No takers for expensive gas-based power generation: Scindia

Producing costlier power from expensive gas is possible but there will be no buyers for that electricity, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said today, terming the issue as "vexatious".
"Producing power beyond USD 8.4 per mmbtu is possible but it will never get sold. So you are producing a product the market wont buy," Scindia said.
Cabinet Committee on Investment last year approved the doubling of natural gas prices to USD 8.4 from April 1, 2014.
The move is expected to result in higher power tariff, urea cost and CNG prices.
Scindia said: "My rationale is very simple power and fertiliser are are both regulated industries in terms of their output and therefore it is extremely important to look at logical pricing with regard to input."

He added that some sort of mechanism has to be put in place for both power and fertiliser sectors to ensure that it is viable. "I am not saying subsidy or special dispensation, but something."

Describing gas-based power generation as one of the many vexatious issues that he has had to deal with, the minister wished he could have done more on the subject.
"Scarcity of gas is an issue and imported RLNG (Regassified Liquid Natural Gas) is an expensive proposition, so you are caught between rock and a hard place. Its almost a very critical problem to solve and I have tried to do what I could do. I wish I could have done some more."

On his tenure, Scindia said: "Last 15 months have been a very busy time, there were many issues we were confronted and we have tried whole-heartedly to achieve tremendous amount of transaction across all fronts.