Coal India roadshow: The Indian Department of Disinvestment has scheduled a roadshow to London and cities in the US to try and court potential investors in the sale of a 5% stake in the government-owned Coal India Limited (CIL). “The entire purpose of this roadshow is to tell the investors about CIL as a company and the kind of reserves it has,” a spokesman stated. (Business Standard) AEP announces coal ruled out for new plants: Coal is being “taken out of the picture” of American Electric Power (AEP) according to the company’s CEO, Nick Akins. “We see the future for us being natural gas, energy efficiency, smart-grid activities and renewables,” he said. Coal plants account for 22,800 MW or 60% of AEP’s generation capacity. (Columbus Business First, AEP) Ultra mega projects seek tariff hikes: Reliance Power is seeking a waiver from the power price it tendered for the 3,960 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Jharkhand. Reliance is also seeking power price increases for the Sasun UMPP in part on the grounds that the depreciation of the rupee has increased the company’s costs. (Economic Times) Asia coal prices weaken and freight rates increase: Rising freight rates are leading coal importers to demand further price cuts from exporters according to Deepak Kannan, Platts Associate Editor for coal. The fall in the value of the Indian rupee, he said, is also dampening demand for Indonesian coal.(Platts) Millenium backers in dire straits: The two joint venture partners in the proposed new coal export terminal in Washington State – Ambre Energy and Arch Coal – have their own financial problems. Ambre has not only lost US$153 million since it was founded in 2005 but is paying 16% – twice the rate of ‘junk’ bonds – on some of its loans. (Sightline) |