Maharashtra to arrange Rs 300-cr loan for RGPPL

The Maharashtra Government will arrange a loan of Rs 300 crore for Ratnagiri Gas & Power (RGPPL) to enable the company to purchase spares and double its power generation to 1,300 mw by December 2008.

Power Finance Corporation (PFC) would finance the loan based on guarantees from the Maharashtra government, according to top RGPPL sources.

RGPPL plans to raise its production capacity from 640 mw to about 1,300 mw by December this year. The additional power would bring down the state’s power shortage, which currently stands at 4,000-4,500 mw.

Three major gas turbines, which were revived in April 2006 after the takeover of the Dabhol plant, are lying defunct due to the unavailability of spare parts from the supplier, General Electric. The turbines could be restarted once spare parts were made available.

A recent high-level meeting convened by the Maharashtra chief secretary Johnny Joseph and attended by the RGPPL management, NTPC, GAIL, Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and banks assessed the progress of work and availability of funds for reviving the plants.

The inadequate availability of gas, frequent breakdown of machinery and a delay in the availability of spare parts have affected the smooth functioning of the RGPPL plant.

A total of 2.9 million metre standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) of gas is required for running two plants of 350 mw each. And Gas Authority of India (Gail), Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum are able to supply less than 1.5 mmscmd.