RIL stops gas to power plants

Power Minister calls for meeting of EGoM on gasA New Delhi(PTI): Reliance Industries has stopped gas supplies to power plants after its KG-D6 output hit an all-time low, prompting Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to press for convening an urgent meeting of a ministerial panel to rework allocations. KG-D6 output last month fell to 16.46 million standard cubic meters per day, not even sufficient to meet requirement of urea-manufacturing fertiliser plants and LPG plants, and left no gas for power plants that are placed third on the supply priority list. RIL, which was supplying a little less than 1 mmscmd of gas to power plants in February, completely stopped giving fuel to them in March, official sources said. With at least 13 plants having aggregate electricity generation capacity of 5200 megawatt shutting because of lack of gas from KG-D6, Scindia has asked A K Antony, Chairman of the Empowered Group of Ministers ( EGoM) on 'Gas Pricing and Commercial Utilisation of Gas' to immediately convene a meeting of the panel to address the extraordinary situation. Sources said the Power Ministry wants that the sector be given the same status as fertiliser and whatever supplies of gas is available from KG-D6 should be pro-rata distributed among the two. Currently, fertiliser sector is accorded top priority, followed by LPG producing plants and power stations. This means that gas will be made available in full to the top priority sector first. LPG plants requirement will then be met and power sector thereafter.