WCA May 2013

India

Private Ltd and will use 56 wind turbines, each rated at 850kW. The project will be completed before the end of the year. The development is part of the diversification plans of Nalco, a Navratna public sector undertaking, which has been foraying into other metals and energy sectors. This is the company’s second green initiative towards promoting sustainable development by harnessing renewable energy sources. The move is also likely to attract incentives from the government. The company commissioned its first wind power plant of 50.4MW capacity at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, on 30 th December 2012. Nalco – India Website : www.nalco.com 2,300MW hydropower plans in three years The public sector utility North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) plans to add 2,300MW of hydropower to its capacity, and plans to go public within the next three years. The corporation presently has an installed capacity of 1,130MW, 60 per cent of the total installed capacity of Northeast India. Over the next three years the corporation is looking to complete five projects to generate around 917MW of power. NEEPCO has floated global tenders inviting private participation for development of power projects. Chairman and MD of NEEPCO, PC Pankaj, is quoted as saying: “Around 12 companies have responded and we will jointly develop projects. NEEPCO has also made [a] foray in[to] consultancy.” The MD added that NEEPCO is also focusing on work with state governments. “Northeast India has huge hydropower potential, Arunchal Pradesh alone accounts for 59,000MW power potential.” Several big power projects are facing opposition from anti-dam groups. “If things are done properly there is no reason to be apprehensive. Countries like China and Brazil are building power projects with capacity of 20,000MW,” he said. North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited – India Website : www.neepco.gov.in Wire business license application Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) is proposing to acquire a wire business licence within the Odisha jurisdiction area of the Central Electricity Supply Utility

(CESU) power distribution company. PGCIL will invest in new infrastructure within the CESU area. “This is the first time we have proposed to acquire [a] wire business licence in [the] CESU area. Since we are currently preparing detailed project report, we cannot comment about the investment details and business plans,” said an official of PGCIL. CESU is one of four distribution operators in Odisha, currently managed by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) after its majority stakeholder, AES, abandoned the management a decade ago. PGCIL’s application to acquire the wire business licence has been sent to OERC for clearance. As per the business model proposed by PGCIL, apart from upgrading the existing network of CESU, it will set up power substations and 33kV cables lines. CESU currently has around 2,900 circuit kilometres of 33kV lines. The state of Odisha is expected to generate around 40,000MW power from 29 independent power producers (IPP), and three ultra mega power projects (UMPP) are expected to be commissioned over the next ten years. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd – India Website : www.powergridindia.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2013