The government's 5 per cent stake sale in power sector lender PFC kicked off on Monday (27 July) with the issue getting subscribed 36 per cent in the initial hour of trade.The government is looking to raise over Rs 1,600 crore from sale of 6.60 crore shares in Power Finance Corp (PFC) through a one-day OFS route at a floor price of Rs 254 apiece.PFC is the second PSU to be divested in the current fiscal under the government's disinvestment programme. In April, government had sold 5 per cent stake in REC to garner Rs 1,550 crore.The share sale, which began at 0915 hours, received good response from institutional investors and portion reserved for them was subscribed 42 per cent by 1025 hrs.The portion reserved for retail investors, who are also getting 5 per cent price discount, was subscribed 11 per cent, as per the stock exchange data.Overall, the Offer was subscribed 36 per cent and the subscription may rise further during the day as bidding will continue till 1530 hrs.As against a floor price of Rs 254 a share for the OFS, PFC shares were trading at Rs 257.70. The current market price was, however, down 0.71 per cent over previous close on BSE.The floor price of Rs 254 a share was at a discount of 2.14 per cent over Friday's closing price of Rs 259.55.At the floor price, the government is expected to mobilise around Rs 1,676 crore through the divestment.At present, government holds 72.80 per cent equity in Power Finance Corporation. After sale of 6.60 crore shares representing 5 per cent stake on offer, government's holding will be reduced to 67.80 per cent.PFC is the first disinvestment under the modified OFS rules of Sebi under which companies are allowed to disclose stake sale plans two 'banking' days ahead of the issue.The Department of Disinvestment had approached Sebi in March saying they do not want trading days in-between the announcement and stake sale.Earlier, the companies were required to give an advance notice of two trading days before the OFS, which the government says gave scope for speculators to beat down the share price of the disinvestment-bound PSU.The Department has a Rs 69,500-crore target from PSU disinvestment in the current fiscal, of which Rs 41,000 crore would come from minority stake sale and Rs 28,500 crore from strategic stake sale.As much as 20 per cent of the issue size is reserved for retail investors and 25 per cent for mutual funds and domestic insurance companies.The remaining portion is left for institutional investors, which are usually lapped up mostly by domestic financial institutions and foreign funds.(PTI)
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Looking to augment solar power generation, Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Co (MPMKVVCL) has inked an agreement with RattanIndia Apna Solar to develop 5-MW grid-connected rooftop solar power projects in Madhya Pradesh.The power purchase agreement (PPA) and project implementation agreement (PIA) with MPMKVVCL was signed in Bhopal to develop 5-MW grid-connected rooftop solar power project in the state."It gives us immense pleasure to partner with the Madhya Pradesh government in its initiative to provide clean and affordable energy to people," Rajiv Rattan, Chairman, RattanIndia Group said after the signing of the agreement on 17 July.RattanIndia Apna Solar won the order through competitive bidding. This is one of the first rooftop solar projects tendered in the country and more are likely to come up very soon.This rooftop solar power project will be executed on about 75 public buildings in cities of Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh."Such initiatives would go a long way in augmenting the government's target of installing 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2020. Our company is fully geared up to contribute to the fast-growing solar power sector in the country," he said.RattanIndia is one of the oldest solar power companies and has been implementing such projects since 2011. It is one of the leading players in solar rooftop power projects.(PTI)
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The Indian Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a power transmission project worth Rs 8,548.68 covering seven states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the creation of a transmission system in these states that will also covers Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan at an estimated cost of Rs 8,548.68 crore, an official release said. The project will have central contribution from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) of Rs 3,419.47 crore (which is 40 per cent of the total estimated cost of project). The activities envisaged under the project include establishment of 48 new Grid sub-stations of different voltage levels with total transformation capacity around 17,100 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) by installing over 7,800 ckt-kms (Circuit Kilometers) of transmission lines in these seven states. The project is proposed to be completed within 3-5 years. The cost on creating intra-state transmission system is proposed to be met through KfW loan (40 per cent of the total cost), NCEF grant (40 per cent of the total cost) and the remaining 20 per cent as state contribution, the statement said. These states are rich in renewable resource potential and large capacity renewable power projects are planned there. Creation of an intra state transmission system will facilitate evacuation of renewable power from generation stations to load centres, it added. Government has planned to have 175 GW of power generation from renewable energy sources by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power.(PTI)
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Salzer Electronics Limited has entered into a technical licensing agreement with Austria-based Trafomodern Transformatorengesellschaft M.B.H.Salzer will use Trafomodern’s technology and design and assistance to manufacture dry type air cooled transformers, Chokes and inductors in India. Dry type transformers is a highly specialised and technical product with applications in Medium & large UPS, renewable energy business, railways, power generation and the marine industry.The cost of the project is around Rs 22 crore excluding the land as the company has surplus land adjacent to its existing land.R. Doraiswamy, Managing Director, Salzer Electronics Ltd said, “Using Trafomodern's technology, we will start manufacturing of dry type transformers in India for our customers here and abroad. Currently, there are very few companies that manufacturer this product in India and most of our customers have to import these transformers.Trafomodern is one of the leading manufacturers of dry type transformers in Europe.Salzer will market this new product in energy management (UPS), Metro Rail, Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Industrial Segment and Marine. The estimated business value in UPS is $250 mn and the estimated business potential in solar/wind energy is $200 mn."Our customers have indicated that they would source the dry type transformers from us, once we start making them.” Doraiswamy added.
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Commercial buildings waste up to 30 per cent of the energy they consume. BW Businessworld caught up with Amarjeet Singh, co-founder and CTO of Gurgaon-based energy analytics startup Zenatix on five simple ways to make your office space energy efficient.1. If there are “deferrable” loads, for instance the water motor that can be operated at any point of the day, then ensure that they operate during off-peak hours so you pay less for these loads.2. Ensure that your air conditioning starts in the morning at the right time so as to precool the building to the right temperature by the time office starts. If the air conditioning is started much earlier than office start time it is a waste of energy and precooling later than start time compromises on the comfort factor of the employees.3. Have a flexible seating plan in the office so that during weekends or late evenings when there are a relatively less number of people working in the office they can sit in the same area, using light and air conditioning only around that space and not of the whole building or office floor.4. Switch off your appliances from the plug when not in use. Desktops/printers running in sleep mode during night time, TV/set-top boxes plugged in and not switched off from the plug consume significant energy.5. Quickly shift from diesel generator to grid supply as soon as the electricity supply is restored after a power cut. Running your diesel generator for even a few extra minutes can cost you a lot to your company.
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India will sign a contract with Kazakhstan to procure 5,000 metric tonnes of uranium as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Central Asian nation. Sources said the two countries will renew their old contract under which Kazakhstan supplied uranium to India. India and Kazakhstan already have civil nuclear cooperation since January 2009 when NPCIL and Kazakh nuclear company KazAtomProm signed an MoU under which KazAtomProm supplies uranium for Indian reactors. Following this, KazAtomProm supplied 600 MT of uranium ore concentrate in 2010-11, 350 MT in 2011-12, 402.5 MT in 2012-13 and 460 MT in 2013-14. However, the contract to supply uranium ended in December 2014. "India will be renewing its contract with Kazakhstan," said a senior government official. Kazakhstan is one of the major uranium suppliers to India. It has 15 per cent of the world's uranium resources and became the leading uranium-producing country in 2009. Apart from Kazakhstan, India also has an agreement with Uzbekistan, another Central Asian country, to procure uranium. Incidentally, during his visit to Australia last year and Canada early this year, Modi pressed in for buying uranium for the Indian power reactors, which for all these years had been running beyond their capacity due to lack of fuel.
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