Southern states may get Dabhol power

NAGPUR:With prices of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) coming down sharply, the central government is actively considering restarting the Dabhol power plant.
A source in MSEDCL said that the company had made it clear to the centre that it would not buy Dabhol power unless it was supplied LNG at $4.2 per mBtu. “Cost of power at this rate is around Rs3.50 per unit, which is affordable.We don’t need much extra electricity. Whatever is required we get it from power exchanges where rate is most of the times below Rs4 a unit,” said the source.
According to the official, the cost of imported LNG had come down to $10 per mBtu from $18 per mBtu a year ago. “At $10, the Dabhol power will cost around Rs5.50 per unit. This is quite costly but the four southern states – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala — are facing acute power shortage. They may agree to buy this power,” the official said.
“The jinxed plant can generate up to 1,800MW. Each state may be willing to buy 400MW to 500MW of costly power,” the official added.