Power generator, UPS dealers fleecing consumers

Rawalpindi

Owing to persistent prolonged power outages and in some areas forced loadshedding even in spring season, dealers of generators, uninterrupted power supply (UPS), searchlights and other electrical appliances have got a golden opportunity to charge prices of these items at their will.

The rates of all electrical appliances have jumped by 35 to 50 per cent as compared to last year because there is no official mechanism for checking the prices and quality of these appliances. Helpless consumers bear huge amount of electricity bills and also have to bear extra financial burden in buying generators, UPS, searchlights etc to get relief during forced loadshedding.

‘The News’ conducted a survey of different bazaars and it was observed that prices of UPS units, generators, searchlights and other electrical appliances have almost doubled as compared to the previous year.

The China made generators cannot properly work because they frequently develop faults a dealer said and added that majority of people use to buy UPS units, but they don’t work properly due to prolonged loadshedding.

At College Road (electrical market) the locally-made heavy generators have become quite popular, but dealers avoid giving warranty and one has to take the risk. A generator of 660CC is available for Rs100,000 while that of 1,300CC and 1,800CC can cost up to Rs170,000. Similarly, UPS prices start from Rs30,000 up to Rs100,000. Searchlights are being sold at different prices from Rs300 to Rs1,700.

An electronics dealer Rashid Khan said that locally-made generators were durable as compared to China made, but proper maintenance was essential as carelessness usually damages dynamos, which could cost up to Rs33,000. “The 16 valves generators are very safe, which can help draw water from tubewells, run air conditioners, over one dozen fans, refrigerators, computers, television and several lights,” Khan claimed.

Shahid Munir, a UPS mechanic at College Road, said that the prolonged loadshedding has affected the business of UPS units and people prefer to buy generators because they function non-stop. He said that UPS was noiseless facility, but could not give more than one-hour backup. Besides, the prices of batteries have also gone up exorbitantly. Warranties of different durations are offered for new batteries, but the mechanic say that repaired batteries can also serve the purpose for three months with minimum expenses of Rs3,500 to Rs4,000, he claimed.

Shahid also said that people must take care while buying generators because the dealers sell locally-made generators while falsely branding them as Japan or Malaysia. “The factory owners use brand name of others and produce substandard products,” he said and advised the buyers to select foreign assembled generators to avoid problems for a long time.

“We have many varieties of both manual and self-start generators, but we cannot give warranty,” said a dealer, Naeem Ahmed and added that in case of any fault the mechanics were available in the market.

Talking to ‘The News’ helpless people belonging to different walks of life said that rich people could afford to buy expensive UPS and generators, but poor cannot. “We hardly pay electrical bills how could we purchase these expensive items,” they said. Shakir Hussain, a resident of Al-Mumtaz Colony said that they are facing forced loadshedding for a couple of days. Iesco announced 8-hours loadshedding schedule, but they are facing 10 to 12 hours forced loadshedding.

Raja Waheed Ahmed, a resident of Gulistan Colony, said that they are facing 10 to 12 hours loadshedding. The prices of all electrical appliances are going up day-by-day due to prolonged loadshedding, he denounced.

When ‘The News’ contacted Iesco Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Muhammad Babar, he admitting all facts and figures and alleged that National Power Control Centre (NPCC) started forced loadshedding in some areas of Rawalpindi. “We are observing scheduled loadshedding, but we are helpless before forced loadshedding by NPCC for the last couple of days,” he claimed.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-166087-Power-generator-UPS-dealers-fleecing-c

Vic govt rolls out rural power generators

The first generator installed at a regional Victorian nursing home to improve bushfire safety has already successfully prevented a loss of power. A fault at a substation that provides power to the Caladenia Nursing Home at Kilmore on January 24 went unnoticed by residents because the generator automatically provided backup power, avoiding a 24-hour outage. Speaking in Kilmore on Thursday, Premier Ted Baillieu said this was the protection the government was aiming for with a $40 million infrastructure assistance fund. "This generator has already proved its effectiveness in a 24-hour power outage, cut-in here and the residents wouldn't have known the difference," Mr Baillieu told reporters. "They need that power for airconditioning, they need it for security reasons, they need it to maintain power on vital medical equipment." The generator was installed as part of the $750 million Victoria's government's response to the bushfires royal commission after Black Saturday in 2009. Generators will be installed in eligible care facilities where vulnerable residents are highly reliant on power. Energy and Resources Minister Michael O'Brien said another three generators were currently being installed. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/02/14/14/01/vic-govt-rolls-out-rural-power-generators

Spain Zaps Power Generators With 7% Tax to Curb Deficit

The Spanish parliament passed an energy law that will impose a 7 percent tax on electricity generation starting Jan 1, a step to close a funding gap the power companies built up with the government. The government is “on track” to plug the tariff deficit, which amounts to about 6 billion euros ($8 billion) a year and represents the difference between costs and revenue in the power system, Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said today in Madrid. “Now we must approach the regulatory aspects.” The measures hit both traditional and renewable energy plants and mark the first time Spain has taxed wind and solar power plants. The government halted subsidies for all clean energy projects earlier this year after a boom in installations drove up electricity prices and boosted the tariff deficit. “Come Jan. 1, we will realize we’re missing 7 percent from our balance sheets,” said Jose Miguel Villarig, the president of APPA, a group of clean energy producers. Renewable energy plants generated about 27 percent of Spain’s electricity last year and receive about 7 billion euros annually in subsidies. Those have inflated the tariff deficit. The tax set out today is bigger than the 6 percent tax set out in a previous draft of the legislation detailed on Sept. 14. That included a levy on fossil-fuel fired plants as well as nuclear and hydropower. It also had a flat tax for both traditional and low-carbon energy, which aims to raise about 2.7 billion euros ($3.5 billion) a year. To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Laya in Madrid at playa2@bloomberg.net http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-20/spain-zaps-power-generators-with-7-tax-to-curb-deficit.html

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Power cuts lead to surge in generator sales

Almost 14 hours of power cut a day for the last two months is forcing industries, small and big, to go in for generators. A generator supplier here says that the company used to supply about five generator sets a month. Now, it is 15 to 20 a month. The orders received are higher. Nearly four months ago, the company used to book orders for one or two a week. Now, it is much higher. The demand is mostly for generators of 10 KVA to 100 KVA capacity. While the 10 KVA or 15 KVA generators go for domestic use, the higher capacity ones are for industries. Several small and medium-scale units seek reduction in initial cost. The micro units make enquiries. Use of generator sets is not viable for applications such as welding. Apart from the demand for new generators, the second-hand market is also at its peak, the supplier said. Higher use of generators has pushed up the demand for diesel too. An official of an oil marketing company here told The Hindu that there is 30 per cent to 40 per cent increase during the last six months in the company’s diesel despatch from its terminal here as against the average monthly increase of 10 per cent in off-take earlier, which was mainly for the automobile sector. The company used to despatch 1,500 kilo litres of diesel a day earlier. On an average, it was 1,900 kl a day now. Some textile mills that purchased directly from the company used to take one or two loads of diesel a month earlier. Now, it was six to eight loads (normally a load is 12,000 litres). Some even ask for a load every day. J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises, said that the job working units were in such a situation that they would not have orders if they did not have generator sets. The energy cost worked out to Rs.20 a unit with the use of generator. Though this is not viable, “we cannot afford to lose orders or the workers,” he said. The units had to give work to the employees at least for eight hours a day. So, most of them preferred to use power from the grid for four hours and generator for another four hours a day. Those who cannot afford to buy generator sets independently are looking at getting into groups of four or five and investing for a common generator (if the units are located on the same premises), he said. http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/power-cuts-lead-to-surge-in-generator-sales/article4122637.ece

Power generation hit by technical snags

HYDERABAD: Repeated breakdowns of thermal power plants due to technical snags are skewing the power supply position across the state.
As much as 1100 MW of thermal power generation has been lost due to these break downs on Wednesday after five thermal plants reported technical snags. According to APGenco sources, the snags are occurring because the annual shutdown and capital maintenance has not happened as yet.

The delay in carrying out the annual shutdown in thermal power plants is because of soaring electricity demand and lower output from hydropower plants, hit by weak rainfall during the monsoon season. It is this that is triggering breakdowns in the coal-fired generation units, they added.
At present, Vijayawada thermal station unit 1 and 6, Kothagudem thermal station unit 5 and 6 and Kakatiya thermal plant near Warangal have shut down causing a shortage of 1100 MW every day. It would take at least one week for all the units to resume functioning. In particular, the 500 MW Kakatiya thermal plant near Warangal and 6 and 7 units at Vijayawada thermal station are reporting high number of technical snags even after stabilization forcing the state to resort to the Srisailam hydel power during peak hours.
However, the hydel units are not of much help as several hydel power stations too have become inoperational due to precarious water levels in the reservoirs. The deficient monsoon rainfall has hurt hydropower generation in the state significantly, putting more pressure on thermal power generators as demand for electricity rises from consumers for cooling needs and farmers for irrigation using electric pumps.
The state government had asked the state-owned APGenco, country's third biggest power generator, to keep its plants running due to huge shortfall in hydel power generation during rainy season. According to senior officials of AP Genco, the risk of a breakdown is always there if repair and maintenance doesn't take place and every year some units at a project would have to go for capital maintenance like replacement of worn out equipment.
The state has five thermal stations producing 5,092 MW power at 23 units of various generation capacities. APGenco is the third largest power generating and the second highest hydro power generating utility in the country. It has achieved highest total energy generation and highest thermal power generation in 2008-09, first time since its inception. The plant load factor was 86.7% against the all India average of 77.2%.The hydro-power generation was 85% of available capacity. 

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-22/hyderabad/35302338_1_thermal-station-thermal-power-hydel-power

Power generators feel the heat from renewables

Australia’s big electricity generators are feeling the squeeze of electricity demand falling in recent years and growing competition from renewable energy.
This year, some environmentalists criticised the federal government for scrapping the “contracts for closure” negotiations, which would have made the federal government compensate operators to close up to 2000 megawatts of coal-fired power stations. However, more than 2000 megawatts of coal power plant has now been closed or “mothballed” across the country without paying the contracts for closure.
Recently closed coal-fired power plants include Playford in South Australia and Munmorah in NSW. Partial shutdowns have taken place at Yallourn in Victoria and Tarong in Queensland. The Northern coal-fired power plant in South Australia is expected to run in summer only.

Playford power station was recently closed. Photo: DecarboniseSA

The carbon price has played a minor part in the closures. Playford, an old and inefficient power plant, was much less economical in the electricity market with the added carbon price. Other brown coal power stations such as Yallourn and Northern face the same problem.
Falling demand and competition from renewables are a larger consideration. To illustrate this, in the last financial year NSW’s biggest power station at Bayswater ran at 59% capacity — well below optimum economic levels.
Australia’s large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) is commonly understood to be 20% of energy supply by 2020. But in fact the target is set at a fixed amount of 41,000 gigawatt hours. Earlier projections said that this would amount to 20% of electricity needed by 2020. But this amount may actually end up being as much as 25% come 2020.
Despite all sides of federal politics claiming to support the LRET, it has been subjected to review by the Gillard government. The large energy generator/retailer companies Origin and Energy Australia have called for the target to be reduced and changed to a floating percentage instead of a fixed amount of energy.
Renewable industry sources and environmentalists have pointed out that a floating percentage would not give the security and investor confidence required to build enough renewable energy.
The Climate Change Authority’s preliminary report, released on October 26, recommended that the target remain unchanged.
Campaign group 100% Renewable have teamed up with the Australian Conservation Foundation to launch a “People’s RET Review” where members of the public can fill in an online survey of their own views on the LRET. The groups say: “Big power companies and lobby groups who want to slow the development of renewables in Australia are using the RET review process to try and reduce the renewable energy target.”
Coal industry associated analysts ACIL Tasman have released a report claiming the LRET is going to add $53 billion to household electricity bills. But as energy industry commentator Giles Parkinson has pointed out at RenewEconomy: “Even if you accept the ACIL Tasman numbers — which no one outside the coal industry does — it translates into $840 per household over 18 years, or $46 a year, or 90c a week, or 13c a day.”
Other estimates challenge the ACIL Tasman figures. A report commissioned by the Clean Energy Council has found that the LRET will help keep wholesale prices lower, due to what is known as the “merit order effect”, which preferences renewable energy.
Meanwhile, renewable energy has made a large inroad into generation capacity in South Australia, with wind power generating about 28% of that state’s electricity and still growing. The state’s solar power use is also at the highest level in the country.
The merit order effect has lowered South Australian wholesale spot prices. The Essential Services Commission of South Australia ruled that standing contract electricity prices must be reduced by 8.1% from January due to low wholesale electricity prices. This would equate to about $160 a year for household bills.
In response, electricity generator and retailer AGL has said it would suspend operations and halt any further investment in new generating capacity in South Australia (including renewables).
Wind farms continue to be built in the state. The latest project started being built last week, Snowtown II, and will add 270 megawatts of generating capacity. Owner TrustPower (a NZ utility) claims it will be capable of generating more than 10% of South Australia’s electricity.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52654