The Delhi Cabinet on Monday approved the financial pattern of the Praga-ti Phase-Ill Bawana Power Project to be commissioned at an estimated cost of Rs.5195.81 crore. The foundation stone of the 1,500-MW gas-based power station was laid by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 24 this year.

The Delhi government is set to introduce open access for large power consumers. According to a recent consultation paper by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) for determining the new tariffs, the new power distribution system in the national capital is going to be introduced from July 1. The commission had earlier notified its open access regulations in January 2006. ,> The regulation, primarily for commercial users, allows consumers using more than 1 Mw power to choose their electricity distributor.

The State Government has decided to enhance its thermal power generation capacity to avoid the power crisis in the lean period faced by the State almost every year. Dispur feels that more thermal power is required for maintaining the "uniformity in power supply' in the State throughout the year.

Tata Power and Reliance Energy are unable to bring the development the 1,600 mw and 4,000-mw power projects on fast track, thanks to the Maharashtra government's dillydallying over expediting the land acquisition process of these projects. The government, though, was striving to meet the ever increasing power demand in the state was not eager to push through land acquisition process at the cost of its survival. It took three years since the state government signed an MoU on April 4, 2005, to streamline the land acquisition process.

India is today one of the fastest growing economies. As a natural corollary the demand on vital inputs necessary to sustain this growth momentum are also on increase. India's energy needs too are fast expanding. Coal is far more important in Indian energy scenario considering the fact that coal meets 55% of India's primary energy needs. The world over it hovers around 27%.

With about 20 biomass-based power projects generating 183 MW at Sirsa, Panipat, Karnal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Nilokheri, Jagadhari, Khanesar and Dabwali, the people of Haryana can be assured of lesser power cuts. As the projects are being set up at the sites of the load centres, the power supply is expected to increase in these blocks, with transmission losses going down in a big way. Confirming this, officials of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) said since the state is purchasing massive power from other states, it has to bear huge transmission losses.

UNION Energy Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday assured that the state would get 2000 mw power from the Ultra Mega Power Project to be set up in Ratnagiri in Konkan region. Speaking to the newspersons after attending a stock-taking meeting at Sahyadri guest house on Thursday night, Shinde said he was aware of the acute power shortage faced by the state and would do everything possible to alleviate the same.

In the midst of an acute power crisis, 60 megawatt of power has been added to Uttar Pradesh's kitty following the lightning up of Unit No.5 at the Harduaganj power station after a gap of nine years. The unit had closed down in 1999. After all these years now it has resumed generation of electricity. State Principal Secretary (Energy) V.N. Garg said here on Tuesday that the unit was refurbished with vigorous renovation and modernisation after the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party government in the State. About Rs.33 crore was spent on the refurbishment of the Harduaganj power unit.

RIL To Kickstart Spot Crude Market With Indicative Benchmarked Price ENERGY major Reliance Industries (RIL), which is set to kick off the first spot crude oil market in the country, will be inviting price quotes from oil refining companies shortly.

Faced with a herculean task of ramping up its installed power capacity to keep pace with huge investment inflows, the Gujarat government is planning to invite private companies to invest in five new power projects worth Rs 20,000 crore during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit (VGGIS). The MoUs for five new projects totalling a capacity of 5,350 Mw are likely to be signed during the Vibrant Gujarat summit.