General
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State-run Power Finance Corporation
(PFC) on Thursday reported a 72 per cent jump in its consolidated net
profit at Rs 4,290 crore in the
July-September quarter on account of higher revenues.
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Its net profit was Rs 2,497 crore in the quarter ended September 30,
2019, a BSE filing said.
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Total income of the company rose to Rs 18,171.41 crore in the said quarter from Rs 15,537.55 crore in the same period a year ago.
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Loans worth Rs
1.18 lakh crore have been sanctioned so far by state-run non-banking
finance firms Power Finance Corporation and REC Ltd under the liquidity
package for stressed power distribution utilities, a statement said.
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In May, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had
announced Rs 90,000 crore liquidity infusion
into cash-strapped discoms facing demand
slump due to the COVID-19 crisis.
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This package was later increased to Rs 1.2 lakh crore by the Ministry of Power.
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"The company and its subsidiary
REC Ltd, upto October 31, 2020, has
sanctioned an amount of Rs 1,18,273 crore
respectively under this scheme of liquidity package to eligible discoms," PFC said in a BSE filing.
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The loans under the package will be
co-funded by PFC and REC in equal proportion. The loans would be
sanctioned in two equal tranches, it added.
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Both the firms have disbursed around Rs 31,100 crore under the package.
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Under the liquidity infusion scheme
of the Centre, REC and PFC are extending financial assistance at a
concessional rate of interest. The package was announced on May 13,
2020.
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The discoms
require liquidity to pay off their bills to the gencos
(generation companies) and transcos
(transmission firms).
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According the PRAA portal (Payment
Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement
for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators), discoms' total outstanding dues as of September
stand at Rs 1.38 lakh crore.
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Power producers give 45 days to discoms for paying bills for the supply of
electricity. After that, outstanding dues become overdue and generators
charge penal interest on that in most cases.
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Such overdues
stand at Rs 1.26 lakh crore out of the total
outstanding dues of Rs 1.38 lakh crore as of
September 2020.
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The package would help to reduce
outstanding dues of the discoms considerably.
Besides, it would reduce stress on the power gencos
and transcos as their payments are stuck with
discoms.
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Besides the package, in order to give
relief to gencos, the Centre had enforced a
payment security mechanism from August 1, 2019. Under this mechanism, discoms are required to open letters of credit for
getting power supply.
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The central government had also given
moratorium to discoms for paying dues to
power generating firms in view of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The
government had also waived the penal charges for late payment of dues.
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With the Telangana
government doling out incentives for early adopters of EV vehicles in
its EV policy for various segments such as 2,3,4 wheelers and e-buses,
the industry players expect that the high demand for electric
3-wheelers will drive EV adoption in the state in the coming days.
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Currently, there are around 600-700
e-3 wheelers in the city and with adequate financing support and
requisite permits required for plying passenger e-autos, this number
can grow up to thirty times (nearly 20,000) in two years, Raja Gayam, CEO at Gayam Motor
Works, said.
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“The 3-wheelers will be the first to
be electrified and will drive EV adoption primarily because even
without any state subsidy, e-3 wheelers are economically viable as
compared to their diesel counterparts, due to low maintenance cost,” he
added.
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This is in line with the national
trend as a CRISIL research paper that was published earlier this year
had estimated that nearly half of the 3-wheelers sold in the next three
years in the country will be electric. It said that e-3 wheelers, which
already enjoy better cost economics compared with their internal
combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, will account for 43 per cent-48
per cent of the new sales in its segment by 2024. On similar lines,
KPMG, in a report published earlier this month, said India expects 65
per cent to 75 per cent of 3-wheelers to be electric by 2030.
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Even ETO Motors president Venugopal Rao Nellutla
said the e-3 wheeler sales will be driven by high demand from the cargo
segment, especially by e-commerce players who require it for last-mile
delivery. “This is the right time for every state to work on replacing
the diesel 3-wheelers with electric as post-lockdown, it is time to be
more conscious about environment,” he said.
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As part of the policy, Telangana will be offering 100 per cent exemption
of road tax & registration fee for first 20,000 e-3 wheelers
purchased & registered in the state. Besides, it will also offer
retro-fitment incentive at 15 per cent of the retro-fitment cost
(capped at Rs 15,000 per vehicle) for first
5,000 retrofits 3 seater auto-rickshaws. Even
under FAME II, e-3 wheelers including e-rickshaws are eligible for
demand incentives.
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Farmers staged massive protest in
Firozabad on Wednesday against inadequate power supply and lack of
water in canals which is causing them much inconvenience while
irrigating the fields. Farmers, protesting under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU), blocked the Tundla-Etah highway. They
also locked down at least three power sub-stations in the rural areas.
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The police had to implement a route
diversion plan after the farmers blocked the highway. It was only after
the assurance of senior officials that the farmers ended their protest
after around 3pm.
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BKU state president Yogesh Pratap Singh said, “With poor monsoon this year,
farmers were largely dependent on tube wells for irrigation of their
fields. We want the state government to ensure at least 18 hours of
power supply for operating tube wells in rural areas. Besides, adequate
water supply should be there in canals. We will also lock down the head
office of the power distribution company in Agra if the state of power
supply does not improve.”
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BKU state vice president Dhirendra Pal Singh said, “The authorities have
assured to provide power supply from irrigation feeders for at least 15
hours per day. They will provide 18 hours after consulting the state
government and making the required arrangements. We have decided to
wait for 15 days. In case the authorities fail to fulfill their
promise, then we will launch an indefinite strike.”
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Sub-divisional magistrate Rajesh
Kumar said, “The electricity department officials were called on the
protest site. They were asked to ensure at least 15 hours of
uninterrupted power supply for proper irrigation of the fields.
Required availability of water in canals will be ensured by the end of
November. Irrigation department officials have been asked to complete
the ongoing cleaning of canals within the next two weeks.”
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GE Power India on Wednesday reported
a consolidated net profit of Rs 37.37 crore
for the September 2020 quarter, mainly on the back of higher revenues.
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The company had registered a
consolidated net loss of Rs 22.32 crore in
the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, according to
a BSE filing.
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Its total income during
July-September 2020 rose to Rs 917.80 crore,
compared with Rs 545.43 crore in the year-ago
period.
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The consolidated results include the
results of GE Power India Ltd (GEPIL) and its subsidiary GE Power
Boilers Services Ltd.
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The group's business activity falls
within a single operating segment - power generation equipments and related services.
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In a statement, GE Power India
Managing Director Prashant Jain said, "We have achieved positive
operational and financial second quarter results and had some
significant wins in the services business."
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He added that quick response from its
team and timely completion of the projects have resulted in tangible
customer satisfaction for all its projects.
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Jain also said, "GEPIL has a
strong position in the Indian power market, which continues to rely on
coal for base load power, and GE is committed to all applicable capital
market regulations with respect to its majority interest in
GEPIL."
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About the impact of COVID-19, it said
that as long-term contracts represent a significant portion of the
business volumes, the impact is not expected to be broad, pervasive and
long-term.
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The group has a strong order book of
long-term projects and adequate unutilised
fund-based credit limits to mitigate impact on the group.
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Further, it said the group has
evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on the financial results and factored
in the changed economic environment, wherever required, the impact of
which is not significant.
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M Prasanna
Kumar has taken over as Managing Director of Gujarat State Electricity
Corporation Ltd (GSECL), a generation arm of state-owned Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd
(GUVNL). Prior to joining GSCEL, he was heading vertical of NTPC
(corporate fuel management) as executive director. He is gold medallist in Mechanical Engineering from Nagarjuna University and also an MBA in operations
management, marketing management, financial management and human
resources management.
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He is also a fellow of The Institute
of Engineers (I) and has presented and published a number of technical
and managerial papers in national and international conferences and
journals.
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Ushering cheer for power consumers
before Diwali, UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) on
Wednesday declined to raise power tariff and retained the slabs of
2019-2020 fiscal. TOI was the first to report earlier this year that
tariff would remain unchanged.
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The regulatory commission decided not
to change the slab category and the fixed charge, which was kept at Rs 110/KW/month. An urban domestic consumer would
continue to pay at the rate of Rs 5.50 per
unit for first 150 units, followed by Rs 6
per unit on consumption of 150-300 units. Likewise, for the slab
between 301-500 units, a consumer would be required to pay at the rate
of Rs 6.50. Consuming electricity above 500
units will require the consumer to shell out Rs
7 per unit.
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The tariff has also been kept
unchanged for rural households and industrial units. In case of rural
consumers, consumption up to first 100 units would invite Rs 3.35 per unit, followed by Rs
3.85 for consumption of 101-150 units.
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‘UPPCL decision driven by dip in eco
activity’
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For next 151-300 units, a consumer
would be required to pay at the rate of Rs 5
per unit, followed by Rs 5.50 per unit for
next 301-500 units. Power consumption above 500 units would invite
energy charge of Rs 6 per unit.
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The development, UPERC sources said,
comes days after UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) submitted a
business plan, pushing for increase in revenue collection. The
commission, on Wednesday observed the UPPCL has to raise its revenue
recovery efficiency and curb line losses.
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The commission’s decision not to hike
power tariff, sources said, was also driven by a dip in economic
activity following the pandemic. In fact, the nationwide lockdown that
affected operations of commercial and industrial units and this too
moved the commission to keep tariff unchanged.
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For townships, registered societies,
residential colonies, multi-storied residential complexes (including
lifts, water pumps and common lighting within the premises) with loads
50 KW and above, the commission decided to keep the fixed charge at Rs 110/KW/ month with energy charge at the rate of Rs 7 per unit.
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A housing apartment seeking to supply
at single point for bulk loads to flats shall be considered a deemed
franchisee of UPPCL. The association shall charge not more than 5%
additional charge on specified ‘rate’, apart from applicable charges
such as regulatory surcharge, penalty, rebate and electricity duty on
actual basis. The 5% additional charge shall be towards facilitating
supply to individual members to recover expenses towards supply of
electricity, distribution loss, electrical
maintenance in its supply area, billing, accounting and audit.
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The commission also announced that
rebate to power loom consumers shall be provided in accordance with applicable
government orders, subject to adherence of provision of advance
subsidy.
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President of UP Rajya
Vidyut Upbhogta Parishad, Avdhesh Verma,
said, the commission should have considered its plea to reduce power
tariff. “Nevertheless not increasing power tariff is a welcome step,”
he said. Verma said, the parishad would file
a review petition after Diwali seeking reduction in power tariff.
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