NEW DELHI: Tata Power Delhi’s 108-MW power plant in Rithala has been lying defunct for over three years, since the project was first commissioned, due to lack of gas. However, the plant is finally going to start generation this summer thanks to a new proposal by the Union power ministry for subsidized allocation to stranded gas-based power plants.
Established at a cost of Rs 250 crore, the Rithala project was Delhi’s first power plant commissioned by a private discom and meant to help bridge the demand-supply gap in peak summers and winters. The foundation stone for the plant was laid by chief minister Sheila Dikshit in March 2008, and it was inaugurated in early 2011.
However, a gas crisis led to only partial generation and from March 1, 2013, the plant stopped production completely. Officials said the Rithala power plant was the only project in Delhi that qualified for the ministry’s scheme, which was for projects operating at less than 30% plant load factor.
The scheme is for the current and next fiscal with a total disbursement of up to Rs 4,000 crore. “Plants which are stranded (around 14,000 MW) and those that are having domestic gas (around 9,000 MW) but not able to meet PLF of 30% during January-April 2015 are eligible. The support will be disbursed to discoms and hence it is necessary to have a power purchase agreement with discoms.
Gas will be available on take or pay basis and units will have to give a generation commitment,’ said sources. The cost of power which will be produced will cost approximately Rs 5.50/unit and discoms will not be eligible for any return on equity under the scheme. Revenue earned by stranded plants can only go towards O&M, interest repayment and fuel cost,’ said sources.
Senior Tata Power Delhi officials said they would apply for the scheme and hoped to get gas allocation within the next few months. “Hopefully, we should be able to start generation by the time peak summers hit Delhi. We will be able to produce an average of 30 MW with the gas allocation,” CEO Praveer Sinha said. Since generation from the plant will only be for Delhi, there will no transmission costs included, added officials.
The government is also contemplating diverting gas from the Pragati and Gas Turbine power stations to the more efficient Bawana power station. The proposal was also discussed in a meeting with the Delhi Power Procurement Group, which said that the former two were ageing and diverting gas to Bawana would lead to better productivity.
