana Renew­able Power Six Private Limited.
• In August 2022, Power Mech Projects Li­­mited secured an order for five flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) projects with an aggregate value of Rs 61.63 bi­­­lli­on from the Adani Group, to be im­­ple­mented at Adani’s coal-based pow­er plants in Mundra, Tiroda, Ka­wai and Udupi.
• In July 2022, NTPC-GE Power Services Private Limited received orders from NTPC REL for the EPC of balance of sy­stems at two sites with 105 MW and 220 MW of capacity respectively, along with operations and maintenance for three years.
• In June 2022, GE Steam Power signed a $165 million agreement with BHEL to supply three nuclear steam turbine uni­ts out of six for Nuclear Power Cor­po­ration of India Limited’s (NPCIL) do­mestic nuclear programme – Phase I, being developed at Gorakhpur, Har­ya­na (Units 1 to 4 of the Gorakhpur Har­ya­­na Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP)) and Kaiga, Karnataka (Kaiga Atomic Po­­­­wer Station Units 5 and 6).
• In May 2022, Envision Energy received a 2,000 MW wind turbine order in In­d­ia. All 596 wind turbines will be ma­nu­factured in Envision’s India factory, and will be delivered by the end of 2023.
• In April 2022, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited received a contract from Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited for the turnkey ex­ecution of the 850 MW Ratle hydel project in Jammu & Kashmir.
• In March 2022, BHEL despatched its 42nd nuclear steam generator to NPCIL for installation at a 700 MW unit of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project.
• In March 2022, the renewable arm of L&T won an order to construct a 245 MW solar power project in Rajasthan. It also has another contract to implement a solar PV-cum-storage project in Kutch district, Gujarat. The project will have a 35 MW (AC) solar capacity and a 57 MWh BESS.
• In March 2022, the heavy engineering arm of L&T despatched the fourth ste­am generator for NPCIL’s indigenously designed 700 MWe pressuris­ed heavy water reactors (PHWRs), to be set up at GHAVP in Fatehabad district, Haryana.
• In March 2022, ANDRITZ received an order from Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Limited for the complete hydromechanical and elec­tro­mechanical works of the Upper Tri­shu­li-1 run-of-the-river hydropower plant (216 MW), located on the Trishuli ri­ver in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Ear­lier, in November 2021, Andritz had received an order from Assam Po­w­er Generation Corporation Limited to su­pply the complete electrome­ch­a­nical equipment for the 120 MW Lo­w­er Ko­pili hydroelectric plant (HEP) located on the Kopili river in central Assam.
• In January 2022, GE Renewable Energy secured an order from Continuum Tri­nethra Renewables Private Limited to supply 37 wind turbines for the 99.9 MW wind power project in Rajkot, Gu­jarat. Earlier, in October 2021, GE Re­ne­wable Energy had secured an order from JSW Energy Limited to supply 810 MW of onshore wind turbines for wind farms in Tamil Nadu.
• In January 2022, Thermax Limited ba­gged an order worth Rs 5.46 billion fr­om a public sector power company to set up two FGD systems at their two units of 500 MW capacity each in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, in November 2021, Th­er­max Limited won a Rs 8.3 billion order from an Indian private sector po­wer company, to set up FGD syste­ms for their three units of 660 MW each in Uttar Pradesh.
• In October 2021, Senvion India secur­ed a contract to deliver wind turbines for a 591 MW project by JSW Energy Limited.

Key equipment contracts – Transmission and distribution

Several T&D equipment contracts were awar­ded in the past year to key industry players, including KPTL, L&T, KEC In­te­r­national Limited, Hitachi En­er­gy India Limited and GE’s Grid Solu­tions business.

• In August 2022, KPTL entered into an agreement with SJVN Limited for the construction of a 220 kV direct current single zebra transmission line for the 210 MW Luhri HEP Stage I in Himachal Pradesh. In March 2022, KPTL received an LoI from the international market for the construction of a high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission line of about 700 km, worth Rs 32.76 billion.
• In September 2022, KEC International secured new orders worth Rs 11.08 billion, including a 400 kV transmission line order from Powergrid, a 132 kV un­derground cabling order from a state utility in India, a 220 kV transmission line and tower supply orders in the Mi­ddle East, and 330 kV transmission line order in Africa. In July 2022, it se­cured new orders worth Rs 12.33 billion for a 765 kV digital GIS substation in India from Powergrid; supply of to­wers in the Middle East; and supply of towers, hardware and poles in the Ameri­cas, among others. During the same mo­­n­th, the company secured a trans­mi­ssion project worth Rs 474 million from SJVN Limited for the construction of a 220 kV double-circuit tra­nsmission line from the 66 MW Dha­ulasidh HEP switchyard in Hamir­pur district to the 220 kV network of Hi­m­achal Pradesh Power Transmis­si­on Corporation Limi­ted in the Sujan­pur area of Himachal Pradesh. In June 2022, KEC Interna­tio­nal secured an or­der for 2×25 kV overhead electrifi­cati­on and associated wo­rks for speed upgradation (Mission Raftaar), in India.
• In August 2022, CyanConnode India Pri­­vate Limited received an order from Genus Power Infrastructures Limited for 1 million Omnimesh radio fre­qu­e­n­­­cy modules, for the deployment of sm­art meters in Bihar.
• In July 2022, Hitachi Energy India Limited won a major order from Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra Limited to build an HVDC transmission system li­n­king Kudus to Mumbai. The new HVDC link will supply up to 1,000 MW of electricity, increasing the supply of power from outside the city by almost 50 per cent. Earlier, in April 2022, Hita­chi Energy India Limited had won an order worth Rs 1.6 billion from Ma­d­hya Pradesh Power Transmission Pa­c­k­age-II Limited, to strengthen the transmission system in the rural area of Madhya Pradesh.
• In April 2022, GE’s Grid Solutions business was awarded a contract by Re­New Power Private Limited to build two 400 kV substations in the state of Karnataka – a 400/220 kV air-insulated switchgear (AIS) substation in Koppal, and a 400 kV GIS in Narendra. The co­ntract also includes the supply of two 125 MVAR 400 kV reactors for each substation.
• In November 2021, APDCL gave an LoA to IntelliSmart for install­ing 600,000 smart meters in 19 circles, entailing an investment of Rs 5 billion.
• In October 2021, HPL Electric and Po­wer Limited (HPL) received an order worth Rs 1.79 billion for smart meters, from the largest private utility of a sta­te in eastern India.

Fuel-related developments

• In July 2022, Coal India Limited (CIL) awarded a contract to the PT Bara Daya En­er­gy consortium to import 791,000 to­n­n­es of coal for supply to gencos during August and Septem­ber 2022.
• In June 2022, NTPC was awarded the operation contract for the Talaipalli (West Pit) block (Chhattisgarh); mining op­e­r­ations in this pit will commence soon. Meanwhile, in April 2022, NTPC started mining operations in the Chatti Bariatu mine in Jharkhand.
• In June 2022, Amara Raja Power Sys­tems Limited was awarded the project of setting up India’s first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh, by NTPC Limited. NTPC plans to ply five hy­drogen fuel cell buses in the region.
• In December 2021, BTL EPC Limited se­­cured an order worth Rs 3.17 billion from NTPC Limited for setting up a coal handling plant for the Pakri Bar­w­adih coal mining project in Jharkh­and.
• In September 2021, Bharat Coking Co­al Limited, a subsidiary of CIL, sig­n­ed a revenue sharing contract worth ab­out Rs 18.8 billion with Prabha En­ergy Private Limited for commercial extra­ction of coal bed methane from Jharia Block-I.

EV and charging infrastructure

The EV segment witnessed an upswing in activity. Power majors such as Con­v­er­gence Energy Services Limited (CESL), besides several private players, an­no­unced plans to scale up the EV charging infrastructure.

• In September 2022, CESL floated a tender for 5,690 e-buses. This is the first tender under the National Elec­t­ric Bus Programme, which aims to de­p­loy 50,000 e-buses across the country. Ea­rlier, in January 2022, CESL an­nounced a Grand Challenge tender for 5,450 electric buses across Bengaluru, Delhi, Surat, Hyderabad and Kolkata. In April 2022, CESL announced the lo­west ever prices discovered for these buses – Rs 43.49 per km for a 12 metre bus, and Rs 39.21 per km for a 9 metre bus.
• In September 2022, Tata Power anno­un­ced the completion of over 450 EV charging points across more than 350 national highways. In June 2022, Tata Power installed more than 150 charging points powered by clean energy so­urces in Mumbai.
• In February 2022, Fortum Charge & Drive India partnered with BSES Ya­m­u­­na Power Limited (BYPL) to launch a first-of-its-kind pilot project on load balancing in India. The pilot project will focus on managing charging by balancing dynamic demand from EVs with static load input from BYPL in the smart chargers provided by Fortum Charge & Drive.
• In November 2021, Greaves Electric Mobility launched the company’s lar­ge­st EV production facility in Rani­pet, Tamil Nadu, with a capacity to produce 0.12 million units by the end of 2021-22, which will gradually increase to 1 million units in the future.

PPA-related developments

Over the year, various PPAs were app­roved while several others were terminated.

• In July 2022, Delhi discoms BYPL and BSES Raj­dhani Power Limited were allowed to exit their PPAs with the NTPC Dadri-I po­wer plant. With this, the BSES discoms will be able to exit from the costly po­wer plants so as to optimise their pow­er purchase costs.
• In June 2022, the Haryana cabinet ga­ve approval for the signing of a supplementary PPA with Adani Po­wer Limited (APL) after it stopped the su­pply of power due to the rising prices of imported coal. The approval was gi­ven for surrendering 224 MW of im­ported coal-based capacity and retai­ning a total capacity of 1,200 MW at the peripheries of Haryana, to be generated with domestic coal only. The rest will be imported coal-based ca­pa­­city, whi­ch, if sche­d­uled, will be paid for with the pass-through of the im­ported coal cost and other related costs. Earlier, in Jan­uary 2022, APL had dropp­ed a com­pen­sation claim of about Rs 110 billion to reach an out-of-court settlement with Guja­rat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) in a dispute over the termination of a PPA from February 2007 for the supply of 1,000 MW of power. In a separate development, APL filed a contempt petition in the Supre­me Co­urt against three Rajasthan discoms for failing to comply with the ape­x court’s order to pay Rs 67.38 billion in compensatory tariff and interest for power supplied since 2013.
• In May 2022, the Puducherry govern­me­nt signed a PPA with NLC India Li­mited (NLCIL) for the purchase of 100 MW of electricity from NLC’s Talabira TPP in Odisha at a tariff of Rs 3.06 per unit. The power supply agreement will be valid from 2025 to 2026.
• In March 2022, Tamil Nadu Genera­ti­on and Distribution Corporation Li­mi­t­ed (TANGEDCO) signed PPAs for the procurement of 2,900 MW of electricity. The agreement included supply of 1,500 MW of electricity from NLCIL’s 3×800 MW coal-based power plant at Talabira (Odisha), which is estimated to be operationalised in 2026-27 at a fixed tariff of Rs 3.06 per unit. The PPA with SECI for 1,000 MW was signed at a tariff of Rs 2.61 per unit, while the ag­ree­ment with PTC India Limited was for 400 MW at Rs 3.26 per unit.
• In March 2022, JSW Energy Limited’s Ku­tehr project signed a PPA with the Har­yana Power Purchase Centre (HPPC) for the supply of 240 MW of hydropower. The agreement will be va­lid for 35 years and was signed at a le­vellised ceiling tariff of Rs 4.50 per kWh. HPPC will purchase the power on behalf of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Ni­­gam Limited and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited.

Mergers and acquisitions

The sector witnessed several M&A deals during the past year, including acquisition of stressed assets, consolidation mo­v­es and project takeovers.

• In September 2022, NTPC acquired Jh­a­bua Power Limited for Rs 9.25 billion through a corporate insolvency re­sol­ution process initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Kolka­ta. This was the first acquisition by NTPC through the NCLT route.
• In September 2022, Resurgent Power Ven­tures Private Limited completed the acquisition of South East Uttar Pra­desh Power Transmission Compa­ny Limited (SEUPPTCL), pursuant to the LoI issued by SEUPPTCL’s resolution professional, and the approval of the resolution plan by the NCLT, Allaha­b­ad. PFC was the lead financial institution for the project, with REC Limited and Bank of India acting as co-lenders in the consortium. The transaction en­tailed the one-time settlement of outstanding debt and purchase of equity shares for a total consideration of Rs 32.51 billion, and the payout of SEUPPTCL’s existing cash balance, as outlined in the resolution plan.
• In August 2022, APL agreed to acquire DB Power Limited at an enterprise value of Rs 70.17 billion. DB Power ow­ns and operates a running 2×600 MW TPP at Janjgir Champa district, Chha­ttis­garh. In November 2021, APL recei-­v­ed approval from the NCLT to ac­qu­ire Essar Power MP Li­mi­ted, whi­ch owns a 1,200 MW TPP in Ma­­h­an, Ma­dhya Pradesh.
• In August 2022, JSW Neo Energy Limi­ted, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW En­ergy Limited, agreed to acquire a portfolio of 1,753 MW of renewable en­ergy generation capacity, comprising 17 SPVs and one ancillary SPV, fr­om Mytrah Energy (India) Private Li­mi­ted for Rs 105.31 billion.
• In August 2022, the India Grid Trust (Indi­Grid) signed a share purchase ag­reement for the acquisition of 100 per cent shareholding and economic in­te­rest, in one or more tranches, in Rai­ch­­ur Sh­olapur Transmission Compa­ny Pri­vate Limited, for over Rs 2.5 billion. IndiGrid acquired the shares from Pa­tel Engineering Limited, Si­mplex In­fra­structures Limited and BS Limited, each of which had owned a 33.33 per cent stake.
• In July 2022, Vedanta announ­ced that it will acquire the debt-ridden Athena Chhattisgarh Power Limited for Rs 5.65 billion. The acquisition will fulfil the power requirement for Ve­dan­ta’s aluminium business through vertical integration.
• In July 2022, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global in­vestment group, increased its stake in Apraava Energy by acquiring an additional 10 per cent stake from the CLP Gr­­o­up for Rs 6.6 billion. With this, both CDPQ and CLP will hold a 50 per cent stake each in the company.
• In June 2022, Jindal Power Limited an­no­unced that it will acquire Simhapuri Energy Limited’s 600 MW power plant, which runs on imported coal, in An­dh­ra Pradesh’s Nellore district, for ar­ou­nd Rs 3 billion.
• In June 2022, Essar Power Limited en­ter­ed into a definitive agreement with ATL to sell one of its two transmission lines for Rs 19.13 billion. Essar Power Trans­mi­s­­s­ion Company Limited owns 465 km of tra­n­smission lines across three In­di­an states.
• In April 2022, Resurgent Power Ventu­res completed the acquisition of NRSS XXXVI Transmission Li­mited and settled the debt of NRSS XXXVI’s lender. The transaction was part of a stressed asset resolution pro­ce­ss initiated by PTC India Financial Ser­­vices Limited, NRSS XXXVI’s len­der, th­rough a competitive bidding process.
• In February 2022, Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) subsidiary, Reliance New Energy Limited, completed the ac­­qui­sition of a 40 per cent equity stake in the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s Ster­ling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited.
• In February 2022, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited acquired a 5 per cent equity stake in Power Exchange of In­dia Limited (PXIL).
• In December 2021, Apraava Energy ac­q­uired a 49 per cent stake in Kohi­ma Ma­riani Transmission Limited fr­om KPTL (23 per cent) and Techno El­ec­t­ric and Engineering Company Limited (TEECL) (26 per cent), as per a share pu­r­chase agreement signed in Ju­ly 2019.
• In October 2021, AGEL completed its previously announced the acquisition of SB Energy India for Rs 260 billion.

MoUs and JVs

Several key MoUs were signed and JV companies formed by power sector majors including NTPC Limited, NHPC Limited, NLCIL and SJVN Limited, besi­d­es private players, for the development of renewable energy projects.

• In September 2022, BSES Limited sig­ned an MoU with Bidgely, a US-based company that provides artificial intelligence-powered solutions for accelerating its transition towards a digitalised future.
• In August 2022, NHPC Renewable En­ergy Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of NHPC and the Rajasthan go­vernment, signed an MoU for the de­velopment of a 10 GW of ultra-mega re­newable energy power park in the state. In August 2022, NHPC Limi­ted sig­ned an MoU with the Invest­ment Board Nepal for the preparation of a detailed project report and development of two hydropower projects, West Seti (750 MW) and Seti River 6 project (450 MW), in Nepal. In the sa­me mon­th, NHPC signed an MoU with PTC India Limited for the sale of po­wer generated from these projects. In a separate development, NHPC Limi­ted sign­ed an MoU with Bharat Elec­tronics Li­mited for setting up a gigawatt-scale vertically integrated solar manufacturing unit. Meanwhile, in July 2022, NHPC signed two MoUs for the develo­p­ment of pilot green hydro­g­en technologies in Leh and Kargil dis­­tricts of the union territory of Lada­kh. In the sa­me month, NHPC signed an MoU with the Damodar Valley Cor­po­ration to form a JV to explore and set up hy­dro­po­wer and pumped storage projects.
• In August 2022, NLCIL entered into an MoU with APDCL to develop 1 GW of solar power in Assam. The MoU is for setting up a JV company, with equity participation of 51 per cent by NLCIL and 49 per cent by APDCL.
• In May 2022, SJVN signed an MoU for the development of the 490 MW Arun-4 project in Sankhuwasabha district Pro­vince 1 of Nepal to be developed in JV mode by the company and the Ne­pal El­ectricity Authority. In April 2022, SJVN entered into an MoU with REMC Limited and BHEL for the development of rene­wable energy projects for Indian Railways. Meanwhile, in Dec­e­m­ber 2021, SJVN entered into an MoU with DVC for harnessing 2,000 MW floating solar power projects in their comma­nd area.
• In August 2022, IREDA signed an MoU with Mahatma Phule Renewable En­ergy and Infrastructure Technology Limi­ted to provide loans for renewable en­er­gy projects. In March 2022, IREDA signed an MoU with the Central Ins­ti­tute of Petrochemicals Enginee­ring and Technology, to provide its techno-financial (CIPET) expertise for solarisation of CIPET campuses. Meanwhile, in December 2021, IREDA signed an MoU with THDC India Limited for collaboration on gre­en energy projects.
• In August 2022, the Avaada Group si­gn­ed an MoU with the Rajasthan government’s Department of Industries and Co­­mmerce, to set up a green am­m­onia facility, with a production ca­pa­city of 1 million tonnes per annum and a rene­wable energy plant in Kota district.
• In August 2022, Greenko Energies Pri­vate Limited and Hindalco Indus­tries Limited entered into a commercial ag­reement to set up a green energy project for the supply of 100 MW RTC carbon-free power. In April 2022, Gr­eenko ZeroC Private Limited and Bel­gium-based John Cockerill si­gn­ed a framework agreement to exclusively partner in joint market development in­itiatives for green hydrogen el­ectrolysers in India.
• In July 2022, NTPC Green Energy Li­mited (NGEL) and Indian Oil Corpo­ra­tion Limited (IOCL) signed a non-bin­d­ing agreement for the proposed JV formation for meeting the power requirements of the upcoming projects of In­dian Oil refineries. In the same month, NTPC Limited signed an MoU with the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable En­­ergy for cooperation in renewable en­ergy projects in Africa. In April 2022, NTPC signed an MoU with Energy Va­ult Holdings, Inc. for gravity-based en­ergy storage technology. In the same month, a JV was approved bet­ween Ma­­ha­rashtra State Power Ge­ne­ration Company Limited and NTPC to set up an ultra-mega solar power park in Maharashtra, with a total generation capacity of 2,500 MW. In March 2022, a JV and shareholders’ agreeme­nt for Tri­ncomalee Power Compa­ny Li­mited, a JV between NTPC and the Ceylon Ele­ctricity Board (Sri Lan­ka), was signed for developing the 100 MW solar power plant at Sampur, Trin­comalee, Sri Lanka. In October 2021, NTPC Limited and Électricité de Fran­ce, a Paris-based power sector co­mpa­ny, signed an MoU to explore po­tential power project de­ve­lopment opportunities in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa.
• In July 2022, NTPC REL signed an MoU with the Rajasthan government for the development of a 10 GW ultra-mega renewable energy power park in the state. NTPC REL also signed an MoU with National Fer­tilisers Limited to collaborate in the fi­eld of renewable energy and synthes­ising green ammonia. In March 2022, DVC signed a JV agreeme­nt with NTPC REL for renewable energy projects in its command area.
• In July 2022, an MoU was signed bet­ween ReNew Power Private Limited and Egypt to build a green hydrogen pl­ant in the Suez Canal Economic Zo­ne with an $8 billion investment and a capacity of 220,000 tonnes annually. In April 2022, ReNew Power, IOCL, and L&T signed a binding term sheet for JV formation to develop the nas­ce­nt gre­en hydrogen sector in India.
• In June 2022, the Energy Department of Maharashtra signed an MoU with the Adani Group to bring 11 GW of gr­e­en po­wer to the state in the next five years at an investment of Rs 600 billion. Earlier, in May 2022, the Adani Group si­gned an MoU with the An­dh­ra Pradesh government for an investment of Rs 600 billion, by AGEL in the state to set up a 3,700 MW hydro storage plant and a 10,000 MW solar energy project in Andhra Pra­­desh. Fu­rther, in March 2022, APL si­­gned an MoU with IHI Corporation and Kowa Com­pany Limited to study the feasibility on a modification to ac­hieve a 20 per cent liquid ammonia co-firing ratio and thereafter, extend this to a ratio of up to 100 per cent mono-firing at the Adani Power Mundra coal-fired power plant. In February 2022, the Adani Gr­o­up and Ballard Power Syste­ms sign­ed an MoU to evaluate a joint investment in hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing in India under Adani New Industries Limited.
• In June 2022, CIL’s subsidiary, South Ea­­stern Coalfields Limi­ted signed an MoU with Madhya Pra­de­sh Power Ge­ne­ration Company Li­mi­ted to develop a 660 MW thermal po­wer unit in the Am­arkantak thermal po­wer station in Chachai, Madhya Prad­esh, at an in­vest­ment of Rs 46.65 billion.
• In June 2022, PTC India signed an MoU with Greenstat Hydrogen India Pri­­vate Limited to jointly develop gre­en hydrogen solutions for Indian power market beneficiaries.
• In April 2022, JSW Energy Limited’s arm, JSW Neo Energy Limited, signed an MoU with the Chhattisgarh gove­rnment for setting up the 1,000 MW Hasdev Bango PSP. Earlier, in 2021-22, the company had also signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government for 1,500 MW and an LoI with the Rajas­than government for 1,000 MW hydro PSPs.
• In March 2022, ArcelorMittal partnered with the Greenko Group for de­veloping an RTC renewable energy pro­ject of 975 MW capacity. The project will be owned and funded by Ar­celorMittal. Greenko will design, construct and operate the facilities in An­dhra Pradesh.
• In February 2022, Ayana Renewables partnered with the Greenko Group to store 6 GWh of power in hydro pump sto­rage plants that Greenko is building at Pinnapuram in Andhra Pradesh.
• In January 2022, RIL signed an MoU with the Gujarat government. RIL will invest Rs 5,000 billion over a span of 10-15 yea­rs to set up a 100 GW rene­wable en­ergy power plant and develop a green hydrogen ecosystem; and Rs 600 billion for setting up an in­tegrated renewable energy manufacturing faci­lity comprising solar PV modules, el­ectrolysers, energy storage batteries and fuel cells.
• In January 2022, L&T signed an MoU with Norway-based HydrogenPro AS for manufacturing hydrogen electro­ly­sers in India, in order to tap the emerging green hydrogen market.
• In January 2022, Hero Future Energies and Ohmium International announc­ed a strategic partnership to develop and build 1 GW of green hydrogen pro­duction facilities in India, the UK and Europe.
• In December 2021, L&T and ReNew Po­­wer announced a partnership agr­ee­­ment to tap the emerging green hy­drogen business in India.

Project-related updates

Some of the key project-related developments over the past year are as follows:

• In September 2022, ONGC Tripura Po­wer Company Limited pla­n­n­ed to establish another 360 MW po­wer unit at its Palatana plant in Tri­pu­ra’s Go­ma­ti district. The se­v­en nor­th-eastern states receive power from this plant.
• In September 2022, APL announced plans to start exporting electricity to Bangladesh before the end of this year. For this, the 1.6 GW Godda Power Pro­ject in Jharkhand and a dedicated tra­nsmission line will be commissioned by December 2022.
• In August 2022, SJVN Green Energy Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of SJVN, purchased 2,043 acres of land to set up a 1,000 MW solar power project in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Earlier, in Feb­ruary 2022, construction work of the second unit of the powerhouse of the SJVN-owned 900 MW Arun III hydro­power project in Nepal was also inaugurated. The project is expected to be completed by 2023-24.
• In August 2022, AGEL was issued provisional appro­vals for an investment of over $500 mi­llion in two wind projects in Sri Lanka. The provisional ap­p­­ro­vals are for two wind projects in the town of Mannar (286 MW) and Po­o­neryn (234 MW), a village in the nor­thern province of Sri Lanka.
• In August 2022, Energy Efficiency Ser­vi­ces Limited successfully completed the installation of over 1 million smart prepaid meters in Bihar. With this, Bihar discoms have been able to generate a daily revenue collection of over Rs 30 million.
• In July 2022, the 1,856 MW Sawalkot hydroelectric project received investm­ent approval for Rs 9.73 billion for pre-investment activities. The project is being implemented by NHPC Limi­ted.
• In July 2022, the Rajasthan governme­nt approved proposals for setting up two units of 660 MW capacity each at the Chhabra TPP and an 800 MW unit at the Kalisindh TPP. The units will be based on ultra-supercritical technology. The Chhabra TPP and Kalisindh TPP ex­pansion will be set up at a cost of Rs 96.06 billion and Rs 60.55 billion respectively.
• In July 2022, SKS Power Generation (Chhattisgarh) Limited became the first dormant power plant to start ope­rations, following a directive by the ce­ntral government. NTPC Limited has been tasked with operating and mai­ntaining the plant until lead len­der Bank of Baroda finds a buyer.
• In June 2022, the proposed second ph­a­se expansion of the Idukki hydel po­wer project received preliminary cle­arance from the Ministry of Enviro­n­ment, Forest & Climate Change. The project plans to generate an additional 800 MW, using water from the existing reservoir. KSEBL plans to complete the project by 2028.
• In May 2022, the Greenko Group commenced the construction of a 5,230 MW integrated renewable energy storage project in Kurnool district of An­dhra Pradesh.
• In April 2022, NTPC partnered with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to convert wa­­s­te into energy by utilising the slu­d­ge produced in DJB’s sewage treatment pla­nts. The torrefied waste sl­ud­ge was fired from NTPC’s Unit 4 boi­ler at Dadri.
• In January 2022, PTC India Limited st­ar­ted supplying 270 MW of electricity to KSEBL under the MoP’s Pilot Sc­heme II, from Jindal India Ther­mal Po­wer Limited’s in Odisha under a me­dium-term PPA for three years.
• In December 2021, the first pouring of concrete for building Unit 6 of NPCIL’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant was laid. It is the last of the six reactors of 1,000 MW capacity each, being built by NPCIL, in collaboration with Russia. The first two power units are operating at the nominal power level and works are under way at Unit 3. The construction of Unit 5 began in June 2021.
• In November 2021, Powergrid upgraded the New Mariani substation in Ass­am from 220 kV to 400/220 kV. The new substation has 1,000 MVA (2×500 MVA) transformation capacity and 2×125 MVAR reactive power compensation, along with other associated bays. The project is the first 400 kV sub­station in upper Assam.

Restructuring moves

• In September 2022, REC Limited was accorded the status of a Maharatna ce­n­tral public sector enterprise (CPSE), th­us giving REC greater operational and financial autonomy. The board of a Maharatna CPSE can make equity in­vestments to undertake fin­an­cial JVs and wholly owned subsidiaries and undertake M&As in India and abroad.
• In September 2022, Sembcorp Indus­tri­es’ wholly owned subsidiary, Semb­corp Utilities, entered into a share pur­chase agreement to sell 100 per cent shares of Sembcorp Energy India Li­­mited to Tanweer Infrastructure Pri­va­te Limited for a consideration of Rs 117 billion.
• In September 2022, ATL incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Adani El­ec­tricity Jewar Limit­ed (AEJL), to carry on the business of transmission, distribution and supply of power and ot­h­er related infrastructure services. AEJL will commence its business op­e­rations in due course.
• In September 2022, Serentica Renew­ab­les launched a renewable energy pl­at­­form in India and plans to install around 1,500 MW of solar and wind po­wer across multiple sites in Karna­taka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, for which the company has already acqu­ir­ed connectivity approvals.
• In August 2022, NTPC REL incorporated Green Valley Renewable Energy, as a subsidiary of NTPC REL in 51:49 JV with DVC. In August 2022, NTPC ann­o­­un­ced the merger of its wholly own­ed subsidiaries, Nabinagar Power Ge­n­e­rating Company Limited and Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited with itself. In April 2022, NTPC incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary, NGEL. Subsequently, NTPC REL, whi­ch was incorporated in October 2020, was made a part of NGEL.
• In April 2022, Powergrid transferred the remaining 26 per cent of its shareholding in Powergrid Vizag Transmis­sion Limited to infrastructure investment trust PGInvIT, for a consideration of over Rs 3.3 billion. Further, Po­wer­grid relinquished its right on additional revenue accruing to Powergrid Parli Transmission Limited, Powergrid Warora Transmission Limited and Po­w­ergrid Jabalpur Transmission Limit­ed to PGInvIT for a consideration of over Rs 3.04 billion.
• In March 2022, SJVN incorporated a new subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy Li­mi­t­ed, to operate in the field of po­wer generation from renewable energy sources.
• In March 2022, APL’s board approved the amalgamation scheme for the mer­ger of its six wholly owned subsidiaries – Adani Power Maharashtra Li­mited, Adani Power Rajasthan Limi­ted, Adani Power (Mundra) Limited, Udupi Power Corporation Limited, Raipur Energen Limited and Raigarh Energy Generati­on Limited – with itself.
• In February 2022, NHPC set up a new wholly owned subsidiary, NHPC Re­ne­w­able Energy Limited, for the deve­lop­ment of renewable energy, small hy­­dro and green hydrogen.
• In January 2022, Adani New Industries Limited, a new subsidiary of the Adani Group, has been established to further its green energy goals.
• In January 2022, Artha Energy Resour­ces launched a renewable energy in­vestment platform, RenewShare, to ena­ble fractional ownership of renewable energy assets in the country. In November 2021, the board of directors of JSW Energy Limited approved the reorganisation of the company’s rene­wable and thermal businesses. All ex­is­ting and upcoming renewable energy units will be housed under JSW En­ergy Neo Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.
• In October 2021, CLP India assumed a new corporate identity as Apraava En­ergy. The company targets to double its energy portfolio in the next three to four years, besides plans to expand its horizons in the power T&D businesses.
• In September 2021, Virescent Infra­str­ucture, a renewable energy platform, sponsored by private equity major KKR, set up the first renewable energy in­frastructure investment trust in In­dia, called Virescent Renewable En­er­gy Trust (VRET). VRET had raised Rs 4.6 billion from a group of foreign and domestic investors.

Power trading

• In July 2022, Hindustan Power Exchan­ge Limited, promoted by PTC India Li­mited, the Bombay Stock Exchange and ICICI Bank, commenced operati­ons. The exchange initially offered tra­ding in contingency contracts, green co­ntingency contracts and renewable energy certificates. Later, it launched the day-ahead market (DAM), green DAM and real-time market.
• In January 2022, SJVN Limited was gi­ven Category I licence for interstate tra­­ding of power in the entire country by the CERC.
• In January 2022, Nepal Power Exch­an­ge Limited (NPEL) signed a trading ag­ree­ment with India’s Manikaran Power Limited. Under the agreement, NPEL will sell 500 MW of electricity produ­c­ed by the domestic private sector to India via Manikaran Power Limited.
• Tripura State Electricity Corporation Li­­mited started the supply of 160 MW plus 20 per cent power (a maximum of 192 MW) to Bangladesh under a tripartite supplementary agreement si­gn­ed on December 2, 2021. Recent­ly, the agreement modified the terms and co­nditions for a period of another five years with effect from March 17, 2021 to March 16, 2026.
• In October 2021, the Indian Energy Ex­­­ch­ange commenced trading in en­e­­rgy saving certificates un­der the Per­form Achieve and Trade Cycle II. The trading on the exchange will take place once a week on every Tuesday.