India saved 10.7 billion kilowatt of power, says Shinde

September 30th, 2009 SURAT - A total of 5.5 crore additional households will be provided cooking gas connections over the next five years covering almost two-thirds of the country, Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Wednesday. He said this would increase the coverage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to 16.5 crore households in India from 11 crore at present.

August 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday said it had already placed orders for 80,000 MW of fresh electricity generation capacity, against the target of 78,700 MW during the entire eleventh five-year plan period of 2007-12. "A capacity of about 16,395 MW has already been commissioned and the remaining capacity of 64,215 MW is under various stages of construction," Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said during his inaugural address at a two-day international conclave here.

August 12th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - In the wake of a poor monsoon in Haryana, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Wednesday urged the central government to allocate 400 MW additional power from the unallocated pool of central generation. In response to our earlier request, the central government had allocated only 100 MW of additional power for Haryana.

July 23rd, 2009 RAIPUR - A 500 MW power plant in Chhattisgarh that stopped production July 14 due to coal shortage has resumed generation, a company official said Thursday. The NSPCL plant, set up by state-run National Thermal Power Corporation and the Steel Authority India Limited, is located at Bhilai in Durg district, some 30 km west of here.

July 15th, 2009 RAIPUR - A 500-MW power plant near here stopped generating electrictiy merely two days after it was dedicated to the nation Sunday because of a severe shortage of coal. The plant, set up by NTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd (NSPCL) - a joint venture between power utility NTPC Ltd and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) - is located at Bhilai in Durg district, some 30 km west of Raipur.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Even as residents of the national capital are having to sweat it out due to constant electricity cuts as peak demand has touched a record 4,400 MW, the government Monday said this will further go up 28 percent to 5,636 MW during the Commonwealth Games in October 2010. While little respite is in sight in the short term, with just 4,430 MW available during peak hours, the power ministry, nevertheless, hopes the demand during the Games will be met from five new projects that have been identified.

July 11th, 2009 RAIPUR - India's largest power producer NTPC, formerly National Thermal Power Corp, Sunday signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a 4,000 MW coal-fired power plant on an investment of Rs.20,000 crore. Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who was present during signing of the pact, said the plant would be set up in the coal-rich Raigarh district.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The power shortage in the capital will stay for at least another seven months and the situation will only improve after power projects planned for the 2010 Commonwealth Games start, union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Thursday. The power demand in Delhi has increased to 4,400 MW against the usual 3,500 MW per day.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday has called for allowing private players - both domestic and foreign - to invest in the country's nuclear power sector. The survey, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, said the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap should be fixed at 49 percent.

June 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde Tuesday asked the coal and environment ministries for coal linkages and quick environmental clearance for upcoming power projects. Shinde made the request at a state power ministers' conference here, which was also attended by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Coal Shriprakash Jaiswal, and New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah.

June 12th, 2009 Latvian premier: country saved from bankruptcyRIGA, Latvia — Latvia's prime minister said Friday that the country has been saved from bankruptcy after last-minute budget cuts paved the way for the Baltic country to receive funds from international lenders. Valdis Dombrovskis told Latvian public radio that the government's decision late Thursday to slash 500 million lats ($1 billion) in budget expenses was "very difficult" but necessary if Latvia wants to receive the next installment in a euro7.5 billion ($10.6 billion) bailout plan agreed upon in December.

June 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde Tuesday set a target of generating an additional 5,653 MW of electricity in the first 100 days of the new United Progressive (UPA) government, and said he will himself monitor the progress. The country is looking up to the sector for delivering the promise of 'power for all' and there is a need to accelerate the efforts, Shinde told a review meeting attended by senior ministry officials and representatives of state-run power generation units.

April 28th, 2009 China Shenhua Energy's 1Q profit up 17.2 percentSHANGHAI — China Shenhua Energy Co., the country's biggest coal producer, said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose 17.2 percent, supported by higher prices and a revival in demand thanks to the government's economic stimulus spending. Net profit for January-March was 7.94 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), compared with net profit of 6.8 billion yuan in the same period of 2008.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Wednesday launched Bachat Lamp Yojna, an energy scheme aimed at saving 10,000 MW of power in the next three years. Under the scheme, the government would distribute less power consuming compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) at a price of Rs.15 to replace existing bulbs.

December 26th, 2008 PUDUCHERRY - Home Minister P. Chidambaram paid rich tributes to India's public sector banks here Saturday while speaking at a university function.