Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Poland plans to deploy smart meters at 80% of end users by 2028
18 Feb 2021The Sejm, Poland’s lower house, is currently examining an amendment to the Energy Law, which would force distribution system operators (DSOs) to roll out electricity smart meters at 80% of consumers by the end of 2028. According to the schedule included in the draft, DSOs would be required to equip at least 15% with consumers with smart meters by the end of 2023. Smart meters should cover 35% of electricity distribution points by the end of 2025, and 65% by the end of 2027.
Read moreSingapore could raise its carbon tax after 2023
18 Feb 2021Singapore could review the trajectory and level of its carbon tax in 2022 as the country has vowed to take stronger climate actions. The tax would remain stable until 2023 to provide businesses economic certainty.
The island nation set in 2018 its carbon tax rate at SGD5/tCO2eq (US$3.8/tCO2eq) of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2023. The tax rate was scheduled to increase to between SGD10/tCO2eq (US$7.5/tCO2eq) and SGD15/tCO2eq (US$11.3/tCO2eq) by 2030.
Read moreNigeria delays target to end gas flaring by five years to 2025
18 Feb 2021Nigeria has vowed to eliminate gas flaring by 2025. According to the Department of Petroleum Resources, the country flared a total of 3.3 bcm of produced associated gas in 2018, i.e. 11% of produced gas.
Previously, in 2016, Nigeria had pledged to end routine gas flaring by 2020, as part of the country’s commitment under the World Bank-led “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” Initiative. Fugitive CO2 emissions from flared gas accounted for 16% of Nigeria’s CO2 emissions without LULUCF in 2018.
Read moreCompanies
Edison takes over the Italian wind project developer E2i
18 Feb 2021The Italian energy group Edison (part of the EDF group) has finalised an agreement with Fondi Italiani per le Infrastrutture SGR to take over 70% of E2i Energie Speciali, a renewable energy developer. E2i Energie Speciali holds a plant portfolio of 38 wind parks (706 MW) that generate around 1 TWh/year, along with 4 wind projects (74 MW), and 3 small solar PV plants.
Read moreSouth Africa’s Eskom should unbundle its transmission grid by end-2021
17 Feb 2021South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom intends to complete the legal separation of its power transmission unit by the end of 2021. The generation and distribution should follow in 2022. As presented in November 2019, Eskom is expected to be split into three separate companies dedicated to power generation, transmission and distribution by the end of 2022. The 3 companies would remain under a state-owned holding company but Eskom would abandon its near-monopoly and face increased competition from independent power producers (IPPs) with lower power generation costs.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
New Zealand’s only oil refinery (7.1 Mt/year) could close in 2022
18 Feb 2021Refining NZ could convert its 142,000 bbl/d (7.1 Mt/year) Marsden Point refinery into a fuel import terminal from 2022, using 80% of the existing tank capacity. The Marsden Point refinery, which is owned by ExxonMobil (17%), Z Energy (15%) and BP (10%), is New Zealand’s only refinery. The refinery’s throughput declined by 30% in 2020, due to the significant demand impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions and low Asian refining margins due to excess capacities exacerbated these impact and competition.
Read moreGazprom’s gas exports to Europe decreased by 12% to 175 bcm in 2020
17 Feb 2021In 2020, Gazprom’s natural gas exports to Europe (including Turkey) decreased by 12% from 199 bcm to 175 bcm, including 135.7 bcm to western Europe. Germany remained Gazprom’s biggest market in western Europe (46 bcm in 2020, -14% on 2019), followed by Italy (21 bcm, -6%), Turkey (16 bcm) and Austria (13 bcm). The group retained its leading position in Central Europe with 39.1 bcm of gas exports, including 9.7 bcm to Poland, 8.6 bcm each to Hungary and Slovakia and 5 bcm to Czechia. Gas exports to China through the Eastern Route surged from 328 mcm in 2019 to 4.1 bcm in 2020.
Read moreEnergy Prices & Taxes
South Africa allows Eskom to raise electricity prices by 16% in 2021-2022
18 Feb 2021The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has authorised the national power utility Eskom to increase its tariff by an average of 15.6% for the 2021/22 financial year. In October 2020, the state-owned power utility won a case in the Pretoria High Court, which allowed it to recover a further ZAR10bn (US$680m) in allowable revenue. Consequently, an amount of ZAR5.44c/kWh (US$0.37c/kWh) will be added to the average standard tariff for Eskom customers in the 2021/2022 year, raising the aggregate average standard tariff for direct customers to ZAR134.30c/kWh (US$9.17c/kWh).
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Axens selected for 6 Mt/year Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (India)
18 Feb 2021The Indian oil company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), through its affiliate Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), has selected Axens to supply advanced technologies in gasoline block for its 6 Mt/year Numaligarh Refinery Expansion Project (NREP) in Assam (north-eastern India). The Numaligarh refinery, located at Golaghat District, was commissioned in 2000 with a capacity of 3 Mt/year (60,000 bbl/d) to process local crude oil. The 6 Mt/year (90,000 bbl/d) expansion is expected to be operational by 2024.
Read moreSolarcentury will build two solar PV projects (320 MW) in Spain
18 Feb 2021Solarcentury has secured connection agreements for two solar PV projects totalling 320 MW in the provinces of Castellón and Alicante (Spain). The 155 MW Arada solar project, located in Vall d’Uxó and Chilches (Castellón) is expected to generate 290 GWh/year and will require a €95m investment. The 165 MW Tendetes solar project, in Cañada, Biar and Villena (Alicante) will produce 320 GWh/year. It is expected to cost €115m.
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