NTPC: Retain ‘buy’ with a TP of Rs 145; performance is expected lines

NTPC’s overall Q3FY21 performance is in line with our expectations. Highlights: Liquidation of overdue receivables by 15% to Rs157 billion is a key positive; it is likely to reduce to Rs80 billion by March-21. The company continues to progress well on renewable diversification (won 1.2GW in last three months). The CWIP ratio is down to […]

In pictures: Six Hydropower projects wrecked by flash floods in Uttarakhand

A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system. The disster washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least 14 people dead, and over 150 missing. Local reports suggested workers of the NTPC-owned Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower plant were stuck […]

New Bill: Easy access to power distribution business proposed

A new Bill to amend the Electricity Act tabled in Parliament proposes to usher in the long-elusive competition in power distribution business. To provide more choices to consumers and bring higher efficiency in the sector, the Bill seeks to de-license the power distribution business and allow any entity to run distribution companies (discoms) anywhere in […]

Moody’s upgrades power sector outlook from negative to stable

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the outlook for the Indian power sector from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ as the country recorded the fifth consecutive month of power generation growth (on a year-on-year basis) in January, after six months of decline driven by coronavirus pandemic. In the first ten months of FY21, power generation growth declined 2.9% […]

Commercial coal mining: Lower risks to investors in second round of auction

While the first round of auction under the new commercial coal mining policy in November last year elicited only modest response, the government has re-packaged the blocks on offer under the second round by minimising the risks to potential investors. The Union coal ministry is planning to offer 64 new mines, with reserves of 30,505 […]

ONGC to usher in India’s first geothermal energy at Ladakh

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday said it will implement India’s maiden geothermal field development project in Ladakh that will use the heat generated by the Earth’s core to generate clean energy. “A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalise this has been inked by ONGC Energy Centre (OEC) with the Union Territory […]