Dabhol plant awaits green light from regulator

Indian Railways to initially purchase 300 MW of power

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The 1,967-Mw Dabhol power project has once again missed the November 9 deadline to restart operations. The generation is now expected to be restored on November 17 or 18 only after Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL) receives necessary approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).

After a report by Business Standard, a team from Indian Railways visited the plant last Wednesday and submitted its formal schedule to initially purchase 300 Mw of power. Another 200 Mw will be drawn in due course of time. The cost of power will be Rs 4.79 per unit.

The RGPPL board, which had met on September 30, had said operations would be restored on November 1. However, RGPPL missed the November 1 deadline for want of power purchase schedule from the railways. The company had rescheduled restart on November 9. The board had also approved the de-merger of the company — one for power generation, the other for running an LNG terminal.

“The company had last week received a formal power purchase schedule from the railways. However, generation will be restored from November 17 or 18 after RGPPL gets CERC go-ahead,” said an official from RGPPL.

RGPPL and the railways signed a power purchase agreement for 500 Mw. “To begin with, the railways has given schedule for the purchase of 300 Mw. Another 200 Mw will be drawn in future,” the official added.