Govt likely to bring amendments to Electricity Act: RK Singh, Power Minister | FICCI Summit

NEW DELHI, 16 June 2022: Mr RK Singh, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy, Govt of India today stated that the government is likely to bring the amendments to the Electricity Act in the monsoon session of parliament.

Addressing the ‘India Energy Transition Summit 2022’, organized by FICCI, jointly with the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and NITI Aayog, Mr Singh said that the amendment will have 2-3 added provisions one of them is increasing the penalties on the renewable purchase obligations. The demand has increased, and market is not an issue currently. “The market is going to become more vibrant because of the increase in size of our product,” he added.

Mr Singh also stated that 205 GW demand for electricity will be the new baseline for India and the demand will not fall below 160 GWs. “Energy for growth is something which is non-negotiable, and we will not compromise on that. We are the only country which has achieved two of our NDCs well 8-9 years in advance,” he added.

Talking about the future of renewable energy Mr Singh added, “We are the largest and the fastest growing RE capacity and fastest rate of transition in the world. I am certain that we will be able to sell renewable energy with storage at Rs 6.5 -7 and there will be demand for round-the-clock renewable energy even at that rate.” Speaking on the storage, he said that the government will bring down the price of storage and further add storage. “By and large, our future bids will transform to round-the-clock energy,” he emphasized.

Speaking on the potential of green hydrogen and green ammonia, Mr Singh said that both are the pathway to electrifying the economy. “We have setup rules for green hydrogen and will come up with further set of sweeteners to make green hydrogen. We plan to achieve for 500 GW by 2030 and by adopting green hydrogen and green ammonia, we can reach 700 GW by 2030,” he said.

He also urged the industry to announce the dates of going green as industry will now be free to set-up their own capacity. The government will give free transmission and open access along with replacing the thermal captive with green captive, asserted the Minister.  

Dr AK Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt of India said that in the energy transition of India where 85 percent of the total energy consumed comes from fossil fuels and calls for complete reorganization of public finances, subsidy programs, regulatory set-up along with the infrastructure. We are working on all these issues. “India has to be conscious of its short-term and medium-term energy needs. Renewable energy has recorded over 50 percent growth in the last 2 years which is very encouraging,” he added.

Mr Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Govt of India said that bringing down the import dependency is the prime motive of India’s energy transition goal, and we can’t grow until we diversify our energy resources. The ministry is working on bundling of renewable energy power with thermal power in the same PPA. He further stated that the government plans to continue grid expansion project in a big way. “Coal is going to be the backbone of our energy generation for the next 20 years or so,” he added.

Mr Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI and CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Limited; President, Unilever South Asia & Member, Unilever Leadership Executive (Global Executive Board) said, that that with the target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity and net-zero by 2070, the energy sector continues to witness immense positivity with the setting up of clean energy projects. “It is important to strengthen and ensure ease of doing business for attracting large investments into the sector, especially from the private sector. Availability of long-term finance including deepening of the bond market and separate bank exposure limits for renewable energy projects would improve access to debt financing and we hope to see movement in these areas,” he added.

Mr Vipul Tuli, Chair, FICCI Power Committee and CEO, South Asia – Sembcorp Industries said that energy transition has given India a never before opportunity and an opportunity to become a global leader in green manufacturing. “This is a transformational opportunity for the industry, and we will make the most of it,” he added.

Mr Shivanand Nimbargi, Co-Chair, FICCI Renewable Energy CEOs Council and MD & CEO, Ayana Power said that India has emerged as a big destination in terms of attracting investments in the renewable energy sector. “PLI scheme for the solar sector should be accelerated as it will help in increasing the capacity. We need to add more storage to kick start the green hydrogen program,” he added.