Specials

The Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), launched by the central government in November 2015, is perceived as the most comprehensive reform initiative ever taken to improve the operational and financial efficiency of the discoms. The […]

Early in its tenure, the government introduced two flagship programmes for fixing the power distribution segment. The Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) was one of these, an initiative aimed at restoring the missing links in […]

The much-hyped and ambitious Clean Power Plan (CPP) announced by US President Barack Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in August 2015 has been put on hold by a Supreme Court ruling in February […]

Being an agrarian country, India has abundant biomass sources. However, despite the huge opportunities these presents, biomass-based power generation has not achieved its potential. A significant number of biomass power projects have been closed over […]

Over the last few years, power distribution companies in India have invested heavily in IT infrastructure and operational technology (OT) systems. They have also shifted almost entirely to electrostatic meters. In fact, the move to […]

As the government gears up to achieve the 1 billion tonne coal production target by 2020, the country’s largest coal mining company, Coal India Limited (CIL), faces a new challenge –  coal stock pile-up. Faced […]

The present government is approaching the halfway mark of its five-year term. Amongst all infrastructure sectors, the power and coal sectors have perhaps witnessed the most significant overhaul in the past two years. There has […]

While coal shortage has been a major cause of concern for the power sector until recently, there is now a bigger resource constraint facing the sector – water. The acute shortage of water is becoming […]

The New England regional power system is undergoing a major transformation. According to the Regional Electricity Outlook 2016 report published by the regional grid operator, Independent System Operator New England (ISO-NE), about 30 per cent […]

In the past one year, renewable energy development has gained significant momentum in the country. With the government’s efforts to bring about a paradigm shift in the fuel mix, which is at present highly skewed […]

Utilities in India are stuck in a vicious cycle of high losses and low investments. Mounting losses inhibit utilities from making investments in network strengthening, thus widening the revenue gap. According to the Ministry of […]

There have been several positive developments in India’s power generation and transmission segments over the past year. The rising trend in power generation capacity, reforms in the fuel sector and ambitious targets for installed renewable […]

Transparent coal allocations and efficient power generation have been among the key priorities of the government in the recent past. To this end, it has implemented a number of measures including the auction of captive […]

At the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 Summit held in Paris last year, India reiterated its commitment to reduce its energy intensity. The country has committed to cut the rate of emissions by 33-35 per […]

The key global trends currently shaping the power sector are an increase in the share of renewable energy sources in power generation, the use of sophisticated and energy-efficient technologies, and the rise in power demand […]

The share of renewable energy in India’s total installed capacity has increased from about 8 per cent in 2007-08 to over 13.5 per cent in 2014-15. This is set to go up further, with the […]

The contours of India’s energy security strategy have changed significantly over the past few years in light of the mounting concerns over the limited availability of fossil fuels and the national commitments to carbon emission […]

Reliance Infrastructure Limited (RInfra) has demerged some of its power generation and supply assets in Mumbai, Goa and Andhra Pradesh to its wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Electric Generation and Supply Private Limited (REGSPL). To this […]

The Ministry of Power’s (MoP) regasified liquefied natural gas (R-LNG) auction scheme witnessed an unexpected outcome when gas-based power producers quoted sub-zero per unit bids in the latest round. The auction was conducted by MSTC […]

The Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was launched by the central government in November 2015 to facilitate the revival of the discoms, which have been struggling with losses and mounting debt. Within five months of […]