NTPC hunts for gas to tide over power crisis

NTPC is currently in talks with Petronet LNG ltd, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Gas Authority of India Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation for supplying an additional requirement of four million cubic meters per day (mmcmd) of liquefied natural gas to tide over the present gas shortage for its power plants.

NTPC gets 10.5 mmcmd of gas at present. "The ideal price of gas for the new power generation plants is $3-4 per million British thermal units. For the existing plants, NTPC may go a bit higher based on rationale and logic," government sources told Business Standard. At present the market price of LNG is between $8 and $10 per mmbtu.

The power generation major had earlier decided not to buy natural gas from Shell as it found the price offered by the company was economically unviable.

NTPC has seven power generation plants fuelled by gas or liquid fuel with a commissioned capacity of 3,955 Mw. The commissioned gas plants through joint venture have a capacity of 314 Mw.

NTPC's gas-based plant in Anta, Rajasthan, has commissioned capacity of 413 Mw, Auraiya (UP) 652 Mw, Kawas (Gujarat) 645 Mw, Dadri (UP) 817 Mw, Jhanor-Gandhar (Gujarat) 648 Mw, Kayamkulam (Kerela) 350 Mw, Faridabad (Haryana) 430 Mw.

The energy coordination committee, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had decided that fresh imports of LNG may be made on the basis of marginal cost (prevailing international prices) at a level viable for the power sector without being constrained by the prevailing domestic prices.