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LCG Publishes 2024 Annual Outlook for Texas Electricity Market (ERCOT)

LCG, October 10, 2023 – LCG Consulting (LCG) has released its annual outlook of the ERCOT wholesale electricity market for 2024, based on the most likely weather, market, transmission, and generator conditions.

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LCG Publishes 2024 Annual Outlook for Texas Electricity Market (ERCOT)

LCG, October 10, 2023 – LCG Consulting (LCG) has released its annual outlook of the ERCOT wholesale electricity market for 2024, based on the most likely weather, market, transmission, and generator conditions.

Read more

Industry News

AES Close to Walking Out of India

LCG, Aug. 10, 2001--When AES Corp. of the United States bought a 51 percent controlling interest in Cesco, an electric distribution company in the Indian state of Orissa a few years ago, it was seen as the beginning of serious reform of India's electric power industry.

Now, AES is close to joining Cogentrix Inc. of the U.S. and Electricit de France in pulling out of India altogether. Enron Corp., which is having its own problems in the state of Maharashtra, isn't far behind, and has said it will take $1 billion for its 65 percent share of a $2.9 billion power project.

In addition to owning 51 percent of Cesco, the distribution company, AES owns 49 percent of Orissa Power Generation Co., operator of a 420 megawatt generating station that sells power to Gridco, the state-run transmission business.

Yesterday, Cesco's managing director Roberto Podesta said "If Gridco supplies power, it has to do so at its own risk. We are not in a position to pay Gridco."

AES complains that Gridco is not paying its power purchase bills to Orissa Power, and the bills have piled up, reaching $45 million last month. Gridco says it can't pay because Cesco hasn't paid it and that bill is even bigger. AES grumps that the companies are separate entities and the contracts are separate deals.

But Gridco's chairman, Priyabrata Patnaik, was even grumpier. "Unless AES pays Gridco, we cannot pay (Orissa Power)," he said. "We too are not a charity."

Not only has AES not paid its bills to Gridco, Indian observers say, the American company has not paid its workers recently. Cesco employees staged a demonstration yesterday protesting they have not received salaries due at the first of the month.

The government said about 2,000 workers demonstrated, but AES said it was more like 100, and operations were not affected.

While conflicting versions of these business dealing are confusing, one thing is clear. Indians and foreign investors do not speak the same language when talking about contracts and money.

"If satisfactory resolution of these matters is not expeditiously reached, AES will be forced to abandon its commitment to the distribution company," AES chief executive Dennis Bakke said last month.

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