Five more power plants have joined the scramble for natural gas from Reliance Industries' (RIL) KG-D6 fields, seeking a minimum allocation of 4.73 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd).
Two power plants each in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and one in Gujarat have sought gas from of RIL fields before they are commissioned this fiscal, a government official said.
RIL is currently producing 36 mmscmd gas from KG-D6, half of which goes to power plants. The firm has the capacity to produce 60 mmscmd but is constrained to produce less as the government is yet to identify customers for buying gas beyond the initial 40 mmscmd, allocated primarily to fertiliser and power producers in accordance with the Gas Utilisation Policy.
RIL cannot sell gas to these and other users including its own refineries, which are starved of the fuel, unless allocation is approved by the Government.
The official said the Central Electricity Authority, the technical arm of the Ministry of Power, has recommended 1.37 mmscmd of gas to Lanco's 366 Mw Kondapalli extension project, which will be commissioned in February 2010.
It sought 1.21 mmscmd for the 374 Mw Utran plant in Gujarat, which will go on stream in November, and 0.82 mmscmd for the 220 Mw Tanir Vavi plant before its commissioning in March 2010. For the 108 Mw Tithalia and 250 Mw Bawana power plants in Delhi, the CEA recommended 0.40 mmscmd and 0.93 mmscmd of gas from KG-D6.