Petronet LNG, the country’s biggest natural gas importer, is in talks with the Kerala government to set up a gas-based power plant at an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore. The plant may be set up adjacent to the company’s upcoming regassification terminal at Kochi.
Petronet is investing Rs 4,500 crore in setting up the 5 million tonne terminal at Kochi. This will be the company’s second terminal after Dahej in Gujarat. “The Kerala government wants us to set up a gas-based power plant in the state under a joint venture. We have asked the government to sign a power purchase agreement before so that the anchor load is taken care of. Ideally, it should have a capacity of 750 Mw,” said A K Balyan, managing director and CEO, Petronet LNG.
Kerala is a power deficit state and the state government is keen to see new capacity additions, he said. The 5 million tonne Kochi terminal of Petronet LNG will be ready by July and will be operational by year end.
Petronet had plans to set up a power plant near its Dahej LNG terminal. However, it has not yet taken off as the company awaits a firm purchase commitment from the Gujarat state government. “There is a surplus situation in Gujarat and the state has plants idling in the absence of gas linkages,” he said.
Petronet was looking to set up a 1,200 MW gas-based power plant in Gujarat. It had also signed a MoU with the state government. The company had also acquired 50 hectares for the power project. The land was allotted by the state government at an estimated cost of Rs 42 crore in 2009. However, Petronet is looking to have firm purchase commitments for 30-35 per cent of the power generated before taking the investment decision to its Board. Gujarat currently has 4,000 Mw of surplus electricity and it aims to generate 7,000 Mw of surplus power by the end of 2012.
The company has recently decided to set up its third regassification terminal at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. The third terminal will have a capacity of 5 million tonnes and will be set up at an investment of Rs 4,500 crore. It is also in the process of expanding the Dahej LNG terminal capacity from 10 to 15 million tonne.
