NTPC seeks gas assurance from PowerMin for its power stations

State-run NTPC has sought assurance from the Power Ministry to pursue its case to the Oil Ministry for allocation of 30 million cubic metres of gas to fuel the expansion of its gas-based power stations.

"The company has chalked out ambitious expansion plans to enhance its' existing gas based capacity of about 4,000 Mw by 2015 and needs assured supply of the liquid fuel.

"We have to ascertain the fuel availability only then can we start the process of expansion...Then we can order equipment etc," said NTPC Chief Managing Director R S Sharma.

NTPC plans a gas-based capacity addition of 6,000 Mw of its existing power stations at Kawas and Gandhar (Gujarat), Auraiya and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and Kayamkulam in Kerala.

For the capacity addition of this magnitude, the company requires 30 million standard cubic metres of gas per day (mmscmd). One mmscmd is needed for firing a 200 Mw gas-based power project.

At present NTPC has seven gas-based stations in different parts of the country -- 413 Mw Anta (Rajasthan), 652 Mw Auraiya (Uttar Pradesh), 645 Mw Kawas (Gujarat), 817 Mw Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), 648 Mw Jhanor-Gandhar (Gujarat), 430 Mw Faridabad (Haryana) and 350 Mw Rajiv Gandhi combined cycle power project at Kayamkulam in Kerala.

NTPC also operates the 1,940 Mw Ratnagiri Gas and Private Power Ltd along with GAIL India and Maharastra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

The company's current fuel requirement is 17 mmscmd which is likely to rise with increase in the capacity to over 10,000 Mw in the next five years.

NTPC has time and again sought gas for the expansion of its projects other than Kawas and Gandher for which it is fighting a legal battle with Reliance Industries, from the Power Minitry.

The company awaits the ministry's assurance for fuel supply and can then go ahead with its augmentation goals.

Meanwhile, NTPC today commissioned the 490 Mw unit of the Stage-II of its coal-based power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, thereby taking its current installed capacity to 32,194 Mw from all sources of energy.