News Detail

• Private gas-based power companies have threatened to shut down their units in the state unless adequate gas supplies are maintained to them. With Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) further reducing gas supplies from KG basin, power companies have complained that their machines are getting damaged from being forced to run below optimum capacity."Gas power turbines are manufactured to run at 100% capacity. But, since we are running at only 50% capacity, some of the tubes in the machines are getting burnt. We have brought the issue to the notice of AP Transco and distribution companies but there has been no response," a senior official with a power company said on the condition of anonymity. Lanco Power, Spectrum, GVK power, GMR power and Konaseema units are running at 50-55% of capacity, producing at only half their daily capacity.
• The total gas-based power capacity in the state is 3,037 MW but, with supplies from the RIL KG basin dipping below 50%, these units are producing only about 1,500-1,550 MW daily.Rubbing salt in their wounds of these power generators is the proposal that they shift to re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) which has more calorific value than the gas supplied by RIL. "Frequent changes in the input material, too, is harmful for the machines as they are only meant to run on natural gas. But the huge shortage of gas is forcing us to shift to other high- calorific value gases and that certainly harms the generators," said sources.
• RIL has successively reduced gas supply from the KG basin D6 well from 55 msmd to 45 msmd this month. The RIL was to produce at least 65 msmd to meet the demands of power and fertilizer units across the east coast but that has not happened.Bowing to the pressure from all quarters, RIL has finally agreed to supply RLNG to some of the gas-based units in the state. Till January, RIL maintained it would not take up RLNG supply as it was reducing pipeline pressure. It was only after Transco CMD Ajay Jain took up the matter with RIL authorities that the company agreed to supply RLNG through its pipeline. "The pressure problem has been sorted out with RIL. The company has agreed to supply RLNG to some private units in the state," Jain said.

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