ENERGY LAWS IN INDIA: WHERE DO WE STAND AMONG THE SUPERPOWERS?

This blog is authored by Unnati Sinha, a 2nd year student at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies

Introduction

Energy laws refers to sustainable as well as non-renewable energy use and taxes. These laws (e.g. case law, legislation, guidelines, legislation, and edicts) are key energy law authorities. Energy policy, on the other hand, applies to energy policy and policy. Power law covers regulatory provisions on the duties on petrol, petrol and "extraction." Work of the energy legislation involves both pre-exploration and capture of and arbitration under soil for the arbitration, mining, permits for oil and gas acquisition and possession rights.

Energy is a central component of all nations' infrastructure. India has one of the world's most diverse Energy industries. In India conventional sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear and hydroelectric power, to a lesser degree, include wind, solar, agricultural and household waste. With the need for electricity in the world the fast, the generating capacity of power plants in India is greatly needed. In 2017 India was ranked 26th in the list of “access to power supplies by the World Bank”. "Energy for everyone" has been a focus for the Government of India (GOI).

India is striving toward to becoming a global hub for the production of nuclear reactors and related parts with several bilateral nuclear power agreements in effect. GOI's 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector is expected to expand foreign interest in that sector. This included the production and funding of assets, technical services and equipment supplies for production and distribution.

Energy Situation in India

The International Energy Agency (IEA) applauds India for continued opening up of the economy and the increased usage of market-based technologies with aggressive improvements in the energy sector. The expanded access for all sectors of the India population to available resources has now boosted living standards, with the institutional infrastructure it requires to draw further investment to meet its increasing energy needs. The IEA embraces the decision by the government to allow investments in coal mining by the private sector and to open retail oil and gas markets in the world. The establishment of working energy markets would guarantee economic stability in the administration of the electricity, gas and power industries, essential to energy security. In order to accomplish these aims, Indian energy reform needs to be detailed. The IEA supports the changes introduced by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and progress in developing markets in real time. As a cornerstone of the national grid, a countrywide wholesale market is important. A shared vision and reform road-map will be developed by a wide variety of central government departments, state authorities, machine operators and services firms as a key element of this achievement.

The government's proposals will enable India to double its energy demand by 2040, with the electricity demand likely to “triple” as the consequence of enhanced equipment acquisition and cooling requirements. India will still require to install huge volumes of power generating capacities in order to satisfy demand from the 1 billion air conditioning units it is anticipated to have by 2050 without any increase in electricity energy production. India could save around “USD 190 billion” annually in energy imports by 2040 by increasing the energy efficiency ambition by avoiding an annual electricity production of 875 terawatt hours, which is almost one half of India's current annual power generation.

International Energy Policies of Developed Nations

United States of America

The central government has taken little active part in the energy industry in much of America's history. (The popular belief in unregulated energy supply also explains this history). During the Great Depression and in the WWII year, a fractured legislative system has been established by the federal government and includes several agencies. The Manhattan Nuclear Weapons Production Initiative has also started the nuclear regulatory era. But the federal government's 1970's oil crisis prompted it to strengthen its spread legislative structure, which had been fractured over the past few decades. A national energy program was first developed with the establishment of the Energy Department in 1977. The declared aim of federal energy laws and policies is to ensure sustainable energy, while maintaining the commercial, ecological and safety interests of the United States, by preserving open markets. The Federal Power Act of 1920, establishing a Federal Power Commission, started early control. The Federal Power Act (Act), revised in 1935 and 1986, provided for the establishment of a regulatory system.

In 1977 the newly formed Department of Energy founded a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that took over various roles, along with the Federal Power Commission. Different electricity industries have been pushed in recent years towards deregulation. Deregulation seeks to boost market competitiveness in order to achieve a reasonable, affordable energy target in the final analysis. The pattern in the energy sector is more advanced, with customers in many countries now being able to select their suppliers. It is a bit of a misnomer to call this "deregulation" because government supervision still has a key part to play. Instead, traditionally interconnected power firms split down and generate competitiveness from output to demand at any stage in the chain.

United Kingdom

Great changes tend to persist in the UK energy market. The 2018 Green Energy Directive set the UK's goal of achieving 32 per cent of renewable energy demand by 2030. The Energy Act 2013 (the Energy Act) first introduced a legislative plan by the UK government to mobilize £110 billion of venture capital to guarantee a stable and diversified power supply in 2020, in order to meet the 2009 RENEU Directive deadline. Policy changes such as these are essential, because the UK has seen major power plants shutdown in past years, as well as de-carbonization, since more power plants are decommissioned in the UK, the energy law aims to guarantee all spending on infrastructure.

Great Britain is one of the leading countries to set a legal objective of reducing pollution by 2050 to net zero. In 2019, the goal became successful. The Committee on Climate Change notified the UK that it could demand up to four times the amount of clean energy currently available and that it could supplement its low-carbon net zero-emissions goal by using firm energy alternatives, such as nuclear power, carbon capture and stock-piling. The British Government has set up a number of initiatives made primarily with a view to stabilizing the economy of funding for such projects to foster private investment to build major infrastructure projects (and, in particular, the production of low-carbon technology).

It also proposed a follow-up measure to the gradual switchover of coal-fired power stations from unbuilt coal power plants in the coming 10 years to re-assert its pledge to invest £730 million annually in funding for sustainable electricity schemes. The long-term strategy is planned to provide consumers with belief that the UK is able to invest in new, safer potential for electricity.

It also proposed a follow-up measure to the gradual switchover of coal-fired power stations from unbuilt coal power plants in the coming 10 years to re-assert its pledge to invest £730 million annually in funding for sustainable electricity schemes. The long-term strategy is planned to provide consumers with belief that the UK is able to invest in new, safer potential for electricity.

Japan

The Alternative Energy Law was passed in May 1980, during the second petroleum crisis, to create and support substitutes to oil. The government declared in December the "Oil Production Target for Renewable Energies." There were two requirements for selecting alternatives: they have now been sources of energy and they are projected to supply large quantities in the future. These parameters were used as alternate sources of electricity to petroleum, coal, nuclear, hydrogen, and geothermal energy. The Dengen tayouka kanjyou account provided the budget for pursuing the strategy of looking for renewable energy supplies in the field of electricity generation. The Oil and Renewable Energy Account for Oil finances initiatives for alternative sources of energy (Sekiyu oyobi sekiyudaitai enerugie kanjyou). The “MITI's” Natural Resources and Energy Department (ANRE), with the legal basis and distribution of budgets for advancement of renewable energy to the petroleum industry, set its goal in 1980 or ten years after the 1980 Alternative Energy Legislation on alternative energy sources was enacted.

The 1990 alternative energy mix included coal (35.4%), nuclear gas (20.4%), water (9.2%), geothermal (2.1%) and other sources (thermal energy, coal gasification etc.)[i]. It may be claimed that the source of the problem for Japan's renewables dysfunction and uninventive greenhouse gas emission reductions after the disaster in Fukushima lies in the alternate nuclear and coal power solutions of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy[ii] (pages 206-265). The historical pattern from 1953 to 2018 in Japan's primary energy supply indicates the establishment of long-term energy policy.

"Closure" or the lack of involvement between the people and specialists is the key element of Japan's energy policy. However, one of the few exceptions to this is that of supporting domestic rooftop “PVs” in the mid 1990s to early 2000s. In potential technological advancement and business expansion, the government agreed to encourage PV under uncertainty. Public efforts in R&D to create new technologies and set a long-term goal of photovoltaic plants through the Sunshine program were the main elements for encouraging private companies to spend in this new technology. Despite a niche segment, these factors contributed to the development of the PV technology market.

Concluding Remarks

In the past two decades, the energy industry has certainly come a long way. In today's political interference, the energy market is opening the doors for private sector participation, increased competitiveness and accountability. In power generation, the transmission system is more stable every year, tariff petitions and revisions are rising, losses have dropped and rural electrification levels have dramatically increased. Record capacities are increasing each year. India's electricity industry was completely revamped as a response to the Electricity Act 2003 (Act). The predicted outcomes were startling. The Indian power industry was completely restructured with the restructuring of SEBs, commercialization of generating and distribution businesses, corporatization, open access, numerous licensees, and so on. The sector's development will rely on how quickly it can offset and step forward.

The IEA praises the Indian government on this great achievement and applauds its initiatives to divert the attention to extending to remote communities and guaranteeing energy supply dependability round the clock. In order for India to 'outscore' the already trampled road to one that assures sustainable development, the nation must reinvent its framework for action to promote equitable progress. Unviable subsidies, poor policy implementations, skewed energy pricing, and insufficient renewable investment are some of the primary obstacles that the Indian government has to reconsider in order to improve energy security and lay the foundations for a low-carbon economic progression.

Thus, in order to achieve a sustainable energy future, authorities and investors must aggressively support renewable energy deployment as well as effective legislative subsidies and regulations. While India's renewable energy objectives are lofty, the government has been making headway in the right direction through laws, revisions, and subsidies to guarantee that they are attainable. India hopes that developed nations would agree to adopt the notion of shared but varied obligations in order to reduce the adverse effects of climate change jointly.

[i] Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Tsushou sangyou shou) (MITI). Tsushou Sangyou Shou Nenpou Showa55 Nenban (MITI Annual Report: The 1980 Fiscal Year); Tsushou Sangyou Shou Daijin Kanbou Chousatoukeibu (The Section of the Research and Statistics of the MITI Mister’s Secretariat): Tokyo, Japan, 1980. [ii] Ohta, H. Shuyoukoku no Kankyo to Enerugie-wo Meguru Hikakuseiji: Jizokukanou Shaka Heno Sentaku (Comparative Politics about the Environmental and Energy Policies of Major States: Make a Choice for A Sustainable Society); Toushindou: Tokyo, Japan, 2016.