Green storage technologies

We are realising rather late in the day, the primacy of renewable energy; nevertheless we can make up by initiating efforts on its storage as well (‘Green power’, July 30). Solar, wind and other neo-energies suffer from the drawback of our limited ability to store the electricity they generate since even the most promising can only produce power on an intermittent basis. To date no technology has proven cheap and viable to cater the massive requirement.

Many innovations are being tried for batteries for larger scale storage. Some are old technologies with revamped components, such as large, advanced lead-acid batteries, some use the new breed of lithium-ion ones, and other more recent technologies such as flow batteries, metal-air batteries and sodium-nickel chloride. Governments must help integrate renewable energy capacity with new storage technologies that can trigger a surge in renewable power.

R Narayanan

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

Keep RBI strong

This is with reference to Pulapre Balakrishnan’s ‘Monetary policy as if jobs don’t matter’ (July 31). The central bank was created in 1935 basically to stem the problems of frequent bank failures as those affected were always the poor depositors. The role of the RBI, with the teeth provided by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, was enlarged in due course and the professionalism brought in by the governors helped the bank function as a watch dog.

The proposed committee structure, which gives majority power to government representatives, runs the risk of getting influenced by the bureaucracy and politicians who may not act in the best interests of the banking system. A glaring example is the Indian cooperative system, which is a good mutual assistance model of financial assistance from among the lower sections of society, wherein the write-off culture has affected the liquidity of the cycle. It is, therefore, not advisable to give majority powers to government nominees who will not be able to rise their heads against their political masters.

P Esakki Muthu

Chennai

What’s fit and proper

Your editorial, ‘Fuzzy logic’ (July 30) mentions that the Forward Markets Commission issued “fit and proper” notice to the promoters and managing director of Universal Commodity Exchange “a full year after the Exchange had stopped operations”. FMC would like to clarify that the “fit and proper” notice issued to the promoters of UCX is not belated; it was issued after due appreciation of the facts and evidence that constituted the ground for issuing the notice.

FMC received market inputs about drastic reduction and dilution of Settlement Guarantee Fund in UCX in the first week of July 2014 which was followed up by spot inspection by FMC officers and intensive engagement with the exchange, following which UCX suspended its trading on July 16, 2014. Thereafter FMC ordered forensic audit into the affairs of the exchange. KPMG, who were appointed to carry out the audit, submitted their report in January 2015. The board of directors of UCX was directed to examine the findings of forensic auditors, and take requisite legal opinion to frame and initiate appropriate actions — both civil and criminal — as considered necessary on the basis of the findings. The board of UCX obtained legal opinion and issued show cause notice to the promoter in April 2015.

FMC met the board of directors in May 2015 to take stock of the developments and subsequently on the basis of its independent assessment of the facts and findings in the forensic audit report, initiated the “fit and proper” proceedings against the promoters and the managing director but before that, FMC ensured that the exchange met the entire outstanding liabilities towards its members. It may be appreciated that inordinate delay in issuing “fit and proper” notices can be as injurious to public interest as a notice issued with undue haste and alacrity without appreciation of the facts and evidence, which can render such notices untenable in the eyes of law, more so where the monetary interests of the market participants are involved.

SK Mohanty

Director, FMC

Be more competitive

We need to first fix our distribution companies which are virtually bankrupt to enable them to buy power from these generators for which we need to pass the new Electricity Act by taking on board all the States (‘Green power’, July 31). As a country we should empower renewable energy to compete with other sources to power our economy. We need to think in terms of rooftop solar power for homes and commercial buildings, and community solar farms and wind farms for communities at large, and think of having local grids with shorter transmission lines which will save a lot of energy produced by reducing transmission loss. We need to move away from the legacy systems for power generation and distribution and think about community level sustainability when it comes to empowering our masses with energy, which is renewable.

CR Arun

Email

Leave RBI alone

Moody’s apprehensions over the Centre’s reported move to clip the wings of the RBI are not unfounded. The RBI definitely requires functional autonomy and minimum interference from the powers-that-be to do justice to its intended role. Professionalism and impartiality should be its guiding forces. What is really required is that The RBI should be encouraged to rise to the levels of Federal Reserve and Bank of England in its functioning and credibility. Meanwhile, the government should strengthen the public sector banks to grapple with the surging NPAs.

CG Kuriakose

Kothamangalam, Kerala

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