The imported gas-produced electricity could cost INR22-23 per unit, pegged at about four-five times current tariffs. This would be the highest-ever tariff but the last resort since all available power plants are running at full throttle to meet the high electricity demand amid hot weather conditions, officials said.New Delhi: The government is considering the use of importedgasto restartNTPCplants with a total capacity of more than 5 GW to supplypowerduring themonsoonmonths, worried thatcoalsupplies may fall short as rains slow mining.
The imported gas-produced electricity could cost INR22-23 per unit, pegged at about four-five times current tariffs. This would be the highest-ever tariff but the last resort since all available power plants are running at full throttle to meet the high electricity demand amid hot weather conditions, officials said.
Power ministry officials have held meetings with NTPC and GAIL, people with knowledge of the deliberations told ET. “The government is examining the possibilities to operate gas-based power plants but there are a lot of challenges, high tariffs being the biggest one,” said a government official. “The tariff in all scenarios is four-five times that of current tariffs, which puts a question mark on acceptability by states.”
India’s peak electricity demand broke records for three consecutive days last week, rising to over 211 GW. Coal stocks at power plants have risen to 24 million tonnes from 20 million tonnes a month ago, but these are inadequate even when blended with 10% imported coal for the monsoon, when coal supplies get affected by rain.
The June-September southwest monsoon has been advancing across the country, which is typically fully covered by July. “Going by the trend, the power demand in the country during and post monsoons is expected to decrease only marginally due to humid weather and also as agricultural demand picks up,” said a government official.
The Union power ministry is working on various options under which gas-based power projects can be operationalised and the electricity generated could be sold to the power distribution companies, the official said.
Currently, every state has its own set of power contracts with generators.
The cheapest electricity among existing contracts gets scheduled a day in advance through a system called merit order despatch. The gas stations will require special dispensation to be on top of the merit order list.
The government had in April mandated imported coal-based plants to start running, as the country faced high power demand and prices shot up on exchanges. These plants were allowed to sell on power exchanges if states did not want to buy slightly costlier electricity generated using imported coal. The imported coal-based plants had stopped operations due to high fuel costs. Prices on power exchanges are capped at INR12 per unit till end of this month.
The official saidNTPCstations including Anta, Auraiya, Dadri, Kawas, Gandhar andRatnagiri Powerneed 18 mmscmd of gas to operate during July-September at lower capacity in non-peak hours and full capacity during the morning and evening peak hours.
