The India Energy Hour Presented by 101Reporters

Increased heat, drought and wildfires are all linked to climate change. Climate change has altered the physical geography in rural areas by disappearing flora and fauna, and other natural habitats that constitute the livelihood of the local people. In order to understand the ground reality of climate impact in rural areas, we spoke with M Raghuram, Senior Journalist from Karnataka; Shuchita Jha, Journalist at Down To Earth, India; and Tazeen Qureshy, Independent Journalist based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report recently that made global headlines. A fact from the report came out as a dire warning - over 40% of the world's population is "highly vulnerable" to climate change. However, there is much more in this report, which was authored by 270 researchers from 67 countries. The report explains the global and regional impacts of climate change, evaluates the adaptation efforts and explains the vulnerabilities faced by humans with rising temperatures. To understand what this new IPCC report says climate change could and is costing Indians, we interviewed Chandni Singh, Senior Researcher at Indian Institute for Human Settlements. Chandni is one of the co-authors of the IPCC report and has authored many other important reports on the topics ranging from climate change, adaptation, vulnerability, migration to livelihoods. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

Since 2003 when the electricity market in India opened up to private investment, variety of market mechanisms also came up along with it. Long term power purchase agreements have been backbone of power supply in the country. But other short and medium terms contracts have helped meeting sudden demand surge, acted as bridge supply and lately given sale options for renewable energy. Similar contracts have now emerged in the Gas market as well. To understand how the Indian energy trading market works, how it can be made more efficient and real-time, we talked with Rajesh K Mediratta. Mediratta is a sector veteran and has worked with Load Despatch Centres, power system operator and has been instrumental in launching India's first electricity trading platform -  Indian Electricity Exchange. He is currently MD and CEO, Indian Gas Exchange. Timestamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 0:50 - About RK Mediratta and his professional journey 17:50 - Journey of India’s Electricity trading market 30:25 - Typical contracts that the power exchanges offer in India and how the price discovery mechanism works 33:37 - Level of intervention by the platform in price discovery 36:46 - Convincing discoms to come on exchanges - Allegations of windfall gain during times of electricity supply shortage. 44:47 - How do other electricity markets in Europe function 50:50 - How does Gas exchange function in India? 57:15 - Will gas exchange act as a bridge fuel and help the Indian electricity market in any way? Can both exist in sync? 1:00:15 - Possibility of coal trading in India 1:04:33 - What kind of role can electricity exchange play in the energy transition in India? 1:08:16 - What is the next big thing that the Indian energy market will witness? 1:10:55 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

In the last few years, India electrified nearly all its households by extending the  national grid. Yet, reliability of available power is still a major concern. Some rural and remote areas still face power cuts of nearly 10-12 hours a day. Lack of reliable power prevents local economic development as factories and shops cannot function efficiently. Domestic expense also increases as households rely on expensive alternatives such as diesel run generators. While the centralised power grid will see improvements over time and might be able to provide more reliable power, decentralized renewable energy based mini-grids can also be an effective supplementary solution. To understand the role of distributed renewable energy in the future of India’s electricity systems, we interviewed Saugata Datta, India Country Director of Husk Power Systems, a company that operates 100s of mini-grids across India and Africa. Saugata has worked with several leading renewable energy companies in India for over two decades and has expertise in clean energy solutions and energy access projects. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

The power transmission network is the backbone of any nation's electricity grid. India needs to rapidly expand and overhaul its electricity grid network to undertake a successful energy transition and ensure reliable power to all. While state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has led the growth of power transmission in India, a handful of private companies entered the fray in the last decade. But the expansion of India's power transmission network for growing renewable energy capacity would need immense capital, more than what the traditional financing routes could offer. Alternative funding avenues are now emerging in India. IndiGrid, India’s first listed power transmission infrastructure investment trust or InvIT is aspiring to become one such innovative financial model. To understand how routes such as InvIT can facilitate global investment in the Indian power transmission and green energy sector while also creating value for investors, we interviewed Harsh Shah, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGrid. Harsh has extensive experience in the infrastructure sector across financing, operations, M&A and regulatory policy. This episode was recorded before Union Budget Suggested Readings: "Section 54EC states that if the profit made on sale of a long-term capital asset – whether an immovable property or shares and stocks – is invested by the taxpayer in 'long-term specified assets' within 6 months of the sale, then the capital gains are exempt from taxation." 1. Harsh Shah profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harsh-shah-8634bb6/ 2. IndiGrid website: https://www.indigrid.co.in/ 3. SEBI guidelines: https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/may-2016/guidelines-for-public-issue-of-units-of-invits_32500.html Timestamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 0:48 - About Harsh Shah and his professional journey 6:42 - Story of IndiGrid - how it started, key factors and people who shaped it. 14:12 - Status of power transmission infrastructure in India. How it could be enhanced to meet Climate targets and the role of InvIT in it? 20:38 - Functioning InvIT, key investors, regulations that make the market and type of assets. 28:02 - How are new assets acquired if 90% of the profits are returned back? What type of investors InvIT attracts in general and at IndiGrid? 34:57 - Reason for insurance companies and pension funds to show interest in InvIT. 39:21 - Global examples of such financing instruments such as InvIT. 42:06 -: Can InvIT build assets? How are renewable assets suitable to InvIT? 46:03 - Indian renewable assets are low in return. Why then it's compatible with InvIT like model? 49:24 - Is the competitive tariff wars happening in the renewable energy space bad news for investment companies? Should InvIT be used for refinancing rather? 54:46 - When renewables will become a game of financing in the longer run, do you think we should have more actions on financing instruments? 59:21 - How the financial markets have matured in the past decade vis-a-vis regulations and quality/confidence of investors and instruments. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

In the history of the global climate change conferences, it was in the recent COP26 that for the first time there was a separate Water pavilion. Water economy management has faced negligence on the climate discussion table till yet but it is time that water is given the centerstage. Water forms the key bridge in the energy-food supply chain. Water resource management will be crucial to the energy transition planning of India – where till two years back, there was no separate department to focus on water scarcity. In this episode, we are joined by Dr Aditi Mukherji, principal researcher, International Water Management Institute. We will discuss the water-energy-food nexus, how clean energy and water conservation go hand in hand and the role water will play in climate adaptation. Dr Mukherji has close to two decades of experience working in the water resource management space. She is considered an authority on groundwater governance, energy-irrigation nexus and community management of water resources. Suggested Links: 1. Profile of Aditi - https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/about/staff-list/aditi-mukherji/ 2. Solar irrigation for agriculture resilience – ongoing project by IWMI https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/about/staff-list/aditi-mukherji/show-projects?C=1084 3. Role of groundwater in agrarian change in West Bengal and Bangladesh: A comparative analysis - https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/what-we-do/projects/show-projects/?C=1143 Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

CoP26 concluded on November 13 with the Glasgow Climate Pact, signed by leaders from nearly 200 countries. The pact aims to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Throughout the two weeks of the conference there were numerous pledges and declarations. Many experts have hailed the Glasgow Climate Pact and the various climate pledges as a success, while others are not satisfied with these agreements. To understand the nuances of what unfolded at CoP26, Sandeep interviewed Dr. Simon Evans, Deputy Editor of Carbon Brief, a UK-based website specializing in the science and policy of climate change. Simon is a leading climate and energy journalist who reported extensively on CoP26. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

COP26, the world’s biggest climate change conference, is now only a week away. After traversing through the history and functioning of climate negotiations in the first part of our COP special series, in this second part, we delve into key negotiation points at COP26, India’s role in the current negotiations, and what could be the bottlenecks and common grounds between developed and developing world. For this episode, we interviewed RR Rashmi, Distinguished Fellow and Programme Director, Earth Science and Climate Change at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Mr. Rashmi was India’s former principal negotiator for climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Time stamp: 0:00 - Podcast intro 1:20 - About RR Rashmi and his professional journey 11:52: How has India’s climate negotiation powers changed on the global stage? 28:09:  Key issues that policymakers around the world are going to discuss and what will be India’s position? 38:36 - Will India benefit from climate finance? Is there a need to declare Net Zero 46:35: Are we not committing to phase out coal because we lack the data of how much would be our energy demand? 50:21: India's own plan to reduce coal usage keeps changing. Can we take aggressive steps on coal and gas like the USA and UK? 53:09: What would be the bare minimum that needs to happen to make this COP a success and the maximum? And ideal outcome for a country like India? 59:42 - Podcast outro Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

COP26, which is the world’s biggest climate change conference, is only two weeks away. Policymakers from over 200 countries will gather at Glasgow to discuss how to move forward with a more ambitious climate agenda. We at the India Energy Hour are really excited to publish two episodes focusing on COP26. We have interviewed two eminent guests who know the ins and outs of COP meetings. This is the first of two episodes. As we look ahead to COP26, we need to look back at the past climate conferences to understand how climate negotiations work, how they have changed over the years and how India's position evolved over time. The upcoming climate conference or COP26 in Glasgow, could turn out to be like nothing before or just as same as earlier COPs. There are expectations that developing countries will take center stage and seek more climate finance. India has made its stance stronger around its ambitious green energy plans along with fossil fuel growth, while it asks the developed world to fund its climate action. In the first of two special episodes on COP26, we interviewed senior journalist Nitin Sethi who has attended and closely followed climate negotiations and COP conferences for close to two decades. Nitin is a member of reporters collective and a partner at Land Conflict Watch. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

As India goes into the festive season with a rebound in the economy post Covid second wave, the country is facing a power crisis with over 80% of thermal power plants in the country facing a coal shortage. Many states have warned their customers of power shortage and there is considerable panic anticipating these power cuts. But how did the crisis start, who is responsible for it but more importantly, how should the countries’ planners resolve the issue and avoid a repeat? To understand these issues, we are publishing a special episode exclusively focusing on the power and coal crisis in India. In this episode, Sandeep is interviewing Anupam Chatterjee, energy journalist at Financial Express newspaper along with India Energy Hour co-host Shreya Jai, energy journalist with Business Standard. Both Anupam and Shreya have been reporting on this power and coal crisis, and are considered experienced writers on the subject/energy sector. Follow TIEH podcast on Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.