Mumbai: The Maharashtra government’s order to its electricity distribution company to buy electricity from the defunct power plant of a private company has surprised experts who have questioned why the government is not making the effort to run its own gas-based power plant at Uran with a capacity of 672 MW. The Uran unit currently generates about 130 MW to 150 MW, which is only 25 percent of its capacity.
The government recently asked its electricity distribution company, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL), to buy electricity from Pioneer Gas Power Limited (PGPL) for 15 years to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to Mumbai. PGPL has a 388 MW gas-based power plant in Mangaon tehsil of Raigad district. The letter from the energy department says: “The plant is not operational for the last five years; restarting operations will require three to four months.”
