The Hindu : National : Plan to ensure Dabhol power plant reaches full capacity by November

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Friday, Feb 16, 2007
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National

National

Plan to ensure Dabhol power plant reaches full capacity by November

Special Correspondent

Pipeline from Dahej to Uran and to Dabhol has been delayed due to protests

— File Photo: Paul Noronha

A view of the Dabhol Power plant.

MUMBAI : The Maharashtra Government is going all out to take industries into confidence after announcing drastic power cuts and has also discussed a plan to ensure the Dabhol power project goes on stream to its full capacity by November.

It held two meetings on Wednesday to tackle the worsening power situation in the State.

According to Chandan Roy, CEO of Ratnagiri Gas and Power private limited, the Dabhol plant would attain a capacity of 2125 MW by November this year.

He told reporters after a meeting with officials and energy Minister Dilip Walse Patil that one unit of block two of the plant was closed since January 5 due to turbine failure.

"We can bring it around by March 30 so that block two reaches a capacity of 700 MW," he said. The State faces a gap of 5700 MW.

The other two blocks, 3 and 1, will be on stream by July and November respectively. He said that the gas pipeline issues were sorted out and the Minister had assured necessary steps would be taken to ensure that the pipeline to the project would be ready by May 31.

Petronet LNG Limited will provide the gas — about 1.2 million tonnes per annum, and the price was being negotiated and something should be finalised within ten days. Right now the Dabhol project, which was revived last April, is producing 325 MW and this will continue till March, Mr Roy said.

The plant needs a total of 2.1 million tonnes per annum of gas to run and the rest of the fuel will have to come from alternative sources.

The gas will be sourced through spot purchases and the rest through contract purchases.

The Dabhol power plant is now running on naphtha.

The gas pipeline from Dahej to Uran and to Dabhol has been delayed due to protests by farmers through whose fields the pipelines are passing. The state government is expected to sort out this issue soon.

Meanwhile after a meeting with representatives of industries, the Maharashtra government has formed a committee, which includes senior officials from the energy and industries department, apart from power sector representatives to finalise modalities for the purchase of captive power within three days.

Many places have captive units and by reviving them about 400 to 500 MW can be generated, energy minister, Mr Dilip Walse Patil said. Representatives of the industry who attended the meeting opposed the two- day power shut down in a week and said that they were not taken into confidence before the government decided on this course of action.

The worst affected were the small and medium enterprises.

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