Power availability: Ministry of Power revives 9 stranded gas based plants

In a move to make power available 24X7 across India, the Ministry of Power today announced revival of 9 strandard gas based power generation plants with an installed capacity of 5070 mega watts. 

These power generation plants have been been successfully bid through transparent and competitive reverse e-auction process. 

As per power ministry, these plants would generate 8.81 billion units of electricity, supplied at our below Rs 4.70 per unit to the purchaser Discoms starting from October, 2016 - March, 2017. 

Among the successful bidders were power plants in Southern region.

"The generation from these plants would improve the power availability in the Southern grid, mitigating to a large extent the shortage of availability and constraint of evacuating the power to the Southern region from other regions, " it said in the statement.

Government will support with Rs 187.14 crore from the Power System Development Fund for these plants. 

This reverse e-auction for the Stranded Gas based Plants would be the fourth phase of auctions conducted under Scheme for Utilization of Stranded Gas Based Generation Capacity. 

A total of 29 eligible plants participated in the auction process. From which 14 plants with a cumulative installed capacity of 7575 mega watts participated in the auction process for Phase IV.

Currently, the grid connected gas based power generation capacity in India is 24,150 MW. Out of which, a capacity of 14,305 MW had no supply of domestic gas.