Govt may restart NTPC plants on imported gas amid coal shortage: Report

The government may start using imported gas to restart NTPC plants with a total capacity of more than 5 GW to supply power during the monsoon, as coal supplies are likely to fall short because of slow mining, a media report said Tuesday.

According to The Economic Times report, the imported gas-produced electricity could cost Rs 22-23 per unit, pegged at about four-five times current tariffs.

The ET reported that despite the highest-ever tariff, it is the last resort since all available power plants are running at full throttle to meet the high electricity demand amid heatwave conditions.

Demand in the country last week touched a record high of 203 GW owing to an intense heat wave and economic activities picking up speed. 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 per cent imported coal for the monsoon when coal supplies get affected by rain.

The June-September southwest monsoon has been advancing and will likely cover India by the end of July. The country's power demand during and after monsoons is expected to decrease only marginally as agricultural demand picks up.

The ET report said that the Union power ministry is working on various options under which gas-based power projects can be operationalised, and the power generated could be sold to the power distribution companies.

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 merit order dispatch. The gas stations will require special dispensation to be on the merit order list.