Dabhol plant yet to start despite SC's pricing order

The 2,140-Mw Dabhol power plant, operated by Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd (RGPPL), continues to remain idle even though the Supreme Court has vacated the stay by the Gujarat High Court on pooling of gas prices.

The high court had stayed the implementation of the central government directive which called for pooling the price of old and new term contracts of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a move which pushed up the price for the existing gas users in Gujarat by about 32 per cent.

The Gujarat State Petrochemical Corporation and a few other consumer companies in Gujarat appealed to the high court for a stay on the pooling mechanism.

The Supreme Court last week vacated the stay order and asked the court to hear the case again.

Since the supply of pooled gas had stopped and RGPPL was not willing to buy gas at high spot prices or return to the use of expensive naphtha as fuel, the plant continued to remain idle.

"After the Supreme Court vacated the stay on August 22, RGPPL was looking to immediately start taking gas before the Gujarat High Court hears the case next on September 10," an official source said.

GAIL, through whose pipeline the re-gassified-LNG would be supplied to the Dabhol plant, said it has advised RGPPL to start taking gas soon.

"There are certain procedural issues which will be sorted out soon and gas can then start flowing to the power plant again," said a senior GAIL official

The power plant, which has seen numerous hurdles over the almost 10 years of its existence, generated electricity from gas from one unit of 740 Mw for a few days, before a single judge bench of the Gujarat high court passed the stay order.