Committee constituted to provide natural gas at reasonable rates to power plants

New Delhi. Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kapoor said on Thursday that the government has formed a committee to suggest necessary measures to provide natural gas to power plants at “somewhat stable rates”. India’s gas-based power generation capacity is 24,900 MW. But due to non-availability of gas at reasonable rates, the production of 14,305 MW is being affected. Petroleum Secretary Kapoor said at the ‘ET Energy Gas Conclave’ that a committee has been constituted to suggest ways to provide natural gas to the power sector at a somewhat constant rate. Kapoor, without giving any details about the members of this committee or its report, said that the power plants want natural gas at a constant rate. This is because the electricity they generate is sold at almost constant rates.

“Even if the price of natural gas goes up, the power generating companies cannot increase the price of electricity. Hence, we are looking for ways to increase the presence of natural gas in the power sector,” Kapoor said. The average domestic gas volume supplied to gas-fired power generating plants is just over 25 million cubic meters per day, which is only 70 per cent of the requirement. The Petroleum Secretary said the role of gas-based power plants in the electricity grid is to strike a balance. In such a situation, providing gas to these plants at a reasonable rate is part of a big step forward in the direction of environment-friendly energy.