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Fuel woes to hit Gujarat power sector hard

Shortage of fuel is impacting existing power plants and is also likely to adversely affect planned capacity additions.

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The power sector in Gujarat is expected to be hit hard by fuel shortage. The fuel woes are not only impacting existing power plants, but are also likely to adversely affect proposed power generation capacity additions.

The state's power generation capacity is 13,354 MW, a large portion of which is based on coal and gas. The state's power generation capacity is expected to increase to around 17,000 MW by the end of the current year, which will also mark the end of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012).

According to officials, the state government plans to add power generation capacity of 12,500 MW in the 12th Five Year Plan, i.e. from 2012 to 2017, to achieve total power generation capacity of around 30,000 MW.

However, the plans could go for a toss if problems surrounding fuel availability are not resolved, conceded state energy minister Saurabh Patel. "There are serious issues about availability of fuel for running the power plants. There is acute shortage of natural gas and coal," state energy minister Saurabh Patel, said. Patel informed that already, around 700 MW of power generation capacity was lying idle in the state due to shortage of natural gas.

"The fuel availability situation is not getting any better. Even upcoming power plants are waiting for gas allocation," he said. The main reason for the worsening gas shortage is the sharp decline in gas production from Reliance's D6 field in Krishna Godavari (KG) basin. From 60 million metric standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd) in 2010, gas production from D6 has fallen to 45 mmscmd, resulting in lower supplies to existing customers, say officials.

Patel said that supplies of coal, the largest source of power generation in the country, were also failing to keep pace with rising demand. "Domestic coal supplies have not risen adequately, which is increasing dependence on imported coal. There has to be a long-term strategy for meeting coal demand," he said.

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