Power
THE Electricity Bill 2003 was passed by the Lok Sabha on April 9 after being tabled in its current forum on April 6, thus ensuring no debate in the country. While all the old ills … Read moreThe Electricity Bill 2003 – From Crisis To Disaster
LAST week, the government finally placed the Electricity Bill 2001 (presumably now 2003) in the Parliament. With this, electricity is now to be looked on as a marketable commodity to be traded like any other. … Read moreCalifornia’s Power Market Collapse And The Electricity Bill
THE failure of the Orissa power reforms – separation of generation, transmission and distribution first and then their privatisation – has received little attention considering that similar reforms are now the lynchpin of current government … Read moreOrissa Restructuring and Privatisation: A Failed Paradigm
It is shocking that the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to guarantee bonds to the tune of Rs. 350 crore to be floated by S. Kumar for the Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation Ltd. It appears … Read moreMaheshwar Project MP Govt Takes The Dabhol Route
Suresh Prabhu in a recent interview (Business Line: January 22, 2002) spelt out his views on power sector reforms. He has admitted that the policies of the past ten years have failed to address the … Read morePrabhu’s Power-Sector Reforms Public Investment For Private Appropriation
Andhra Pradesh has recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with a set of Financial Institutions (FIs), primarily Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), so that that these FIs can … Read moreAndhra’s IPP Policy: Private Loot of Public Finances
CURRENTLY, the finances of the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) are in complete shambles. The report of the Expert Group headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, set up to address this issue, has suggested “a one time … Read moreSEB Finances: In a Nutcracker
THE Enron case is taking a curious turn indeed. From the US Ambassador to Bal Thakeray, from Dick Cheney to Sonia Gandhi, all are now talking of the need to solve the Dabhol-Enron issue amicably. … Read moreFriends of Enron: A Powerful Lobby
THE two states, Maharashtra in India and California in the US, have many things in common. Both are the most economically advanced states in their countries; both are passing through a serious power crisis; in … Read moreEnron’s Pawar Game
ON March 3, a Chief Ministers (CMs) Conference was held in New Delhi to chalk out a programme for the power sector. This was similar to many such conferences held in the past, namely the … Read moreThe Chief Ministers Conference False Consensus on Bankrupt Path
The sunny state of California, home to the digital revolution and the Silicon Valley, is in the throes of an unprecedented electricity crisis. California is faced with rolling blackouts, bankrupt utilities and rising electricity bills. … Read morePower Play in California
THE priority in the power sector has been to chase high cost power to meet mythical demands. As Enron has shown, the result of adding a huge amount of costly power leads to bankrupting the … Read morePower Sector: A Time Bomb Ticking Away