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ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

IRENA’S FIRST GLOBAL RENEWABLES OUTLOOK –

W
A ROADMAP TO THE NEW ENERGY SYSTEM
Page 4 hile a pathway to
Ÿ SEI Ed's Note - The Unthinkable? deeper decarbonisation
Page 6 requires total energy
Ÿ Spotlight on India - Bringing investment up to $130
Blockchain to India's Power trillion, the socio-economic gains of such
Consumers an investment would be massive, the
Outlook reveals. Transforming the
Page 7
energy system could boost cumulative
Ÿ Spotlight on India - The Changing
global GDP gains above business-as-
Face of India's Power Sector
usual by $98 trillion between now and
Page 9 2050. It would nearly quadruple
Ÿ Expert Opinion - Mr. Prabhajit renewable energy jobs to 42 million, Advancing the renewables-based energy
Sarkar, Managing Director & expand employment in energy efficiency transformation is an opportunity to meet
CEO, Power Exchange India international climate goals while boosting
to 21 million and add 15 million in system
economic growth, creating millions of jobs
Limited flexibility. and improving human welfare by 2050. This
is according to the first Global Renewables
Page 10 IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Outlook released by the International
Ÿ Trending News - Energy giant Camera said: “Governments are facing a Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
EDP hit with costly ransomware difficult task of bringing the health
attack emergency under control while
Page 11 introducing major stimulus and recovery measures. The crisis has exposed deeply
Ÿ Trending News - Global Data embedded vulnerabilities of the current system. IRENA’s Outlook shows the ways to build
explores the impact of COVID-19 more sustainable, equitable and resilient economies by aligning short-term recovery
on energy sector efforts with the medium-and long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement and the UN
Sustainable Development Agenda.”
“By accelerating renewables and making the energy transition an integral part of the wider
Powered by recovery, governments can achieve multiple economic and social objectives in the pursuit
of a resilient future that leaves nobody behind.” Continued on Page 3

REFLECTIONS ON COVID-19 AND THE IMPACT

ON THE ELECTRICITY SECTOR

I
f there is one thing that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted for India's electricity sector, it is the importance of the
sector in maintaining life and livelihood. Improvements over the
Brought to you by past decade in energy access, power quality and capacity
addition have ensured that from a high-level perspective, the sector
has become much more resilient.
But as every observer of the sector will acknowledge, many
challenges have remained, ultimately characterized by financially
vulnerable electricity discoms. How the electricity sector will be impacted in a post COVID-
19 world can only be imagined right now. But few things are certain immediately:
constrained growth in electricity demand coupled with weak fossil fuel prices will
complicate decarbonization efforts.
The immediate impact of the current lockdown has been the ceasing of commercial and
industrial (C&I) load. This has impacted discom finances. A cross-subsidized tariff structure
means an overreliance on C&I revenue to offset subsidies Continued on Page 2
 NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

>>> Reflections on COVID-19 ... ... Continued

given to agricultural and residential customers. With C&I are consistently above the average market clearance price of the
demand particularly absent during the lockdown, the slight Indian Energy Exchange (IEX). This could provide room to ease
increase in residential consumption is inadequate to make up for the stress of discom finance by providing procurement flexibility,
this. Analysis by RMI suggests that a prolonged lockdown can while helping develop a better electricity market through market
have a negative economic impact of anywhere between 3% - 8% reforms which can accelerate the deployment of clean energy
of the annual revenue of the discoms depending on how long it and better value flexible resources.
persists.
Another potential area is with respect to depressed gas prices.
The lockdown is temporary and will eventually ease but the With fleet utilization rate of gas plants as low as 23% in 2018, gas
more important story is the expected economic downturn. In its presents a potential area of growth as balancing load for large
most recent assessment the IMF expects India's GDP growth renewable fleets in key states where gas connectivity is available.
rate to drop to 1.9% in 2020-21. Given the dual nature of supply
and demand shocks, industry will take some time to recover to A rethinking of tariff and subsidy could also be warranted at this
pre-crises levels of consumption and then grow. This means that hour. A redesigned subsidy scheme focusing on direct benefit
in the medium term the electricity distribution sector will have to transfer (DBT) could be one such idea which could achieve
endure a far riskier operational environment. welfare goals while being less distortionary to discom finance.

Most discoms operate at either loss or on razor thin margins with A crucial medium-term opportunity will be around business
healthy government support behind them. In a climate of stress process reform that can alleviate the pressure on discoms. This
and low growth, the impetus on sustaining the discoms will fall can take the form of a revisit of the distribution franchise model,
increasingly on the government. While being an essential resilient mini-grid systems, or even reimagining billing and
industry will mean the government will step-in to keep the sector collection which could translate to employment generation.
afloat, the impact on public debt will be substantial. Various high The urgency of the situation will call for ideation and
CAPEX endeavours to modernize the sector, such as experimentation, which if successful, could enable a more robust
deployment of smart meters, are bound to face difficulties. If not and resilient electricity sector in the long run. The larger
handled with a long-term turnaround in mind, the maladies of ecosystem of experts, think-tanks, consultants and private sector
the discom sector will only multiply with time. players could be the enabler of such new thinking around the
This stress has come about at a time when overcapacity in electricity sector in this crucial hour. A united voice through a
generation has meant that prevailing power purchase common platform can accelerate the operationalization of many
agreements (PPAs) are being challenged. Existing thermal such ideas going forward.
plants are running at low capacity factors leading to stressed and The immediate need for emergency response is inevitable.
potentially stranded assets. Increasing 'must run' renewables, Priority should rightly be on public health and people's
and minimal use of power exchanges has been leading to livelihood. Energy and electricity will inevitably be at the crux of
uneconomic dispatch and higher power costs. Offtake risks are things. But the recovery story doesn't have to be pessimistic or
bound to rise within this climate of depressed demand growth regressive for the sector. Smart public spending will become
and stressed discom finance. It will further exacerbate the pains crucial in regaining the economy and an increasingly
of renewable power developers in the country. decarbonized, resilient, future-proof and financially viable
But this challenge doesn't have to translate to softening goals electricity sector could be the bedrock of new economic growth.
on climate change if we recognize the opportunities at the
margins. Jagabanta Ningthoujam
Senior Associate, RMI India &
One key prospect is the need for a better participation in
Garrett Fitzgerald
wholesale power market. An analysis of the average power
purchase cost of all the discoms indicates that the price points Manager, Rocky Mountain Institute

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02 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTERISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

>>> IRENA’s first Global Renewables ... ... Continued

The Global Renewables Outlook examines building blocks of an increase their welfare and witness net job gains in the energy
COVER STORY

energy system along with investment strategies and policy sector despite losses in fossil fuels. However, economy-wide,
frameworks needed to manage the transition. It explores ways regional job gains are distributed unevenly. While regional GDP
to cut global CO2 emissions by at least 70 per cent by 2050. growth would show considerable variation, most regions could
Furthermore, a new perspective on deeper decarbonisation expect gains.
shows a path towards net-zero and zero emissions. Building on
Raising regional and country-level ambitions will be crucial to
five technology pillars, particularly green hydrogen and meet interlinked energy and climate objectives and harvest
extended end-use electrification could help replace fossil-fuels socio-economic welfare. Stronger coordination on
and slash emissions in heavy industry and hard-to-decarbonise international, regional and domestic levels will be equally
sectors. important, the Outlook concludes, with financial support being
Low-carbon investment would significantly pay off, the Outlook directed where needed including to the most vulnerable
shows, with savings eight times more than costs when countries and communities. As partner of the Climate
accounting for reduced health and environmental externalities. Investment Platform, launched to drive clean energy uptake
and mobilise clean investment, IRENA will advance
A climate-safe path would require cumulative energy
collaborative action targeted to help countries create enabling
investments of $110 trillion by 2050 but achieving full carbon
conditions and unlock renewable investment.
neutrality would add another $20 trillion.
Commenting on the Global Renewables Outlook, Ignacio
The Outlook also looked at energy and socio-economic
Galán, Iberdrola CEO, said: “A green recovery is essential as we
transition paths in 10 regions worldwide. Despite varied paths,
emerge from the Covid-19 crisis. The world will benefit
all regions are expected to see higher shares of renewable
economically, environmentally and socially by focusing on clean
energy use, with Southeast Asia, Latin America, the European
energy. Iberdrola will continue to invest billions in renewable
Union and Sub-Saharan Africa poised to reach 70-80 per cent energy, as well as in the networks and storage facilities required
shares in their total energy mixes by 2050. Similarly, to integrate them, creating jobs and boosting
electrification of end uses like heat and transport would rise reindustrialization. Aligning economic stimulus and policy
everywhere, exceeding 50 per cent in East Asia, North America packages with climate goals is crucial for a long-term viable and
and much of Europe. All regions would also significantly healthy economy.”

03 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

THE UNTHINKABLE?
SEI ED’S NOTE

This last week, two previously unthinkable things happened.

O
il prices fell to below zero, with a futures contract for
West Texas crude falling to minus $37.63 a barrel. The
oil sector has been severely hit by the corona The NEW unifying brand for:
pandemic and wrangling within OPEC, with prices having
dropped by 90% since the beginning of the year. There is an
unprecedented glut of oil in the global market at the moment,
with ‘refiners rejecting barrels at a historic pace and with US
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storage levels sprinting to the brim,” according to Michael Tran,
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Markets.
There have been thousands of job losses across the global oil LET’S RISE TOGETHER WITH THE NATION!
sector and millions wiped off company values around the world.
Traders in Asia are finding it increasingly difficult to get credit as
fears rise around the likelihood of defaults.
Then in Austria, the second unthinkable was the closing down of
the last coal-fired power station in that country. The closing of 24X7 SERVICE DURING THE CRISIS
the Mellach plant is in line with Austria’s ambitions to produce
PXIL has been instrumental in keeping the lights on in the country and
100% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. This is a move in
ensuring 24x7 smooth opera ons for its customers amid the na onal
line with many other countries, although Austria is pursuing a lockdown. We as an Exchange are commi ed to con nue suppor ng
short decarbonisation timeline in comparison to other countries. our customers in allevia ng the difficul es imposed due to the
pandemic. We have implemented measures and processes to ensure
These two ‘unthinkables’ may have a significant impact on the business con nuity and adequate service to our customers.
energy transition – the question is – will it be a negative or a
positive impact? Physical Products:
Day Ahead | Term Ahead (Intra-Day, Any-Day, Week
Let’s think of some of the negatives. Lower oil prices mean low Ahead, Day Ahead Contingency) | Real Time Market*
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Certi icate Products:
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potential shift to more natural gas utilisation, again putting Energy Savings Certi icates
pressure on global renewable energy markets. Additionally, *To be launched soon
funds which could have been utilised to further the global
energy transition may be diverted to prop up the economic
devastation being wrecked upon the oil sector. POWER EXCHANGE INDIA LIMITED
India’s first ins tu onal Power Exchange jointly promoted by
Na onal Stock Exchange and Na onal Commodity &
Importantly, on 17 April S&P Global reported: As investments in Deriva ves Exchange
renewables dominate, it’s remarkable that the coal fleet
continues to expand globally. About 48 GW of coal capacity was
commissioned in 2019, similar to the level seen in the prior year.
China accounts for over 60% of these additions, followed by
India with about 7.8 GW of coal newbuild (about 16% of the
www.powerexindia.com +91 22 4009 6600
total). Continued on Page 11

04 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

BRINGING BLOCKCHAIN TO INDIA’S POWER CONSUMERS

SPOTLIGHT ON INDIA

E
lectricity distributor BSES Rajdhani India without the need for a fully centralized trackenergy trading in real time and enable
Power Limited (BRPL) has grid is critical. Realising the importance of the settlement of surplus solar transactions
partnered with Power Ledger, a distributed generation, we have already in real-time through smart contracts
specialist in blockchain-based built an extensive renewables infrastructure, executed on blockchain,” said ISGF
renewable energy trading, to install a large- and this trial ... will help us fully utilize that Executive Director Reena Suri.
scale peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading trial energy,” added Sinha.
in Delhi, India. BRPL is the first electricity The India Smart Grid Forum has been
distribution company (Discom) in India to Additionally, the government of Uttar working with electricity distribution
use the technology to trial P2P solar trading. Pradesh, with the assistance of the India companies in India to accelerate the
The trial initially comprised 5-6MW of Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), will work on a pilot adoption of innovative smart grid
existing solar infrastructure, servicing a project to introduce blockchain technology technologies, including renewable energy
group of gated communities (CGHS) in the to its rooftop solar power segment. Uttar and electric vehicle integration with the
Dwarka region. Pradesh (UP) is the only state that has electricity grids. ISGF has partnered with a
amended its regulatory framework to large number of technology providers and
During the trial, residents with rooftop solar enable controlled peer-to-peer (P2P) entrepreneurs from around the world to
infrastructure sold excess solar energy to energy trading in India. introduce emerging technologies in India.
their neighbours, rather than letting it spill
back to the grid. This enabled participants The pilot project, drafted by state power India’s energy-consumption growth is
access to cheaper, renewable energy and utility UP Power Corporation Limited currently faster than that of all major
prosumers to monetize their investment in (UPPCL) and UP New and Renewable economies. In efforts to curb further
solar assets. Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), increases in conventional energy sources,
will demonstrate the feasibility of energy the Indian Government’s Ministry of New
BRPL was able to access a cost-effective trading through blockchain from rooftops and Renewable Energy has set a target of
energy alternative during the times of peak with solar power to neighbouring installing 175GW of renewable energy
demand pricing, leading to increased households. capacity across the country by 2022.
efficiency and reliability of the power supply.
The UP government is one of the first in the The 2022 target includes installing 40GW
“BSES has been embracing emerging world to formally recognize blockchain as a worth of grid-connected rooftop solar
technologies, especially in the space of mechanism to make energy markets more capacity in Delhi and surrounding districts.
demand side management and renewables. efficient.
Our partnership with Power Ledger is yet Many countries have identified energy
another testimonial to these efforts,” said “The pilot project will demonstrate the trading as a key component of promoting
BRPL CEO Mr Amal Sinha. feasibility of energy trading through the uptake of renewables and meeting the
blockchain from rooftops with solar power Paris Climate Agreement. The Thai
“With the exponential growth in our to neighbouring households/buildings. Government has identified blockchain-
economy and production, the ability to [The] platform integrates with smart meter based P2P trading as a key component of
generate clean energy and utilize it across systems to enable households to set prices, its Power Development Plan.

06 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

THE CHANGING FACE OF INDIA’S POWER SECTOR

SPOTLIGHT ON INDIA

W
ith a population of 1.4 The report also strongly encourages India
billion and one of the to institutionalise energy policy
world’s fastest growing coordination across government with a
major economies, the national energy policy framework.
Indian government has initiated policies
designed to conduct large-scale NITI Aayog vice-chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar
renewable energy auctions and promote stressed that India’s energy goals cannot
access to oil and gas markets for foreign be achieved without this strong
investors. coordination between central and state
governments, notably on electricity
Now the International Energy Agency (IEA) market design and renewable targets.
has published its fi rst review of India’s
energy policies. The study was conducted The IEA report praises the Indian
in partnership with The National Institution government for its “impressive progress in
for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), a increasing citizens’ access to electricity
government think-tank that helps plan and and clean cooking”, as well as a range of
implement major policy initiatives. NITI energy market reforms and its significant
Aayog chief executive Shri Amitabh Kant renewables deployment.
said that with clear goals in place, the The study also says India is “making great
country is “making great strides towards almost 23% of the country’s total installed strides towards affordable, secure and
affordable, secure and cleaner energy for capacity. It also found that energy cleaner energy” and it commends the
all its citizens. India is working hard to efficiency improvements in India avoided country for its “continuous pursuit of
move towards its aspirations of 15% of additional energy demand, oil and market opening and greater use of
transforming the energy sector”. IEA gas imports, and air pollution – as well as marketbased solutions through ambitious
Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol presented 300 million tonnes of CO2 emissions energy sector reforms”.
the key fi ndings of the IEA in-depth review between 2000 and 2018.
of India’s energy policies in New Delhi, The IEA says increased access to
where he said: “The energy choices that In India’s renewables-rich states, the share affordable energy has raised the living
India makes will be critical for Indian of variable renewables in electricity standards of all segments of the country’s
citizens as well as the future of the planet.” generation is already above 15%, a level population and adds that it believes India
that the IEA says “calls for dedicated now has the institutional framework it
The report highlights the strong growth of policies to ensure they integrate smoothly needs to attract more investment for its
renewables in India, which now account for into the power system”. growing energy needs.

07 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

>>> The changing face of India's ... Continued

SPOTLIGHT ON INDIA

The report highlights that India faces the With this in mind, the IEA notes that India is
challenge of ensuring the financial health …INDIA IS WORKING HARD TO
making progress towards its target of
of its power sector, which is dealing with MOVE TOWARDS ITS
175GW of renewables by 2022. But it
surplus capacity, lower utilisation of coal ASPIRATIONS OF TRANSFORMING
autions that this progress “will require a
and natural gas plants, and an ever- THE ENERGY SECTOR
focus on unlocking the flexibility needed
increasing share of renewables.
for effective system integration. This can
It says that faced with the challenge of potentially be achieved by improving the
some stressed assets in coal and gas-fired design of renewables auctions, with clear
generation, the government has been trajectories and criteria to reflect quality,
implementing a package of measures to location and system value, along with
enhance the economic efficiency of coal measures to foster grid expansion and
and gas supply for power generation and demand-side response across India.”
the availability of finance. “The creation of Based on current policies, India’s energy
a competitive wholesale power market will demand could double by 2040, with
be vital for improving the utilisation of
electricity demand potentially tripling as a
India’s generation capacity,” it adds.
result of increased appliance ownership
appropriate price signals and create a and cooling needs. The IEA stresses that
On renewables, the IEA suggests that a
robust regulatory framework.”
diverse mix of flexibility investments is “without significant improvements in
needed for the successful system Recent IEA analysis shows that in 2018, energy efficiency, India will need to add
integration of wind and solar PV. It says that India’s investment in solar PV was greater massive amounts of power generation
this flexibility is available not only from the than in all fossil fuel sources of electricity capacity to meet demand from the one
coal fleet but also from natural gas billion irconditioning units the country is
generation together. Large-scale auctions
capacity, variable renewables themselves, expected to have by 2050”.
have contributed to swift renewable
energy storage, demand-side response
and power grids. “Many of these solutions energy development at rapidly
“By raising the level of its energy efficiency
are not yet fully utilised in India,” says the decreasing prices and by last month, India ambition, India could save some $190
report, continuing that “to fully activate a had deployed a total of 84GW of grid- billion per year in energy imports by 2040
diverse set of flexibility options, it is critical connected renewables capacity. By and avoid electricity generation of 875
for the government to put in place comparison, India’s total generating terawatt hours per year – almost half of
electricity market reforms that enable the capacity reached 366GW in 2019. India’s current annual power generation.”
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08 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

Mr. Prabhajit Sarkar

Managing Director & CEO,
Expert Opinion Power Exchange India Limited

1 As COVID 19 situation unfolds, how

is it impacting the volume of
business?
During the on-going lockdown, our
p l a t f o r m h a s h e l p e d a d d re s s t h e
challenging task of people having to work
The drop in power purchase prices in the
physical delivery markets operated
through power exchanges is helping
from home. The entire process of Discoms meet their power requirement at
Due to lockdowns and closure of non- transacting power is automated and lower costs by replacing some of their
essential services, the power demand in seamless. This has helped our customers expensive long term contracted power.
the country is currently muted. The to actively trade in the physical delivery Today, Discoms are in a position to
Discoms are only purchasing power to market from all across the country as also purchase power at lower prices prevalent
meet the requirements of its residential during the Renewable Energy Certificate in the Exchanges due to reduction in the
consumers along with supplies to critical (REC) trading session. overall demand from the commercial and
healthcare facilities, telecom and internet industrial consumers.
services, banks and financial institutions,
cold storage and warehousing services
and public utilities such as water,
3 How prepared are Power Exchanges
for RTM?
5 What do you see as the main
opportunities for your company or
sewerage, street lighting etc. This has PXIL has developed the RTM product that organisation as India transitions its power
impacted the Discom financials as the would be offered to the market from 1st
sector?
re v e n u e s f ro m t h e i r m a i n p a y i n g June 2020 as per directives issued by
customers i.e. the commercial and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Over the last two years, PXIL has
industrial consumers have plunged to (CERC). The RTM product has been tested completely revamped its technology
never seen before levels. As a result, the thoroughly for use and has also been used offering, which has allowed for our
supply side has also been badly hit due to seamless operations to take place on a 24 x
to conduct mock-sessions with POSOCO
decrease in the overall power sale 7 basis even during this period of
volumes. to ensure data exchange protocols and lockdown.
procedures are streamlined. PXIL would

2 How is PXIL ensuring uninterrupted

electricity supply during India's hour
of need?
start conducting mock sessions shortly for
the benefit of customers on the RTM
product.
On the business side, PXIL's primary focus
has been on the term-ahead and REC
markets. Now, we have enough liquidity to
also scale up our operations in the day-

4
PXIL offers a web based power trading In the period of distress how can ahead spot market.
platform, which has allowed its customers
exchange help utilities procure The direction of power sector reforms
to trade power on a 24 x 7 basis from
anywhere and at any time. electricity at cheapest cost? towards deepening of markets is

09 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

>>> Expert Opinion ... Continued

ENERGY GIANT EDP HIT WITH COSTLY
RANSOMWARE ATTACK

TRENDING NEWS
likely to result in a huge surge in the
liquidity available on exchanges. In the
long run, new products under categories itself to ransom is still relatively new, and
such as market based economic dispatch, the energy sector has been a particular
ancillary services and longer tenure target of “big game” ransomware
contracts would be traded through cybercriminals in the last year.
exchanges. As an exchange, we are
continuously pushing the boundaries and “Ransomware criminals look for the most
prepared to take advantage of the essential services to lock-up as paying a
opportunities that the power markets ransom might be considered the safer
present to us. option than facing the consequences of
lost power for millions of people for an

6 In your particular field what do you indefinite period. These gangs are highly

A
see as the major trends over the next organised and they select their targets
5-10 years? ccording to sources, the hackers wisely. Once they have breached an
The power markets are undergoing a responsible for the attack are organisation they look to encrypt as many
radical transformation in different parts of threatening to release 10TB of of the operational systems as possible and
the world due to the increased ingress of sensitive data unless they are paid $10.9m. consequently they charge extremely high
technology and digitalisation. Retail ransoms, easily running into the millions.
According to TechRadar, the hackers
competition, EVs, Distributed generation stated : “We had downloaded more than “Senior leaders within EDP will currently be
through Renewables and Storage are 10TB of private information from EDP working out the potential impact of the
getting increasingly diffused and adopted group servers… we will publish this leak in release of their confidential data to the
by the markets. The Indian power markets
… famous journals and blogs, also we will business, including potential loss of
are no different and are also witnessing the
notify all your clients, partners and credibility, loss of business, intellectual
imminent transformation.
competitors. So it depends on you [to] property loss, GDPR fines, and weighing
In the foreseeable feature, we expect a make it confidential or public!” that up against the cost of paying the
significant increase in digital transactions ransom.”
and introduction of many new products EDP has said that the situation is currently
with deepening of power markets. Power being assessed and their dedicated teams According to Malware Wiki, Ragnar Locker
Exchanges are expected to launch new are restoring the normal functioning of the is ransomware that runs on Microsoft
products related to Ancillary Services, systems as soon as possible. They are also Windows and specifically targets software
Renewable Energy and Longer Tenure working with the authorities to identify the commonly used by managed service
Contracts adding diversity and scale to its origin and nature of the attack. providers to prevent their attack from
existing offerings. The expanding role of being detected and stopped. Attackers
Kelvin Murray, Senior Threat Research first began using the Ragnar Locker
power markets may go a long way in
addressing the issues of clean, reliable and Analyst, Webroot: “This tactic of holding ransomware towards the end of December
quality supply to consumers at lower costs. the confidentiality of the corporate data 2019.

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10 Issue 1 | April 2020

 NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 | APRIL 2020 Exclusive Insights on India's Energy Transition!

>>> The unthinkable? ... ... Continued GLOBAL DATA EXPLORES

The power generation sector has already been impacted by a THE IMPACT OF COVID-19

TRENDING NEWS
lowering of demand and this, regardless of generation form, will ON ENERGY SECTOR
SEI ED’S NOTE

I
have an impact on the transition. BNEF has reduced projections
for renewable energy growth as a result of the declining n India, GlobalData recommends solar engineering,
demand. Even IEA head, Fatih Birol has said that the fall of oil production and construction companies to reduce their
prices “will definitely put downward pressure on the appetite for dependence on China. By so doing, the company says India’s
a cleaner energy transition.” solar industry will enjoy cost stability and quality control.

On the other side, the IEA reported that developed economies The research firm predicts a decline in Chinese solar PV modules
are seeing renewable energy overtaking coal as a major source as manufacturers have been forced to stockpile their modules.
of power generation in 2019 (although this does seem to On the solar front, the states of Karnataka (2.0 GW), Tamil Nadu
contradict the findings of S&P Global) and IRENA has called for (1.6 GW) and Rajasthan (1.7 GW) were the top three states
stimulus packages under development to include provision for accounting for 55% of solar PV installations in 2019. All of which
the energy transition. are in the top ten worst-hit states.

IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera said yesterday: Somik Das, a power analyst at GlobalData, said: “Indian
“Governments are facing a difficult task of bringing the health engineering, production and construction companies are using
emergency under control while introducing major stimulus and this lockdown time to form post-COVID strategies. Indian
recovery measures. The crisis has exposed deeply embedded module manufacturers might strategize to reduce prices since
vulnerabilities of the current system. IRENA’s Outlook shows the they have a chance to take a larger market share until the
ways to build more sustainable, equitable and resilient Chinese market recovers.
economies by aligning short-term recovery efforts with the “In essence, it would also be an excellent time to implement
medium-and long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement and domestically manufactured solar PV cells and wafers, which
the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.” otherwise are imported from China.”

“By accelerating renewables and making the energy transition Local companies should utilise the lockdown period to improve
an integral part of the wider recovery, governments can achieve internal processes and increase the technical skillset of
multiple economic and social objectives in the pursuit of a employees.
resilient future that leaves nobody behind.”

IRENA’s projections reveal that “transforming the energy system

could boost cumulative global GDP gains above business-as-
usual by $98 trillion between now and 2050,” in addition to
nearly quadrupling renewable energy jobs to 42 million.

So, for today the question to our readers is simple:

What do you think the implications of our current global

economy will be on the global energy sector will be?

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know how you are doing, how
you are coping with enforced social distancing and stay-at-
home orders and what you believe the sector will look like when
things return to ‘business as usual’.
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