Power generators keep tab on open access scheme

MANILA, Philippines - Power generators are keeping a close watch on the open access regime, noting that there may be slight problems or concerns as part of the usual birth pains.
The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA) said it is still too early to say how the new regime would impact on both the consumers and the power suppliers.
“We don’t know yet because it’s our first billing month,” said PIPPA president Luis Miguel Aboitiz.
He said if there are no problems in billing, there may be no issue or concern with the implementation of the open access regime in the power sector.
“As long as billing and payment occur without problems, hopefully, there will be no issue,” Aboitiz said.
He said one issue that may arise is if the information to produce the bills come on time since it would be a new system, which could determine if the more than 200 suppliers would be able to issue their bills on time. The necessary information would come from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) as the central registration body (CRB) of the RCOA, a regime mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Essentially, the open-access regime or the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) allows businesses to be able to decide for themselves which provider is in the best position to supply its needs. These businesses are the contestable customers or those with electricity demand of at least one-megawatt.
So far, only 239 out of 909 applicants have received approvals to participate in the new regime.
Last month, the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), together with the PEMC, the administrator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), launched the commercial operations and integration of the RCOA into the WESM or the country’s electricity trading floor.
The energy department has already issued a circular mandating the use of retail market manuals for the implementation of the new regime in the power sector.  

http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/07/28/1020971/power-generators-keep-tab-open-access-scheme

Clean Line Issues RFI To Wind Power Generators

Plains & Eastern Clean Line LLC, an affiliate of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC, has issued a request for information (RFI) to wind power generators in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles.

According to Clean Line, the RFI will gather information about the generators' demand for transmission capacity and will collect data that will allow Clean Line to determine the cost-effectiveness and production potential of the wind resource in the Great Plains.

The Plains & Eastern Clean Line will connect 3.5 GW of renewable energy from western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas, and the Texas Panhandle with utilities and customers in Tennessee, Arkansas and other markets in the mid-South and Southeast. The approximately 700-mile overhead, direct current transmission line is currently under development and is estimated to cost $2 billion.

http://www.renewgridmag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.10024#.UcZz0VtghJE

Power generators may be a good investment

Power generators may be a good investment
Generators are not something people think about on a daily basis. However, in the wake of the powerful storms that have battered the country in recent years, more and more people have realized just how valuable generators can be.
Portable Generators – Many portable generators provide temporary power by using a fossil-based fuel, typically unleaded gasoline, and tend to range in power from 500 watts to 17.5 kW. The more expensive and larger the unit, the more amperage it will be able to supply. In a portable generator, the motor is typically housed on a metal frame with wheels to move the generator where it is needed. Once fired up, the generator converts the power produced by the motor into electrical current that can supply many of the devices in a home by way of extension cords plugged into the generator. A portable generator will only run as long as it has fuel. Homeowners need to frequently fill up the fuel tank if they plan to run the generator around the clock. Gassing up generators can be difficult should a power outage also knock out power to the fuel pumps at gas stations. Propane and natural gas generators are also available, although they may be more expensive than gasoline-powered units.
Standby System Generators – Standby generators can be expensive, but many people find the cost of a standby generator is well worth it to maintain power in the event of an outage or emergency. While a portable generator may cost a few hundred dollars, standby generators can cost from a few thousand dollars to as much as $15,000 for larger units that can power much of a household. Standby generators also require installation by a professional electrician, adding to their overall cost. A standby generator is like a heavy-duty car engine, complete with a radiator, gas tank and an alternator that generates power. The entire setup is contained in a weather-proof box, which is connected to the main fuse box of the home by a cable. When power is lost from the electric wires outside of a home, the generator senses it and starts up, all he while blocking any power from the electric lines from the power station to prevent a feedback of power. The standby generator is only hooked up to specific fuses in the fuse box to run certain outlets or appliances in the home. A standby generator will not supply power to all of the outlets in a home.

http://lubbockonline.com/advertising/2013-06-01/power-generators-may-be-good-investment#.UamYU1uM9sg

Consumer body objects to Gujarat power generator’s demand for arrears

Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) on Friday objected to Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL) demanding recovery of Rs 169 crore from electricity consumers in the state due to receipt of “inferior” quality of coal from Coal India Ltd (CIL).

CERS has urged GSECL, which had demanded this sum in its recent tariff petitions, to recover Rs 169 crore from CIL and said that consumers should not be burdened due to the “inefficiency and lethargic approach of the electricity company.”

The consumer body also drew the attention of Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Union Ministry of Power towards CIL’s adoption of “unfair trade practices thereby misusing its dominant position as monopoly” in supply of coal to power plants. The increase in fuel cost is recovered by electricity companies through GERC-approved formula under Fuel Price & Power Purchase Adjustment charges (FPPPA).

According to CERS, electricity companies in India are receiving “inferior” quality E-grade coal with heating value of 2400-2800 kcal/kg, which increases coal consumption by 25% and increased cost per unit generation, thus putting additional burden on electricity consumers.

In a statement here, CERS said that National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) received 55 million tonnes of stones and rocks in 2011-12 along with coal, which has put a burden of Rs. 11,160 crore on NTPC which would be recovered by it from those electricity companies which purchase power from NTPC.

Thus, it will be directly collected from electricity consumers of India through increase in fuel cost vide FPPPA charges. Here also, CERS maintained, CIL has “misused its dominant status” in supply of coal to generating companies of India. Similarly all generation companies received 25-35 per cent waste material in the form of stones and rocks, instead of coal.

In a letter to CCI Chairman Ashok Chawla, CERS has enumerated the “malpractices” adopted by CIL in supplying coal to generating companies. It requested the Commission to direct CIL to charge for actual quality and quantity of coal received at power stations, refrains from supplying stones and rocks which damage pulverizers and increases coal consumption and desist from adding water in open/close coal wagons to increase weight and put additional burden on electricity consumers of India.

Also, CCI should direct electricity generation companies to make payment to CIL as per quantity and quality of coal received at power stations. This practice is being followed in case of imported coal received from Indonesia and Australia. 

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/consumer-body-objects-to-gujarat-power-generators-demand-for-arrears/article4610588.ece

ITT Takes Shock Out of Power Generation with Visco-Elastic Technology

Energy absorption, vibration isolation solutions highlighted at Hannover Messe
BAD KÖNIG, GERMANY – – ITT Corporation’s Control Technologies business has engineered a product called Visco-Elastic Support (VES) technology that reduces shock, controls oscillation and prevents damage to power plant turbines. ITT will showcase this technology, as well as its ECO OEM Series shock absorbers and additional energy absorption and vibration isolation solutions, at the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, April 8-12, 2013, inside Hall 20, Stand B07.
ITT is a global provider of innovative technologies for the energy, transportation and industrial markets that are engineered to withstand the harshest operational environments. Through leading brands such as Compact, Enidine, Jarret and Turn-Act, ITT offers technologies that provide seismic and wind protection for power plants, buildings, bridges and pipelines; reduce thermal forces to bearing and civil structures; and, provide protection from damaging vibration forces caused by overspeed conditions, magnetic pull and turbulent flows.

Viscoelastic Technology
In a power plant turbine, thermal expansion forces and vibrations tend to peak at the guiding bearing above the generator rotor. The shock and magnetic forces at the top of an operating turbine can damage its components or weaken the civil structure supporting the turbine and even lead to catastrophic failure. The VES technology, which improves the dynamic behavior of the turbine’s rotor-bearing system, consists of proprietary silicon elastomers inside high-performance shocks that absorb energy. Engineers place VES shock absorbers on power plant generators at each point of contact between the generator’s support structure and upper guide bearing.
“Many power plant operators mitigate shock and vibration by strengthening the turbine’s civil structure. But this increases cost and only postpones immediate problems,” said Christina Classen, general manager for ITT Control Technologies in Bad König. “VES technology, however, absorbs and dissipates the problem of shock and vibration; this increases generator efficiency as well as the lifetime of the turbine.”
Principles of the VES technology come from the steel-making industry. For example, when rolling sheet metal for automobiles, machine builders rely on hydraulic damping to reduce energy but sustain a high amount of force to produce the required thickness of steel. In power plant generators, VES reduces the generator’s dynamic response, while preventing excessive force on the civil structure.
New Adjustable Shock Absorbers
ITT is also displaying its new adjustable ECO OEM Series shock absorbers, which comply with the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). With the ITT ECO OEM Series shock installed in a machine, technicians can change the shock’s damping force with the simple turn of a knob on the shock if the machine’s input conditions change. For instance, if manufacturers operate food processing or semi-conductor handling machines at high speeds to increase productivity, then the new shock can reduce vibraton and product damage.
The new ECO OEM Series shocks:
- provide enhanced corrosion and wear protection with the new Enicote™ II surface finish.
- include bio-degradable oil, whch is something ITT engineers added to adhere to the VDMA Blue Competence – a German engineering initiative focused on energy efficiency and recycling.
- range in length from 67 mm to more than 142 mm.
New Online Portal for Building and Customizing Products
ITT has developed an online portal, named ENIZISE, for customers to specify the features of their shock absorbers and actuators. The recently launched online sizing software gives machine builders a way to also view and download a CAD model with their selected options. The ITT Competence Center Europe, loacted in Bad König, also offers customized solutions and technical consultation.
“We’re bringing machine builders and operators not only our new technology but also our reputation for problem-solving, expertise and development capacity,” said Munish Nanda, president of ITT’s Control Technologies business.
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=172859

Laird – Self-contained thin-film thermoelectric DC power generators harvest waste heat (eTEG PG8000)

Laird Technologies has announced today that it will demonstrate its Thermobility wireless power Generator series at the forthcoming Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe Conference.
The Thermobility Series offers self-contained thin-film thermoelectric power generators that harvest waste heat and convert it to usable DC power. Due to its compact size, ability to regulate voltage and store power, the product is seen as ideal for powering wireless sensors, low-power LEDs or trickle-charge batteries where a heat source is readily available. When combined with Laird’s eTEG embedded thermoelectric power generators, Thermobility provides turn-key solutions for design engineers as opposed to designing a complex thermal energy harvester.
“Thermobility is the ideal energy harvesting solution for autonomous, self-powered sensor networks,” said Karl von Gunten, marketing manager, Laird Technologies. “Our wireless power generation solutions can store energy and provide on-demand power while reducing the total cost of ownership by eliminating the prohibitive cost of battery replacement.”
Laird’s Engineered Thermal Systems Group will also showcase a new generation of thermoelectric power generators and embedded wireless solutions. The eTEG PG8000 Series is a new series of thin-film thermoelectric power generators that offer higher power, more robust mechanical design and ease of integration with common sources of thermal energy. Laird’s wide range of embedded wireless solutions are designed to add true power and performance to any product including end-to-end solutions for M2M data acquisition and control.
Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe is the world’s largest event covering energy harvesting and storage technologies and applications. The tradeshow brings together over 1,600 top level executives from more than 35 countries for networking opportunities along with the conference portion which features case studies, Masterclasses and world first announcements from leading companies in the energy harvesting and storage industry.
Through innovation, reliable fulfilment and speed, Laird is a trusted partner and supplier for many of the world’s leading technology companies. As an industry leader in high-performance and cost-effective thermal-management solutions, Laird Technologies provides the knowledge, innovation, and resources to ensure exceptional thermal performance and customer satisfaction for applications in the medical, analytical, telecom, industrial, and consumer markets, says the company.
The Energy Harvesting & Storage Europe Conference event will be held at the International Congress Centrum ICC Berlin in Berlin, Germany, April 17-18, 2013. Laird Technologies will exhibit at booths P7 and P8.
http://www.electropages.com/2013/04/laird-self-contained-thin-film-thermoelectric-dc-power-generators-harvest-waste-heat/

MHI Ships 13 Diesel Engine Power Generators to Myanmar

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,820.9 billion yen in fiscal 2011, the year ended March 31, 2012. MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website at www.mhi.co.jp. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mhi-ships-13-diesel-engine-power-generators-to-myanmar-2013-03-22