The Hindu Business Line : Dabhol power at below Rs 3 per unit likely from June

Fixing costs
The EGoM also approved a fixed cost of Rs 0.93 per unit and a variable cost of Rs 1.81 per unit for power generated from the station.

New Delhi , Jan.18

Power generated from the 2,184 MW Dabhol power project could come down to a tariff level of below Rs 3 per unit when the station switches to using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel in the middle of this year.

This follows an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) here on Wednesday approving a pricing mechanism involving pooling of Petronet LNG Ltd's cheaper Qatar LNG supplies with more expensive spot cargoes being arranged for the station.

The resultant delivered price of LNG to Dabhol, expected to be $5.84 per mmBtu (million British thermal units) in comparison to the prevailing spot prices of around $7 per mmBtu, is expected to drive down generation tariffs to below Rs 3 per unit.

The EGoM, chaired by the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, also approved a fixed cost of Rs 0.93 per unit and a variable cost of Rs 1.81 per unit for power generated from the station, based on the gas price of $5.84 per mmBtu. The Dabhol plant is now owned by an NTPC-GAIL joint venture — Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd. (RGPPL).

Petronet will import 1.5 million tonnes of LNG in 24 spot cargoes for the Dabhol project from June this year. It will bring the LNG at its Dahej terminal in Gujarat and from there take it to the Dabhol plant through a pipeline network. While the Dahej-Uran pipeline is ready, the Uran-Dabhol pipeline will be ready by May this year.

PLL currently supplies 5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar's RasGas at a delivered price of $4.60 per mmBtu. The Qatar supplies, which began in 2004, are priced at $2.79 (ex-ship). Following the EGoM's approval of the pooling mechanism, Petronet's existing customers for five mmBtu of LNG will, however, have to shell out extra for gas supplies.

At present, MahaVitaran — Maharashtra's State-owned electricity distribution company — draws 740 MW from RGPPL at Rs 5.10 a unit since the project is being run on naphtha. This is only an interim arrangement that will expire in March this year.

More Stories on : Power | Outlook | Maharashtra

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page