CLP India's expansion plan on the backburner

CLP Power India's plan to double its power plant capacity is facing a roadblock since it is not able to source sufficient gas.

The Rs 3,500-crore expansion plan of its power plant near Bharuch in Gujarat has been on hold since a year.

The company is weighing options to procure gas so that it can take its power capacity from 655 Mw to 1,050 Mw.

"We require eight million cubic metres for the overall expansion, which is almost half the gas available at Panna-Mukta-Tapti (PMT). At present, for the 655-Mw we are using 3 million cubic metres per day," said Rajiv Mishra, managing director of CLP Power India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based CLP Group.

The company had received the required environment clearance from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) in 2007. Currently, 60 per cent of the power plant's energy requirements are sourced from gas while 40 per cent is from liquefied natural gas (LNG). Gas is procured from players like the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and Cairn Energy while LNG is procured from Petronet and Shell. For additional gas requirements, the company is in talks with Reliance, ONGC and Essar.

Andrew Brandler, CEO of the company, also admitted that getting natural gas was a "great challenge" for the company. Speaking about the possibility of nuclear power, Brandler said, "India is still sensitive to the use of nuclear power for them."

The company has emerged as the lowest bidder for a power project in Haryana with a capacity of 1,250 Mw. The company had quoted Rs 2.996 per unit. CLP India acquired Gujarat Paguthan Energy Corporation Private Ltd (GPEC) in 2003. The GPEC power plant is one of the largest independent power projects (IPPs) to have been set up in India

CLP is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and operates a vertically integrated electricity supply business through CLP Power Hong Kong. CLP is investing in renewable energy projects Asia Pacific, focusing on wind, small hydro and biomass, with an emphasis on India, China and Australia.