Category: Environment

Climate change: Warming mountain regions may put hydroelectric power plants at risk

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Around 27 million cubic meters of rock and glacier ice collapsed from Ronti Peak in the northern Indian Himalayas on February 7, 2021, falling 1,800 meters into the valley below.

The glacier ice melted as it cascaded down the mountain, mixing with rock and sediment to generate an extraordinary flow of debris that destroyed roads, bridges, and two hydroelectric power stations.

More than 200 people are believed to have lost their lives. Many of them were construction workers at the Tapovan hydropower plant. Though it’s always difficult to attribute any single event to climate change, rising global temperatures, known as the Chamoli disaster, may have played a part in this event.

If climate change helped cause this landslide, it could threaten hydropower infrastructure globally.

Mountain regions like the Himalayas are sensitive to change. These environments tend to have steep, unstable valley walls, and earthquakes are relatively common.

However, climate change can tip the scales towards more frequent and higher magnitude events. We can expect more landslides where valley slopes are left without support, as adjacent glaciers thin and recede.

Where permafrost thaws, it removes the icy cement that binds mountain rock and sediment together. Rising temperatures can prompt the sudden release of meltwater from growing glacial lakes, and the collapse of entire glaciers as they warm up.

Also Read: World must remove 1 billion tonne CO2 by 2025 to meet climate goal: Report

So, should we be nervous about developing hydropower in mountain regions if these landscapes are becoming more unstable? Well, it’s complicated. Hydropower can help reduce dependence on burning fossil fuels, and it is particularly important in the world’s high-altitude regions.

Peru, for example, generates around half of its electricity from hydropower, and it continues to invest in new infrastructure. While disasters inevitably provoke difficult questions, it’s important to keep some perspective on the sustainability of hydropower.

Hydropower in a warming world, as experts put it, sometimes bedrock slopes just fail; there’s no specific trigger.

There are well-documented incidents where hydropower dams have been damaged or destroyed without any link to climate change.

An infamous example is the 1963 Vajont disaster in northern Italy, where a valley wall slid into a reservoir and generated a mega-tsunami that engulfed the impounding dam, killing more than 2,500 people downstream.

The precise causes have been debated since, but it is thought that as the reservoir was being filled with water, clay-rich layers in the valley side were getting saturated. This wet clay would have served as a naturally weak plane along which the landslide could move.

Other energy sources and their infrastructure carry their own inherent risks like the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, or the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig.

Many of the world’s power stations are vulnerable to climate change because of their proximity to the coast, with many threatened by rising sea levels. It may never have been wise to develop hydropower at the site of the Chamoli disaster.

This same valley had experienced large ice avalanches in 2000 and 2016 and has seen several major floods in recent years. It is of course extremely difficult to predict if, when, and where these sorts of events might occur, but this is evidently an unstable landscape.

Scientists have developed several ways to monitor how landscapes are changing, particularly using satellite images. We have the tools to spot warning signs and develop hydropower as safely as can be reasonably expected. Tragically though, these tools are not always used, or the warnings are ignored, as seems to have been the case at Chamoli.

There is a cruel irony that hydropower can help countries reduce carbon emissions at the same time as dams are becoming increasingly vulnerable to global warming as a result of those emissions. We can develop this energy source safely, but it requires careful decision making, informed by research, and continued monitoring of changing landscapes and the climate.

Also Read: Land degradation and our fight for sustainability

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Canada sizzles at record-breaking 49.5°C; ‘extreme heat’ kills over 200

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Canada witnessed an all-time high temperature of 49.5 degrees Celsius (116-degree Farhenheit) on June 29 in Lytton, British Columbia. The town, which is about 150 miles (250km) north-east of Vancouver, had been experiencing high temperatures for the three days, as per Lytton climate station.

More than 40 spots in British Columbia set new temperature records. Citizens said that parts of western Canada were hotter than Dubai.

At least 233 deaths were recorded in Canada between June 25 and 28, officials said.

The ‘heat dome’ broke an 84-year-old record when two towns in Saskatchewan — Yellow Grass and Midale – sizzled at 45°C (113°F) in July 1937, as per officials from Lytton climate station.

Cooling shelters have come up all over and the sale of air-conditioners and fans has jumped in the last few days.

BBC‘s weather forecaster Nick Miller says that ‘heat dome’ describes huge areas of high pressure resulting in clear skies and hot sunny days. Temperatures can build day by day as the high-pressure pattern continues.

This time, the high-pressure area stretches from California to Canada’s Arctic regions and inland through Idaho, officials said. The heatwave gripped Canada’s western and the US Pacific northwest, media agency AFP reported.

Calling the heatwave conditions “historic”, the US National Weather Service said that areas in the Pacific north-west have also been breaking records, particularly in parts of Washington and Oregon states.

Experts say that the frequency of extreme climatic occurrences such as heatwaves is increasing due to global warming.

India’s capital New Delhi witnessed its first severe heat wave of 2021 on June 29 with Safdarjung Observatory recording a maximum temperature of 43°C, said PTI.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a “severe” heat wave is declared if the normal temperature rises more than 6.5°C.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

World must remove 1 billion tonne CO2 by 2025 to meet climate goal: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Projects in development will remove only a fraction of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air that needs extracting by 2025 to meet the global Paris climate target and avert catastrophic warming, a report said on Wednesday.

More than 190 countries have signed the Paris agreement designed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but even with pledges of big reductions in emissions, many scientists believe removal technologies will be needed to meet the goal.

“Without action to deliver 1 Gigatonne (Gt) of negative emissions globally by 2025, keeping global warming within the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C cannot be achieved,” said the report by the Coalition for Negative Emissions (CNE), and consultancy firm McKinsey.

It said countries will need to remove a billion tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2025, if the Paris target is to be met, and more than one billion tonne annually thereafter.

The current pipeline of projects in development could remove only around 150 million tonne of CO2 by 2025, well short of what’s needed, the report said.

Negative emission projects include bioenergy with technology to capture and storage carbon emissions, technology to directly capture and store emissions from the air and natural climate solutions such as afforestation.

Currently, removal technology is expensive and while many countries around the world have initiatives in place to put a price on CO2 emissions, the prices are far too low to incentivise new projects.

The report said scaling up the technology would lead to lower costs, with a likely average cost of 30-100 pounds (USD 41-138) per tonne of CO2 removed by 2050.

Will Gardiner, CEO of coalition member Drax, which is seeking to develop an emissions negative power plant using biomass and carbon capture, said countries could help to pay for the technology by awarding tax credits for each tonne of CO2 removed.

Other members of the CNE, which includes over 20 companies, investors and trade associations, include Bank of America and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

UBS joins peers to track how lending affects environment, jobs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A group of banks, including UBS and Singapore’s DBS, on Wednesday announced plans to create a new way of measuring the environmental and social impact of their financing.

The group, called Banking for Impact, which also includes ABN Amro and Danske Bank, will team up with Harvard Business School for the project, which aims to help promote a transition to a sustainable economy.

The new reporting standards will mark the first time such measurements will have been attempted on this scale in the financial sector.

Harvard launched its Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative in 2019 and it has analysed more than 1,800 public companies to show the “significant relationship” between negative environmental impacts and lower stock prices.

The new group will aim to devise a new reporting system that tracks the impact of lending not captured by traditional financial reporting. This could show, for example, if money provided by the banks was ultimately used in a way that caused pollution or helped to create jobs.

“The world economy needs a market-based system where social and environmental impacts are just as transparent as financial profit metrics,” UBS Chief Executive Ralph Hamers said in a statement.

A number of companies have already tried to put a dollar-and-cents figure on such so-called “externalities”, but there is currently no standardised method, which would be crucial to help investors to compare companies in the same industry.

The group, which hopes to include other banks, aims to establish a new industry protocol, including rules on how to evaluate clients’ impact in dollar terms, by end-2022. Those measures can then be aggregated with financial metrics to guide banks’ decision-making.

Robert Swaak, chief executive of ABN AMRO, said, “As a bank, we certainly have an impact on our stakeholders. If we understand our impact by measuring and reporting, we will also begin to understand where we can achieve the most positive impact and at the same time reduce our negative impact.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Land degradation and our fight for sustainability

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Also Read: Ecocide can soon be a punishable offence, on par with war crimes

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Heavy rain to lash West Bengal, Northeast this week: IMD

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Heavy to very heavy rain is expected in five states in eastern and north-eastern India till July 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

Strong southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal will result in humidity, heavy rain and thunderstorms in West Bengal’s sub-Himalayan region and the north-eastern states, the weather body added.

Heavy rain is expected in parts of Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya this week. IMD has predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall for Assam and Meghalaya till June 30 with a three-day cumulative of 300+ mm and heavy to very heavy rainfall on the following two days.

Heavy rains are also expected in Arunachal Pradesh till July 1 while certain places in Sikkim may get extremely heavy rain on June 30 and July 1.

Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura are likely to witness heavy to very heavy showers from June 30 to July 1. Several regions of Odisha may also receive heavy rain on the first day of the next month.

Meanwhile, IMD said that the easterly winds will get stronger resulting in rain along the Himalayan foothill regions of north Bihar, north Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand around July 1 and 2.

Certain areas in Bihar will witness heavy rain from June 29 to June 30 and very heavy rain on July 1. East UP could see heavy rainfall on July 1. The rivers in the region may also swell.

The southwest monsoon continues to pass through Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. According to the IMD, Haryana and western UP may witness strong surface winds on June 30 and July 1.

Western, north-western, and central India could see mild rainfall till July 1. Some of these areas may witness scattered thunderstorms with lightning, the weather body has said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NTPC targets 60 GW renewable energy capacity, 10% reduction in net energy intensity by 2032

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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State-owned power giant NTPC on Sunday said it has set a target to install 60 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2032. NTPC has become India’s first energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE), according to a statement.

“NTPC has set a target to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032,” it added. The country’s largest power producer is also aiming 10 percent reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.

NTPC is among the few organisations globally to declare its energy compact goals. Further, NTPC has declared that it will form at least 2 international alliances to facilitate clean energy research and promote sustainability in the energy value chain by 2025.

The targets were unveiled in the recently held ‘Ministerial Thematic Forums for the HDLE’ event. The commitment from NTPC has been made public on the UN’s website as well. The United Nations is set to convene a high-level dialogue in September 2021 to promote the implementation of energy-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

NTPC has been taking various steps in increasing its green energy portfolio by adding significant capacities of RE sources. Earlier, the company had planned to have a minimum of 32 gigawatt (GW) capacity through RE sources constituting nearly 25 percent of its overall power generation capacity by 2032.

This development will prove to be a huge boost for the nation’s largest energy producer that will catapult its position in the green energy map of the country.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Explained: Impact of Turkey sea snot on global climate and marine life

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For over a month, Turkey has been facing an unusual yet serious issue — sea snot. A layer of thick and slimy mucus covered the surface of the Turkish Marmara Sea, reducing oxygen levels, killing fish, and disrupting the ecological balance. The deceptive name doesn’t entirely convey the potentially catastrophic harm that the environmental hazard poses for Turkey and the world.

Here is all you need to know about sea snot and its potential effects on global climate and marine life

What is sea snot?

Sea snot or marine mucilage is a slimy, mucus-like substance that is produced by aquatic microorganisms due to the excessive presence of elements like phosphorus and nitrogen in water bodies. The microorganisms, phytoplankton, use these elements for their nutrition, which are deposited through untreated wastewater, and produce sea snot, which is made out of carbohydrate residue.

Sea snot has been observed in the Mediterranean Sea since the 18th century when factories would pump their runoff directly into the sea. The presence of mucilage has increased since 2007, due to exacerbating conditions caused by global warming.

Higher temperatures increased water pollution, and calmer seas, all lead to a significantly higher presence of mucilage in water bodies. Overfishing of filter-feeder fishes, that eat this phytoplankton, also contributes to the rising presence and subsequent sea snot production.

Why is it harmful?

Sea snot in itself is not dangerous. While the mucilage is in essence, just microorganic residue clumped together, it also attracts dangerous microorganisms like viruses and bacteria like E. coli, which can cause a host of diseases.

Sea snot in large quantities is also deadly to the marine biome. The mucilage quickly starts blocking out the surface of the water, which leads to a drastic reduction in oxygen levels. In the Sea of Marmara, the sea snot expanded to such a large extent that large sections of water were completely covered.

The declining oxygen levels then cause other aquatic life like fishes, coral, shellfish to die out as they are not able to get enough oxygen.

The sea snot also then starts to settle under its own weight and starts expanding towards the sea bed, engulfing and essentially strangling anything that gets caught within it. Once it reaches the sea bed, it can wreak ecological havoc on coral, bottom feeders, and other parts of the ecology.

“They’re literally smothered,” said Alice Alldredge, University of California Santa Barbara oceanographer to the Atlantic. “Sure, it’s uncomfortable for us as human beings to have all this gunk at the surface. But the bottom-dwelling organisms are going to die.”

The situation in Turkey

The Sea of Marmara is an inland sea that connects to the Aegean Sea in the South and the Black Sea in the North. It is much smaller in expanse than its neighbouring seas and is only connected to them through two narrow straits, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

The sea has been fished for millennia, but in recent years has come under intense pressure from overfishing, being used to feed the bustling Turkish cities, including Istanbul, on the coast. The industrial runoff from nearby factories and other industries has also resulted in dangerously high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the sea which has very little mixing with other seas.

The Sea of Marmara has also been particularly affected by global warming.

Baris Salihoglu, head of Middle East Technical University’s Institute of Maritime Sciences, told DW, “We know that the water temperature in Marmara has increased by 2 to 2.5 degrees Celsius over the past 20 years, above the global average.”

All of these factors contributed to the largest sea snot event as of yet. Not only does the sea snot affect the local marine life, but it has also brought the shipping industry to a standstill in the region. Fishermen are no longer able to catch fish, as the heavy mucilage snaps their nets. Turkish tourism is also threatened as the mucilage spreads to beaches, which need to be closed as a result.

The sea snot has already spread below the surface level up to 100 ft deep, choking out all the life within its vicinity.

More dangerously, it is also starting to spread to the Black Sea and the Aegean through its narrow straits. Both the Aegean and the Black Sea can face a similar outbreak of mucilage if the undercurrents from the Marmara continue to bring the ‘sea snot’ to them. The mucilage would not only cause economic harm through disruption of fishing, tourism, and trade, but the ecological damage could be devastating.

“My fear is, if this expands to the Black Sea… the trouble will be enormous. We need to take this step without delay,” said Turkish President Recep Erdogan, per BBC News. “Hopefully, we will save our seas from this mucilage calamity.

What is Turkey’s response?

While Turkey cannot alone control global warming and the rising temperatures of the Marmara Sea, the country has proposed steps to tackle the problem. Turkey, which is one of the few countries that has not ratified the 2015 Paris Climate deal, vowed to tackle the problem.

Erdogan’s government outlined a 22-point action plan to deal with the current sea-snot problem. As part of the plan, the entire Marmara Sea is going to be designated as protected.

Environmental Minister Murat Kurum said that a thermal facility, a fertiliser factory, and three shipyards were among the industries closed on the coast after the government initiated hundreds of inspections while looking into sources of water pollution in the sea.

Around 55 other facilities and 9 ships were also fined for a cumulative total of $1.6 million. In other areas of the sea, experimental ideas like oxygen pumping are being used as well. Ideas to use the snot as fuel or to convert it into plastic have been floated for economic recovery. Cleaning boats have also been set up to clean up the snot on a 24/7 basis.

The cleanup operation is expected to take anywhere from three to five years to be complete.

Salihoglu highlighted that the relief measures can start improving the situation quickly. Salihoglu also stated that the ecological impact might not be fully recoverable.  “(Marmara Sea) will never recover it to its original pristine state, but its resilience hopefully will increase.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Wildlife trafficking has goes online during pandemic: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Just as the world underwent a rapid digital transformation during COVID-19 lockdowns, wildlife trafficking has adapted as well. While wildlife trafficking saw a significant decline due to restrictions on travel and shipping, the sale of trafficked items has moved online, reported Earth Journalism Network.

Wildlife traffickers have adapted to the changing global landscape and are now using social media to conduct sales and other operations. Illegal animal trade had seen a massive decline in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19, with travel restrictions preventing transnational movement of illicit items. However, experts predict that while the number of seizures has gone down, they don’t reflect the reality on the ground on the level of poaching and similar activities.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and conservation organization, Monitor, launched the fourth edition of the Counter Wildlife Trafficking Digest on May 21. The data from the digest showed that approximately 10,000 kilograms (kg) of pangolin products, 506 kg of ivory, 5.5 kg of tiger products, and 222 kg of rhino horn were seized from illegal wildlife activity in 2020, a decline of 56 percent from the last edition of the CWT Digest. 

While a significant portion of the decrease can be attributed to international travel restrictions, other reasons that may have contributed are — lack of manpower to catch perpetrators, diversion of resources to prevent trafficking of medical equipment and lack of attention due to COVID-19, reported the Environmental Investigation Agency. 

After countries started imposing lockdown restrictions and restrictions on international travel, airlines saw a 90 percent decrease in passenger traffic. As most illegal animal goods are smuggled through carry-on luggage, the avenues for trafficking were halted. Eager to sell their stock of goods, traders instead made profiles on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Through these social media platforms, traders would directly contact interested buyers. Some buyers would even happen to open these illicit accounts by perusing the right hashtags or keywords. Traders would then make sales and send items through couriers as soon as the restrictions were lifted.

Experts believe that traders have been stockpiling illicit items to cope up with demands as international restrictions on travel ease up. Traders have also been relying on other social media apps to now directly connect with customers.

Also Read: Ecocide can soon be a punishable offence, on a par with war crimes

Google, Facebook, Instagram and other major social media platforms are part of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, which aims to battle the illegal wildlife trade. As such, they block profiles and hashtags associated with the trade of wildlife goods. However, in response, traders have moved to social media platforms or messaging apps with less scrutiny like WeChat, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

Wildlife is traded, not just for food and medicine, but also for luxury goods and pets. According to a United Nations Office on Drug and Crime report, there were more captive tigers in the US than in India. China has more than twice as many captives tigers.

This prolific wildlife trade puts animals at the risk of extinction, at the same time, increasing threats of zoonotic diseases like coronaviruses spreading unchecked amongst humans.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Explained: How clean energy can help states tackle ballooning power subsidy bills

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The woes of state-owned power distribution companies are mounting due to high purchase costs, power theft, subsidised tariffs, and polluting coal plants with high carbon footprint. Further, it is not politically feasible to eliminate subsidies or increase tariffs.

To manage ballooning power subsidy bills, state governments like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat are now investing in building community-sized renewable energy plants. The future of power lies in renewable energy and experts advise shutting down old coal plants.

Power of Renewable Energy

According to a report in The Economic Times, India is abundant in non-conventional energy resources. Last year, nearly 36.17 percent of India’s installed electricity generation capacity was from renewable sources. The goal of touching 275 gigawatts (GW) by 2027 from renewable energy alone is achievable. The Centre has also passed laws to ensure renewable sources become the mainstay of the energy sector in the near future.

Clean power derived from solar, wind, hydro, bio-mass, and waste-to-energy constitutes renewable energy. It is far cheaper and will go a long way towards reducing India’s carbon footprint.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy — in concert with other ministries and organisations and the Centre — has introduced the Solar Park and Ultra Mega Solar Power projects and the UDAY scheme (Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana) to make renewable energy an attractive proposition for states. The states have also been asked to optimise the use of renewable energy sources and reduce their dependence on thermal and other fossil fuel-based resources.

The power ministry has also extended to all states and Union Territories a financial package of Rs 90,000 crore to assist the stressed distribution companies. To reduce losses in the power sector, a number of subsidies were also announced for the state governments, such as the PM Kusum (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhivan), Phase II of FAME India scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles in India.

Power Subsidies: A Major Problem

States offer free or subsidised power to domestic and agricultural users. Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh offer variable subsidies to different categories of users, leading to massive losses for the discoms.

No state government has even attempted to remove subsidies as it is akin to committing political suicide. What the government can do is invest in renewable energy, leading to reduced power bills.

A report by IndiaSpend has recommended that state governments should invest in building community-sized renewable energy plants and shut down old coal plants. If state governments implement the schemes offered by the Centre and invest in renewable energy, India can be a clean and green power surplus country and also ensure that discoms end up in the green.

The report said loss-making discoms like Tamil Nadu government-owned TANGEDCO can turn around and make profits. All they need to do is make a substantial one-time investment in assets and infrastructure to generate more power. Over a period of time, the additional power generated will be high and can be sold to other states.

If implemented, calculations show TANGEDCO will break even in about seven years or even earlier. There are challenges, especially in the urban areas, where land comes at a premium.

IndiaSpend suggested another avenue to reduce high subsidies — shut down coal plants more than 20 years old. This can lead to savings of Rs 9,000 crore over five years. However, TANGEDCO intends to persist with old coal plants, wasting more money and increasing the cost of power. The old coal plants sell to TANGEDCO at Rs 4 per kWh or  more whereas it is available at Rs 3kWh or less from power exchanges and renewable energy.

While there are benefits aplenty renewable energy cannot provide guaranteed assured power supply like fossil fuels, which explains the reluctance to shut down coal plants.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow