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The average run rate was 66.7% a year ago, according to Reuters.

State owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) said that it had commissioned the transmission system for two units of the Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Gujarat. The 4,000 Mw Mundra project, being developed by Tata Power, would be the first UMPP to start power generation in the country. “The line is ready to evacuate power from two units of Mundra UMPP (2X800 Mw) in normal condition and more than 1,200 Mw in the contingency from today onwards,” Power Grid said in a statement. The transmission system was commissioned on Thursday. According to the statement, the system commissioned consists of high capacity Mundra-Bachau-Ranchodpura 400 kV double circuit line along with 630 MVA Bachau 400/220 kV sub-station. These are part of the transmission system associated with Mundra UMPP, being implemented by Power Grid at an estimated cost of about Rs 5,000 crore, it added. “About 770 circuit kilometer transmission line has been commissioned in challenging conditions like passing through tough terrains in creek area of Arabian Sea… Excessive water logging due to heavy rains, etc,” the statement said.  

The Board of Directors of the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has recently announced a $150 million financing to expand the use of solar energy to power telecommunication towers in India, a project that will significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

China electricity industry has been restructured by separating the design and construction businesses from power grids and firms and establishing two new companies. The two new firms, PowerCorp China and China Energy Engineering Group Co. Ltd., are both solely funded by the state, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The separation of auxiliary businesses from the nation's power grids and power generating companies was part of the country's efforts to reform the power industry as formulated by the State Council in 2002, said Wang Yong, head of SASAC. After the restructuring, the state-owned Sinohydro Corporation, HydroChina Corporation, together with the design and construction units previously affiliated with the State Grid and the China Southern Power Gird in Shanghai, Hebei, Jilin and 11 other regions, will merge into PowerCorp, with assets totaling 196 billion yuan or US 30.63 billion U.S. dollars and 202,700 employees. CEEG has also taken over the other two state-owned enterprises, the China Gezhouba Corporation and the China Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation, along with auxiliary units previously operated by the State Grid and the China Southern Power Gird in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi and 13 other provinces or regions. CEEG has assets totaling 120 billion yuan and 160,000 staff.

The Burmese government has suspended a highly controversial hydroelectric dam project due to growing public opposition.

San Miguel Corp will not pursue a $1 billion conversion of a 620-megawatt power plant it acquired in 2009 and is now looking to sell it.

Tokyo Electric Power Co expects to be able to supply 53,000 megawatts of power this winter, around 6 percent of a meet projected peak demand of about 50,000 MW., reports Reuters.

E Hitachi told nuclear operators to conduct tests to determine what conditions would prevent the reactors from shutting safely during an earth quake.

South Korea will instruct domestic utilities to secure high calorific steaming coal to prevent blackouts in winter, the economy ministry said.

A Japanese consortium and state utility Vietnam Electricity has signed an agreement to cooperate on the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant project in Vietnam.

Tohoku Electric Power Co aims to accept more than triple the capacity of wind power to its grid at 2 gigawatts by 2020.

Nalco plans to diversify into nuclear power investing Rs 11,450 crore. Nalco CMD BL Bagra said his firm has dentified Kakarapar Atomic Power Station – 3 & 4 Project for development, jointly with Nuclear Power Corporation of India at a cost of Rs 11,450 crore. The recommendation for the investment is under consideration by the Government. Bagra said the company had been pursuing to set up a smelter and power project in Orissa. However, considering uncertainty on location, company might have to explore for an alternate location elsewhere in the country, he said.

Power Grid Corporation of India has commissioned the transmission system for two units of the Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project in Gujarat.

AES Corp will soon  double the capacity of its of 600MW Masinloc coal-fired facility in Zambales, Philippines.

Tokyo Electric will prioritize thermal coal due to its relative cheapness, followed by liquefied natural gas and fuel oil. "We're trying to cut procurement costs," said Takashi Fujimoto, Tepco vice president.

China will tighten emission standards for thermal power plants to curb worsening environmental degradation.