TARIFF REVISION OF ELECTRICITY FOR NEXT YEAR

Electricity Regulators all across the country are busy with various proposals

to increase electricity charges which need to be effective from 1stApril, 2014. 

Appellant Tribunal of Electricity has also issued an order stating that all

distribution companies should file their petition (rate case) by November failing

which regulators can suo- motu determine the tariff.

India will be going for General Elections in March – April to elect a new Parliament. 

This will give India a new Prime Minister as well as a new cabinet. Recently four 

states had their state elections to elect the state assembly and so their chief

ministers. The ruling party in Delhi lost badly to a new comer on the plank to 

slash electricity prices by 50% if it comes to power. In other states like Madhya 

Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the incumbent retained power, it showed 24x7 

supply of electricity as a one its major achievement. Given this backdrop, where 

electricity has become one very important agenda item in the election manifesto

which can make or break of an election, it would be interesting to see if Regulators 

can prevail on distribution companies to make real commercial oriented proposals. 

As per the Electricity Act 2003, distribution companies are responsible to present a

multi-year tariff proposal each year based on their annual revenue requirements.

Except for a few private players in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Ahmadabad, the 

distribution companies are mostly state owned with their geographical boundaries

defined by electricity system of less than 66 KV. There are around 80 such 

distribution companies and all state owned utilities have uniform tariff for similar 

categories in the whole state. Broadly, the electricity consumer sector in India

(about 23 Crores) can be divided into five major categories, namely: 1) Domestic, 

2) Commercial, 3) Industrial, 4) Agriculture and, 5) Others (Railways, Street

lighting etc.). This could be different in different states; ex. Andhra Pradesh has 

80 categories of various classes of consumers. As per an estimate, of the total of 

around 23 crore consumers, domestic category is around 18 Crores. The domestic

consumer consumes about 25% of electricity produced in the country, but they

form 80% of the consumer base, which is also a vote bank. No government in 

power, especially the one which is due for election would like to bring in policies 

(or be perceived to bring in policies in future) which in any way could lead to

negative impact on the primary vote bank. Also, it is normally expected from the 

Government to protect the domestic class from massive rate hike.

HOW IS THE TARIFF FIXED 

In normal business a bulk buyer of any product or service is expected to pay 

lower price for the same product or service than a small buyer. However, in India 

this rules a reverse in electricity sector. In India the bulk consumer of electricity 

pays more for the same electricity when compared to a small consumer. One 

primary reason for this is the collection efficiency with bulk consumers is better 

than with small consumers, and to make up for the poor collections from the 

small consumers the bulk consumers are charged a higher price than the small 

consumer. This effectively is cross-subsidy. Though the Electricity Act allows the 

bulk consumers to buy electricity from open market, the distribution companies 

however are resistant to allow this to happen. The government allows for a cross 

subsidy charges to be added to the bulk consumer’s electricity rates. These cross-

subsidy charges are different in different states: It was zero in Maharashtra during 

2008 but it is now around Rs 2/-, Tamil Nadu which was 45 paisa is now Rs 3/-. 

The distribution utility in Gujarat is proposing additional subsidy of Rs1.30/-.

 Not to stay far behind, in Mumbai, Tata which fears drift of consumers is now 

approaching the Commission to levy cross subsidy.

Distribution companies buy their projected requirement (including contingency 

arrangement) of Power from various sources. The cost of delivery to consumer 

is determined based on the best practice approach which also takes care of the 

previous year losses. Some of the states are also allowing Fuel Cost Adjustment 

on quarterly basis so that fuel cost increase does not burden the distribution 

companies. The tariff proposals are put up for public scrutiny and revision is 

done annually. The private distribution companies are not subject to Comptroller 

Auditor General (CAG) audits but Delhi Commission has supported CAG Audit of 

private companies. 

Electricity supply is primary a state subject. The electricity rates are different in 

different states. Example, it is Rs.3.36/unit in Chhattisgarh, Rs 4.4/unit in Orissa, 

Rs 3.3 in Uttrakhand and is about Rs 10/unit in Maharashtra, Rs7.5/unit in Delhi, 

Rs 6.3/unit in Punjab etc. In order to bring the electricity rates in all states in 

harmony, a Forum of Regulators has been set up by law. In 2011 the Ministry of 

Power directed the Regulators to not fix Tariff for more consumers with more 

than one MW peak. However, this has vastly been ignored by the regulators. 

In fact some regulators have gone to the extent of questioning the veracity 

of Government directions. The Tariff Policy allows distribution companies to 

negotiate prices with the state regulators. At present all distribution companies 

(discoms) and state Governments are taking shelter of Regulators to shield price 

increase to their consumer sector.

Thus, given the election time and the need (to have a healthy distribution 

company that meets all the demands of the consumers) it will be interesting to see 

whether Regulators will increase the tariff particularly when average per capita 

consumption is about 1000 KW which roughly translates to 15% of per capita 

income for paying electricity.

 Cross Subsidy in the Electricity Business.

The Electricity business in the country, which started in the year 1887, is now spread to almost 85% of the country geographically with an installed capacity of more than 2.5 million MW with a per capita consumption almost touching 1000 kwhr is looking for further reforms.

The electricity business in this country is now governed by the Electricity Act, 2003, which has replaced all earlier statutes.  Electricity business now is an integrated with Grid n with a very few places working on a stand-alone system.  Electricity is electron movement and produced with heterogeneous energy produce  of Coal, Hydel, Gas, Diesel, Nuclear and Renewable.  The per capita consumption is still lower of around 1000 Kwh  comparing to world average of 2500 units.  There are peak shortages of 20% the country is facing.  The peak requirements also vary from state to state and city to city.  Time zone difference of 30 minutes is also playing a role, as Eastern Sector gets early sunrise and sunset.  The country has got now almost 15% of its requirements through captive sources.  The electricity has seen number of reforms and the latest reform, which unbundled the SEBs, brought the entire function under a Regulatory regime is now seeing a worst phase in the current century.  At one hand, the country has got some excess capacities; on the other, there is a power shortage.  The country has got two grids, but inflow to one grid  to other grid is limited to only 4000 MW. 

As far as tariff design is concerned, it looks like that at some places the electricity is available as low as Rs.3/- and at other   places it is more than Rs.10/.-One of the major factors of differences is attributed to different  cost of supply is that electricity generation of different regions is different as Energy produce like Coal need to be physically transported by different means like Rails, Road and Water Ways and transportation of coal depends on various factors and it has seen jump and volatility .

As per the report available, the average  cost of power generation is Rs.4.88 per Kw is as high as Rs.7.75 (Bihar) and as low as Rs.1.88 (Sikkim).  Other factor is distribution of categories of consumers .  As per standard practice, the electricity consumers are distributed in following categories and there share   consumption is

·        Industrial                  -           206457 MW- 36%

·        Commercial              -           50583 MW- 8%

·        Residential                -           149628 MW- 26%

·        Agriculture               -           136400 MW- 24%

It may also be seen that all consumers are further sub categorized with as high as 84 categories in respect of Andhra Pradesh .  Thus, the consumers at lower voltage need to pay additional charges for wheeling out of electricity and thus makes it a point that retail consumers should pay a higher cost than the bulk consumers, but the bulk consumers are now paying a very high cost compared to retail consumers, which is ironical in any of the businesses.  Further, for the same voltage, consumers need to pay different tariff inspite of the fact that the electricity being from the same source.

Another factor is that electricity tariff need to  subsidize by  the consumers for subsidized consumers.  This is termed as Cross Subsidy and as per Electricity Act, 2003, the cross subsidy has to be reduced in a phased manner, but on the contrary, the cross subsidy element is going up in all cases.  Some of the Cross Subsidies right now being imposed by several states, like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan& Gujarat are tabulated in the Annexure enclosed.

Another reason that,power market, despite available of around 50 power traders in the country, right now are busy in making a huge profit of 7 paisa per unit for scheduling the power from one state to another without giving a sense of trading.  The power trading which has almost touched 10% of the country’s production is now selling from one generating company to another DISCOM and in fact in some of the stats taking the power from generator and selling to the local DISCOM after adding up their trading margins.  The services offered by them is  not  directly trading but only of liaisoning without taking any risk.  Last year, as an estimate, around Rs.400 Cr has been earned  by 10 traders, 2 exchanges, who have just employed around 200 professionals and without any risk involved requirement for trading of any business.  This money has been accounted in most of the tariff and could have reduced power cost in turn to consumers. 

Thus, in a nutshell,power sector is looking for major reform where consumers can buy power at affordable rate and project developers can sell at an affordable capacity.  The best course could have been introduction of uniform tariff for all domestic and commercial consumers or at equivalent voltage level all across the country and almost to bring vibrancy by making consumers of Open Access under a free market where they can afford to buy power at market driven rate.  For this, a Cross Subsidy element can be brought out as  ± 20% of cost of supply, which is also as per Electricity Act.

+++++++++++++

Coal Audit

CPRI   is  in the area of energy efficiency in the generation sector through energy audit, performance evaluation, component testing for a number of years. CPRI has specialized in energy audits of hydro and coal fired thermal power plants of the complete range of ratings from as low as 20 MW to 500 MW. It also plans to take up supercritical units of 660 MW and above. CPRI has a track record of conducting over energy audits in thermal (coal, gas and nuclear) thermal stations and hydro power stations besides a number of R & M studies.

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Division (ERED) of CPRI has taken up a prestigious consultancy work for Maharashtra Energy Regulatory Commission for benchmarking of the unit heat rates and station heat rates of coal fired units of MSPGCL (Maharashtra State Power Generating Company Ltd.), thermal stations through conducting performance tests on coal fired thermal power plants, computing the present performance indices and suggesting performance norms for the immediate term, medium term and long term. The performance indices cover unit heat rates (UHR), station heat rates (SHR), specific oil consumption (SOC), auxiliary power (AP), etc. for 32 units (ranging between 30 MW to 500 MW) of MSPGCL spread over different geographic regions of Maharashtra. The consultancy work was awarded by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), Mumbai.

The scope of activities which is based on a comprehensive scope of work and terms of reference given by MERC, involves an in-depth look at the processes and procedures of the seven TPS- Koradi, Khaperkheda, Chandrapur, Nashik, Bhusawal, Paras & Parli in complete transparency. The primary processes of receipt, handling and management of fuels (imported, indigenous and washed coals, fuel oils) and water (DM, soft, potable and raw) which are accounting for major cost components of the stations have been analyzed and technologies for supply chain optimization and raw material management have been proposed.

The principles of accounting of coal quantity and its heating values at various points; and computation of station heat rate have been reviewed in depth and procedures and instrumentation have been suggested to answer to the observations of MERC –'the coal consumption should be dependent on the unit heat rate and not vice versa'. The suggestions also encompass the break-up of the accountability and responsibility for coal from the mine to the station entrance, from the tipplers to the bunkers and from the mills to the furnace.

In preference over analog, stand alone, incompatible measuring equipment, the change over to digital instrumentation and tracking devices which can be seamlessly integrated into a central server and which have provision for downloading data into a data base has been advocated. Need for technical auditing of Information and communication system for obtaining a holistic picture of its structure and efficacy on one hand and the change over to Intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) preferred instrumentation systems has been highlighted.

The study encompasses capture and dissemination of tacit operational knowledge, maintenance knowledge and forced outage knowledge which is essential for progress in performance. It assesses and validates the internal knowledge sharing processes. It reviews the maintenance philosophy, maintenance organization structure, tooling techniques, maintenance performance mapping, maintenance delivery system, maintenance planning, standardization of procedure, benchmarking of timing of outages caused by BTL (boiler tube leaks), etc. Performance orientation linked with knowledge based maintenance, condition based guidelines, component reliability and risk evaluation procedures are part of the study. The benefits of 5 year rolling plans for pressure parts replacements (like ECO coils, primary SH coils, WW tubes, etc.), heat exchanger replacements (like lube oil coolers, feed water heaters, vent condensers, etc.), thermal skin insulation replacement, 20 %/year painting and upkeep plan have been brought out.

The study points out that R & M must be a continuous activity and the plans must not be equipment centric but must be aligned with benefits of improvements in unit heat rate and/or other unit performance parameters.

The stress on performance optimization, cleanliness and leakage control being a round the clock activity with ISO objective focus to achieve the required results is a part of the study.

On the financial side, a critical re-look through audits for the simplification and modification of administrative and accounting processes to bring down the lead times for the procurement cycle (which has an impact on inventory carrying costs and overall business cycle) is studied. Analysis of decision making processes is also a part of the study.

Coming to HRD, the study revisits job functions, both operation and maintenance, re-orientation towards performance and accountability at all levels, job rotation system, alternative ways of augmenting the shortage of manpower, reward of invention talent, support of quality circles, mid career educational intervention, reduction of attrition rate, etc., are studied. A critical review of training needs in the present day context such as operational optimization, maintenance methodologies, regulatory requirements, etc., is undertaken.

The performance tests give the Test TG heat rate (UHR) (boiler, turbine & generator only) at 80 % load against the Design heat rate (DHR). The Test station Overall Station heat rate (considering besides the boiler and turbo generator other factors such as DM water make up; rejects; consumptions due to hot, warm and cold starts; heat in MS & RH pipelines, seasonal deviations (if any) at 80 % load which accounts for all the coal at the bunker. The life time degradation rates are computed. The capacity adequacy is also checked.

The tests include total electrical system audit including transformer load management, power factor management and load balancing. The performance evaluation of auxiliary equipment like boiler feed pumps, condensate extraction pumps, induced daft fans, forced draft fans, primary air fans, mills, etc. Energy efficiency also covers the common station auxiliaries like coal handling plant, ash handling plant, DM plant, circulating water system, air compressors, etc. Suggestions for improving the energy efficiency of these equipments with techno-economic feasibility study are also proposed.

Suggestions for measures to improve the KPI (key performance indices) like station heat rate, auxiliary power consumption and specific oil consumption with time bound action plans are given. Objective oriented Monsoon management plan is required to be in place for maintaining the KPI within regulatory limits as the deviations in station load, monthly SOC and monthly PLF are predominant during monsoon seasons.

The study benchmarks the performance, identifies undone works which were historically ignored but which are of current importance and proposes changes leading to reliability, transparency and cleanliness in an environment of competitive cutting edge power generation. In short the study encompasses the business process re-engineering for enhancing station performance to maintain market leadership. If the existing plant processes and procedures are made more effective, the improvement of performance will be a natural consequence.

Gujarat wants cut in solar power tariff for existing Solar Plants

Gujarat, home to half of India’s solar power-plant capacity, is seeking to have a cut on the rate it pays to solar project developers, keeping in view the owners’ excessive and unwanted profits in the current scenario. The state government has approached the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) with a petition, seeking a reduction in the solar power tariff, quoting the unwanted and windfall gains to the solar project developers.

The Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) had signed a 25-year PPA ( Power purchase agreements ) for 971.5 MW of solar power with 88 developers including Adani Enterprises Ltd., Moser Baer India Ltd., Tata Power Co., and Welspun Energy Ltd. since 2010. For the first 12 years the developers were offered Rs. 15 per unit and Rs 5 per unit for the next 13 years. Currently, a levelised tariff of Rs. 12.54 per unit is being received by the project developers.

According to GUVNL’s filed petition, a reasonable and carefully judged consequent tariff would be about 9 rupees per unit, less than the average levelised current tariff of Rs. 12.54 for the 25 years. The petition filed mentions that the increased tariff of Rs 3.54 per unit is a direct burden on consumers and is an unjustified source of gain to project developers.

“The current outgo (on buying solar power) is quite high, and having a levelised tariff will help them in managing cash flows better”, a GUVNL official stated. The first hearing on whether regulators will accept a case based on the filed petition will be held on July 23. Meanwhile, the project developers are pretending to be anonymous to the entire happenings. A project developer says that they are just waiting to see whether GERC admits GUVNL’s petition or not.

The Football that Generates Energy

Imagine being able to play football and capture the energy generated when kicking the ball at the same time. This is exactly what Uncharted Play, a for-profit social enterprise in the United States, has designed. An electricity generating football, known as the Soccket, turns the energy from a kick-about into usable power.

Co-founders of Uncharted Play, Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman first came up with the idea of developing the energy harnessing football in 2008. After receiving their final funding from a Kickstarter campaign in March 2013, they are now ready to share it with the world.

According to the World Bank Institute, 20 per cent of the world’s populations are without reliable access to electricity. Almost all of these 1.4 billion people are living in the developing world. “The Soccket is one way to fight energy poverty and encourage people to play at the same time,” says Victor Angel, Vice President for Product Development at Uncharted Play. Angel and his team are working together with NGOs in developing countries like Nigeria, Brazil and South Africa, and hope to provide disadvantaged communities with both power and a football to play with.

Simon Trace, CEO at the sustainable development corporation, Practical Action thinks the Soccket is a fun and interesting piece of technology. “Although it probably won’t provide a huge amount of energy for very many people, the idea of bringing attention to the energy crisis through things like the Soccket is excellent,” he says.

How does it work?

Embedded in the centre of the ball is a gyroscopic mechanism similar to a swinging pendulum. As the Soccket is in motion, the moving weight is constantly being pulled down by gravity. This then generates kinetic energy, which is converted into electrical energy and stored inside the ball. This energy can later be accessed through an external plug as a power source. Apart from the energy harnessing mechanism inside the ball, the internal shell is made up of high-density foam known as Polyurethane, which makes it airless, thereby preventing it from going flat. The stored energy can power an LED lamp for up to three hours after 30 minutes of play, and has enough power to charge a phone or battery.

Over the past two years the team at Uncharted Play have gone through various steps to improve the ball. “We shrunk the internal mechanism to be the size of a fist,” says Angel. “One of the most challenging components was to find an ideal weight and density of the external shell as it needs to be as light as a regular soccer ball, but at the same time deflation proof, durable and water resistant.” Now, the Soccket only weighs about 30 grams more than an average football.

In the form of a “buy one-give one” model, the Soccket will be sold in western markets (for around £65 including the LED lamp). The profits will then be used to distribute the balls at little or no cost in developing countries like Mexico and Nigeria through development organizations such as Children International. Apart from its power-generating properties, the Soccket is also being used in educational programmes. NGOs such as InstitutoPromundo in Brazil use the ball to explain concepts of energy conservation to communities in urban shantytowns known as favelas.

The team at Uncharted Play is working on creating more innovative technologies in the near future. “We are currently developing portable flashlights which will allow people to share the power of one Soccket.” They are also looking into making it more sustainable by using biodegradable materials to make the external shell of the ball.

                                         Karnataka for FY 2013-14

• Key Highlights:-

 1.    The Honorable Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission vide its notification dated 21.06.2013, has notified the pooled cost of power purchase at Rs. 3.07 per unit from 01.04.2013 to 31.03.2014, subject to truing up as per actual.
 2.    Earlier, vide its notification dated 27.06.2012, the Hon’ble Commission had notified the APPC at Rs. 2.60 / unit for FY ending March 2013. As per the finalized accounts, the same is trued up to Rs. 2.65 / unit.
 3.    To the extent of power purchased under APPC in FY 2012-13, the difference of Rs. 0.05 / unit shall be paid in 3 equal instalments to RE Generators.
 4.    Similarly the difference of Rs. 0.47 / unit on account of the APPC continued at Rs. 2.60 per unit until 21.06.2013 as an interim measure shall also be paid in 3 equal instalments.   

• How it has been determined?

Here the ‘Pooled Cost of Power Purchase’ is the weighted average pooled price at which the State distribution licensees or ESCOMs put together have purchased the electricity including cost of self-generation, if any, in the previous year from all the energy suppliers long-term and short-term, but excluding those based on renewable energy sources, as the case may be.

•  What will be the impact of this rate?

The current rise in APPC makes investment in Renewable energy projects under APPC + REC mode very attractive with a minimum return of Rs. 12.37 per unit for Solar & Rs.4.57 per unit for Non – Solar projects in the State.

•   Impact of the order on REC based projects in the state:-

 1.    With the increase in APPC the Karnataka state becomes one of the most favourable states for investment on REC mode. However, only projects that sell power to ESCOMs at APPC can be benefited as the state still lacks clear options for Renewable Energy Captive Power Projects to participate in the REC market.
 2.    Even in the recent tariff orders for all ESCOMs for FY 2013-14, the Hon’ble KERC has continued to extend the concessional wheeling charges as 5% of total energy injected, and will be deducted in kind for Non-Solar; whereas, it is free- wheeling for Solar Power Projects in order to promote Non-Conventional Energy generation within the state.
 3.    Currently, KERC has not declared any provision for Renewable Energy Generators to pay the actual Wheeling Charges and Losses, as paid by Conventional Power Generators.
 4.    The REC are issued by Central Agency guided under the principles of Hon’ble CERC and since RECs cannot be availed by any Captive RE generator availing concessional wheeling, all Captive RE generators in the state of Karnataka remain ineligible to participate in the REC market.

In a major tariff shock to residential consumers of Tata Power in the city, the state electricity regulatory commission on Friday approved a 25% increase in tariff for the year FY14.

Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has approved an average increase in tariff to Rs5.26 from the existing Rs4.19 for FY14 for residential consumers, which will be effective from 1 July.

Tata Power is one of the three power distribution companies in Mumbai, the other two being BEST and Reliance Infra. All of them have to get their power tariffs approved from the regulatory commission.

The commission has approved the multi-year tariff plan till 2016 of Tata Power and allowed an increase of 25% for FY14, 15% for FY15 and 11% for FY16 for residential consumers. For FY15, the average tariff for residential consumers has been increased to Rs6.07 while for FY16, the commission has approved an increase in tariff to Rs6.74. Tata Power had proposed an increase of Rs6.44 for 2014-15 and Rs7.02 for FY16.

According to the new tariff plan for FY14, consumers in the below poverty line category will have to pay 10 paise per unit, while the tariff for 0-100 units has been fixed at 26 paise, 101-300 units at Rs1.85 and for those consuming above 500 units, the tariff has been fixed at Rs5.91. The wheeling charges for all the categories has been fixed at Rs1.87 per unit.

For FY15, the tariff will be revised to 41 paise for those consuming below 100 units, Rs2.05 for up to 300 units, Rs5.23 up to 500 units and Rs7.01 for those consuming above 500 units. The wheeling charges for all the consumer categories will be Rs2.08 per unit.

MERC has, for the year 2015-16, increased the tariff for BPL consumers to 47 paise. For those consuming below 100 units will have to pay 81 paise per unit, while the tariff for up to 300 units has been revised to Rs2.75, Rs6.38 for up to 500 units and Rs8.46 for above 500 units. The wheeling charges for the year has been fixed at 1.81 per unit.

The commission has also revised tariff for low tension commercial as well as high tension consumers for the period. The impact of cross subsidy surcharge for consumers migrating from Reliance Infra network to Tata Power is, however, not clear in the tariff order.

SUMMARY ON NEW CLIMATE PLAN OF UNITED STATES 2013

The US government has implanted various policies and plans and has now taken a step forward in climate change. The plan comprises of various changes in different organization, private and governmental bodies. It consists of three main topics of consideration. One is to cut the carbon emission, to prepare the nation for future climatic changes and perils and the last is to contribute in improving the world climate.

The various changes and the major zones and areas where the plan is expecting to make changes are like cutting the carbon throughout the industries by imposing stricter and federal cut off limit. The government is hoping to accelerate the process of permissions for renewable energy development and expansion of grids. Also the use of advanced fossil fuels will help them cope with carbon emission.  As the emission from heavy duty vehicles is second largest the government is hoping to increase fuel economy standards and develop advance transportation technology. Government has also mention the importance of increasing the end users efficiency, commercial and industrial buildings, research in increasing their efficiency and involving and assisting the private organizations for same.

The main greenhouse gases like methane, HFC are expected to be reduced with the help of environmental protection organization, agriculture department and establishing strategies and technologies for the same, increasing the forest. Federal government will lead in clean energy and energy efficiency.

The US government has drawn importance to climate resilient investments. It has aimed to curb the difficulties, provide technical assistance grants and other programs in sectors of transportation water management and disaster relief. It has aimed to help the local communities, tribal with the help of local agencies. The Task Force and federal agencies are also piloting new ways to support resilience in the Sandy-affected region. The Department of Energy will soon release an assessment of climate-change impacts on the energy sector, including power-plant disruptions due to drought and the disruption of fuel supplies during severe storms, as well as potential opportunities to make our energy infrastructure more resilient to these risks. The Department of Health and Human Services will launch an effort to create sustainable and resilient hospitals in the face of climate change. Promoting insurance leadership for climate safety, conserving the land and water, agro sustainability, draught management, preparations for future floods.

The Administration will continue to lead in advancing the science of climate measurement and adaptation and the development of tools for climate-relevant decision-making by focusing on increasing the availability, accessibility, and utility of relevant scientific tools and information. Government has also mentioned to increase the speed and data gathering on climatic conditions, providing the tool kit for climate resilience, assessment of impacts.

The US govt. is also working intensively to forge global responses to climate change through a number of important international negotiations, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, enhancing multilateral engagement with major economies, expanding bilateral cooperation with major emerging economies through initiatives like the US-china clean energy research center, the US-India partnership to advance clean energy. It is also leading through the global methane initiative, which works with 42 partners countries. Negotiating global free trade in environmental goods and services, phasing out subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption of fossil fuels, leading global sector public financing towards cleaner energy, strengthening global resilience to climate change, mobilizing climate finance. At international level the US govt. has taken active participation at global climate events such as Copenhagen Conference, UNFCCC, Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol, Climate meeting in Durban etc.

Thus the new policy on climatic changes is an example for all the other countries and shows the love of the United States for its flora and fauna, people and the world. All the other country must get inspiration from this revolutionary changes that us govt. is about to make and must participate in the same.

Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that sets binding obligations on industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an environmental treaty with the goal of preventing "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) interference of the climate system. There are 192 parties to the convention, including 191 states (all UN members, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and the United States) and the European Union. The United States signed but did not ratify the Protocol and Canada withdrew from it in 2011. The Protocol was adopted by Parties to the UNFCCC in 1997, and entered into force in 2005.

As part of the Kyoto Protocol, many developed countries have agreed to legally binding limitations/reductions in their emissions of greenhouse gases in two commitments periods. The first commitment period applies to emissions between 2008-2012, and the second commitment period applies to emissions between 2013-2020. The protocol was amended in 2012 to accommodate the second commitment period, but this amendment has (as of January 2013) not entered into legal force.

The 37 countries with binding targets in the second commitment period are Australia, all members of the European Union, Belarus, Croatia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets. Japan, New Zealand, and Russia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period. Other developed countries without second-round targets are Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which has not ratified the Protocol).

International emissions trading allows developed countries to trade their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.They can trade emissions quotas among themselves, and can also receive credit for financing emissions reductions in developing countries. Developed countries may use emissions trading until late 2014 or 2015 to meet their first-round targets.

Developing countries do not have binding targets under the Kyoto Protocol, but are still committed under the treaty to reduce their emissions. Actions taken by developed and developing countries to reduce emissions include support for renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and reducing deforestation. Under the Protocol, emissions of developing countries are allowed to grow in accordance with their development needs.

The treaty recognizes that developed countries have contributed the most to the anthropogenic build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (around 77% of emissions between 1750 and 2004), and that carbon dioxide emissions per person in developing countries (2.9 tonnes in 2010) are, on average, lower than emissions per person in developed countries (10.4 tonnes in 2010).

A number of developed countries have commented that the Kyoto targets only apply to a small share of annual global emissions. Countries with second-round Kyoto targets made up 13.4% of annual global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. Many developing countries have emphasized the need for developed countries to have strong, binding emissions targets. At the global scale, existing policies appear to be too weak to prevent global warming exceeding 2 or 1.5 degrees Celsius, relative to the pre-industrial level.

sustainable energy

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy. Some ways in which sustainable energy has been defined are:

• "Effectively, the provision of energy such that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ...Sustainable Energy has two key components: renewable energy and energy efficiency." – Renewable Energy and Efficiency Partnership (British)
• "Dynamic harmony between equitable availability of energy-intensive goods and services to all people and the preservation of the earth for future generations." And, "the solution will lie in finding sustainable energy sources and more efficient means of converting and utilizing energy." – Sustainable energy by J. W. Tester, et al., from MIT Press.
• "Any energy generation, efficiency & conservation source where: Resources are available to enable massive scaling to become a significant portion of energy generation, long term, preferably 100 years.." – Invest, a green technology non-profit organization.
• "Energy which is replenishable within a human lifetime and causes no long-term damage to the environment." – Jamaica Sustainable Development Network

This sets sustainable energy apart from other renewable energy terminology such as alternative energy and green energy, by focusing on the ability of an energy source to continue providing energy. Sustainable energy can produce some pollution of the environment, as long as it is not sufficient to prohibit heavy use of the source for an indefinite amount of time. Sustainable energy is also distinct from low-carbon energy, which is sustainable only in the sense that it does not add to the CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Green Energy is energy that can be extracted, generated, and/or consumed without any significant negative impact to the environment. The planet has a natural capability to recover which means pollution that does not go beyond that capability can still be termed green.

Green power is a subset of renewable energy and represents those renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources. Customers often buy green power for avoided environmental impacts and its greenhouse gas reduction benefits.

what is solar energy????

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar energy technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity,solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis, which can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent energy problems the world now faces.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermalcollectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigatingclimate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared"

THE URJA GYAN FOUNDATION

What is Urja Gyan?

UrjaGyan is an NGO initiative by the Urja Gyan Foundation based in Mumbai. As the name suggests, this website was conceptualized keeping in mind the growing need to create awareness and assimilate information on the dynamic field of Energy in India. The website, then, functions to bring together the diversity of knowledge available on energy sources-- Electricity, Oil and Natural gas, Coal, Nuclear, Renewable Energy. Along with facts, the website also seeks to capture the phenomenon of energy as it changes in the industry. Thus, it covers current news, updates on regulations and amendments and other knowledge driven services within the field.

Our people

Urja Gyan foundation generally comprises of a team of young people under the guidance of veteran power consultant Dr Radhakrishna Deshraju. More information on these people are as follow.

Mr Radhakrishna Deshraju

Dr. Radhakrishna with Educational background in Engineering , Law and Management Degrees from reputed institutions has worked at MP State Electricity Board for 15 years and Adani Exports Ltd , Ahmadabad is now giving consultancy in entire Energy Management encompassing a circle of experienced persons and youngsters for the mix up the activities with enthusiasm . He is  chairman of Deeaar group and Urja Gyan foundation. 

Kunal Khatri  

Kunal is a 23 years old dedicated employee at Deeaar power consulting group and is one of the core team member of the Urja Gyan foundation. He has nearly 2 years of experience in power sector. He is a bachelor of Technology in computer science and an administrator of Urja Gyan website. 

Chandan Kumar Deo

Chandan is a 28 year old full time employee at Deeaar group . He has completed his degree of bachelor of Technology in Information Technology from NIT Bhopal. After having an experience of  nearly 2 years, he has joined the force of Urja Gyan foundation. 

Parth Chaudhary (intern)

Parth is 19 year old  intern at Deeaar group and Urja Gyan foundation. he is currently a second year student at IIT Bombay. He is working in load management and is a blogger for Urja Gyan.

Sandeep Chittaluri (intern)

Sandeep is 20 year old intern at Deear group Urja Gyan. He is currently second year student at IIT Bombay. He is working in renewable energy tariff determination.

Village energy security In India

                                                      

                             India is moving towards development at an emphatic pace. But in this inevitable process of development the country seems to improve in digits but not all the people enjoys the development. Especially those people who are living in the villages, remote areas do not get equal benefits as do the upper class gets. The most important is the provision of energy be it electricity, gas, kerosene or anything that one expects   from government   at least. Due to the efforts of VESP (Village Energy Security Programme) and RGGVY (Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojana) under the MNRE and MOP many rural areas were enlighten. Coming to data, of 593732 villages in India nearly 94.4% are declared electrified. But there still remain many remote places under darkness.

 

                                        The idea of VESP is to electrify the remote villages by setting up a renewable power plant in locality mostly a biomass plant, SVO etc.  Local equipment and manpower are used in set up of plants and local people are trained and employed to operate them. The fuel for biomass is obtained from locality only. Also many tributaries and rivers are subjected to check dams (small hydro) to generate electricity and recharge the ground water level which is very important from the point of view of irrigation.

But still things are not over yet when it comes to maintenance, or when the remote areas are geographically inert in country map. Difficulties arise in areas inside forest, tribal or islands or hilly regions where even vehicles cannot go. To set up plant or extend wires becomes unviable mentally physically and financially given the budget constraints. MNRE and VESP are still tackling the situations. Looking briefly into technical issues the load factor are lesser then expectation due to unavailability of fuel, biomass, inadequate training, low uptimes, maintenance, breakdowns etc.  Financially there is always a viability gap making them dependent on subsidy.

                                       Due to such vivid experience from one place to other, The VESP is gaining more maturity in the process which is improving its efficiency, work-rate, methodology, liquidity of subsidies. So the Programme and the government are making their sincere efforts in raising the rural. But the real solution is attached to every citizen of the country. Due to increasing demand of urban people and their willing-ness to pay has increased their share of electricity. The per capita use of electricity of India is 879.22 kWh and it is increasing and there is a huge gap between the rural and urban community. People are exploiting the resources and making the poor deprived of the same. Due to this there is lot of power-cuts in most states of nation and generally backward areas are at receiving end.  Also the illiteracy is keeping them down in darkness.

                                        So overall the combine efforts can only lit the whole nation.