Blogs
Draft Electricity Act amendments a lame affair
30 April 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Ministry of Power has issued another set of draft amendments to The Electricity Act, 2003. It is the third attempt to amend the Act in as many years. The latest...
Government financial institutions becoming lenders of last resort
22 April 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Ministry of Power is supposedly working on a plan to use central government-owned financial institutions (FIs) including Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to fund DISCOMs in wake of the Coronavirus disruption. As per news reports,
Webinar: impact of COVID-19 on the Indian renewable sector
20 April 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
BRIDGE TO INDIA hosted a webinar on 30 March 2020 to discuss impact of COVID-19 on the renewable sector in India. Speakers from a cross-section of players from the industry discussed impact on equipment supply chain and projects under construction (an estimated 10 GW where on-site activity is currently under progress) as well as...
Maharashtra offers relief to rooftop solar
15 April 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Maharashtra regulator, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), has made a series of positive announcements for rooftop solar market in the state. It has accepted demand from MSEDCL, a state government owned company and the largest DISCOM in the state, to levy grid usage charges on all new installations over 10 kW capacity but only once total installed capacity in the state...
Bankrupt DISCOMs plus Covid-19 a disastrous mix
08 April 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Coronavirus lockdown and consequent slowdown in power demand are striking at the core of the power sector in India. A cascading series of litigation and payment defaults by end consumers, DISCOMs...
Coronavirus damage impossible to assess
31 March 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
Coronavirus damage impossible to assess India has been in a near complete lockdown since 22 March 2020. The current three week lockdown is due to last until 14 April 2020. All commercial and social activity including all...
Management of cooling load favourable to renewables
20 March 2020 | Mridul Chadha
Power demand for cooling applications accounts for about 17% (210 TWh in 2017-18) of India’s total electricity requirement. As per a projection by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEF&CC), this demand could increase to 985 TWh by 2037-38 in the business-as-usual scenario. But the Ministry’s
Waiving bank guarantees not desirable
20 March 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
MNRE is understood to be in advanced stages of waiving requirements for bank guarantees by project bidders. As per a news report, MNRE is proposing that instead of bank guarantees, the developers may provide letters of...
Safeguard duty redux
16 March 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has opened a
Coronavirus disruption highlights risk of external dependence
28 February 2020 | BRIDGE TO INDIA
The Ministry of Finance has clarified that projects affected by the Coronavirus breakout would be given relief by way of extensions in project completion timelines under Force Majeure provisions. The announcement is not a surprise as the resultant business disruption, clearly outside the control of the...
India takes one more step in integration of RE
25 February 2020 | Mridul Chadha
Eight of the proposed 11 Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) have commenced operations. REMCs were proposed to be set up by the Ministry of Power back in 2017 to aggregate renewable energy forecasts and dispatch schedules. They are expected to help optimise scheduling of conventional power plants and maintain grid balance. In late-2018, 11 REMC contracts were awarded by Power Grid...
