The Phase III of R-LNG e-auction for stranded gas-based power plants was deferred on Tuesday after all nine participants made a zero bid.
Participants bidding for the lowest subsidy support from the Power System Development Fund were to get the highest gas allocation.
However, with the price of gas being offered in the auctions being almost similar to the landed price of LNG, all the power plants bid for zero subsidy requirement.
Power Secretary PK Pujari said that the bids will be called again after a mechanism is developed on what to do when bids hit zero.
“Yesterday, the auctions were deferred. The current mechanism does not allow for negative bids. We will rework the mechanism to allow for negative bids,” Pujari told BusinessLine on Wednesday.