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U.S. power grid needs to focus on resilience as extreme weather events rise- NERC

U.S. power grid needs to focus on resilience as extreme weather events rise- NERC

July 20 (Reuters) – The North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC) on Wednesday said key entities of the U.S. power grid network were working to improve resilience of the power grid network as climate change drives more extreme weather.

The NERC’s “2022 State of Reliability” report said efforts were being made to improve the linkage between outages and weather by the Enterprise Electric Reliability Organization (ERO).

The ERO is made up of the NERC and six regional power entities.

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The U.S. power grid network is also implementing corrective action to avoid a repeat of widespread outages due to a cold snap last year.

“The February cold weather event demonstrated that a significant portion of the generation fleet in the impacted areas was unable to supply electrical energy during extreme cold weather,” the NERC’s report said.

These actions, based on recommendations by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and NERC among others, would also help to develop standards for longer term grid planning, the NERC said.

The report also highlighted the growing risks from the inter-dependency of electricity and the natural gas industries, which has threatened the reliability of the Bulk Electric System in the past few years. The Bulk Electric System refers to the facilities needed to operate the electric energy transmission network, excluding local distribution.

Natural gas generators are now needed for the reliable integration of renewable power until new storage technology is fully developed and implemented at scale, the NERC said.

“At the same time, reliable electric power supply is often required to ensure uninterrupted delivery of natural gas to these balancing resources, particularly in areas where penetration levels of renewable generation resources are highest.”

The NERC report also flagged risks from geopolitical events, while “increasingly bold cyber criminals and hacktivists presented serious challenges to the reliability” of the bulk electric system.

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Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Indian shares subdued as investors weigh oil prices, global events

Indian shares subdued as investors weigh oil prices, global events

Clouds are seen over the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai, India May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

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BENGALURU, March 23 (Reuters) – Indian shares were little changed on Wednesday as cautious investors kept an eye on crude prices and geopolitical events in the absence of any major domestic triggers.

By 0504 GMT, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.11% at 17,334.45, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) had gained 0.10% to 58,046.43.

After falling nearly 1% on Monday and extending those losses into the first half of Tuesday — due to higher oil prices — both the indexes staged a mid-day reversal to end more than 1% higher as investors bought into the dip.

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While the Nifty and Sensex built on the upbeat momentum in early trading on Wednesday, markets have now given up most gains.

“Markets are not going to be that bullish today and there could be some kind of consolidation,” said Devarsh Vakil, deputy head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

“As such, we have risen a lot from (recent) lows. So, it is better to digest these gains,” he added.

Earlier this month, the indexes hit their lowest levels since late-July, but they have since risen about 11% each.

In Mumbai, gains in pharmaceutical and metal stocks offset losses in automobile companies.

The Nifty Pharma Index (.NIPHARM) was up 1.27%, with pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (REDY.NS) rising 3% and topping the Nifty 50 percentage gainers.

The Nifty Metal Index (.NIFTYMET) rose 0.49%, with aluminium and copper producer Hindalco Industries (HALC.NS) adding 2.3%. Global commodity prices remained high on potential supply hits due to the Ukraine conflict.

The Nifty Auto Index (.NIFTYAUTO) dropped 0.56% and was on track for its second session of losses in three.

Meanwhile, broader Asian markets hit their highest levels since March 4 as investors moved cash back into equities from bonds in preparation for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive approach to combat inflation.

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Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V

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CERAWEEK OPEC has no control over events roiling global oil markets -Sec Gen

CERAWEEK OPEC has no control over events roiling global oil markets -Sec Gen

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo speaks during the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 7, 2022. REUTERS/Daniel Kramer

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HOUSTON, March 7 (Reuters) – OPEC has no control over the events that have led to the run up in global oil prices and there is not enough capacity worldwide to compensate for the loss of Russian supply, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Monday.

Benchmark Brent crude prices surged on Monday, touching a 14-year high of over $139 a barrel as the United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is the world’s top exporter of crude and fuel, shipping around 7 million bpd or 7% of global supplies.

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“There is no capacity in the world that could replace 7 millions barrels per day,” Barkindo told reporters at an industry conference in Houston.

“We have no control over current events, geopolitics, and this is dictating the pace of the market,” he said.

U.S., European and other governments exempted energy trade from sanctions to prevent already tight markets rallying further, but that has failed.

Traders have avoided Russian oil to avoid running afoul of future sanctions or unwittingly violating sanctions already imposed on Russian banks, companies and individuals.

With an outright ban, some analysts posit prices could rocket even higher. JPMorgan predicted Brent could hit $185 by year-end. A supply shortage would require prices to rise enough to cut demand. read more

“I have heard from several speakers here at CERAweek that current tightness in the market condition might be creating some demand destruction,” said Barkindo.

“Even as that might be the case, the other side of the equation is probably more critical at the moment, which is supply is increasingly lagging behind.”

When asked why the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies did not just end all restrictions on output at their meeting last week, Barkindo told Reuters the situation in oil markets had developed since the group met on March 2.

“Let’s see what happens at the next meeting,” he said.

OPEC and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, said after that meeting in a statement that markets were well balanced, and OPEC+ sources reaffirmed that earlier on Monday. read more

OPEC+ remained committed to market stability, Barkindo said. The group continued to unwind the deep cuts imposed at the height of the pandemic, he said. Production should be fully restored from the cuts in September, he said.

OPEC+ stuck to a plan for a modest output rise in April at the March 2 meet and ignored the Ukraine crisis in their talks. read more

The situation in the markets was likely to be a game-changer in the energy transition, Barkindo told reporters.

Access to capital for the oil industry has become more challenging, he said, but the crisis was showing the world could not afford to stop investing in oil and gas.

Most OPEC+ members have little spare oil production capacity at the moment, with the bulk of the extra capacity available in the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the International Energy Agency.

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Reporting By David Gaffen and Marianna Parraga; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.