Dabhol power project slips on restart attempt.

The 1,967-MW Dabhol power project, which has missed the November 1 restart deadline, is likely to resume production from November 9. Reason: Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd. (RGPPL), the owner of the project, has failed to get power purchase demand from the railway ministry, which had decided to purchase 500 MW from Dabhol.

The RGPPL board, which had met on September 30, had said the operation would be restored on November 1. The board had also approved the de-merger of the company into two - one for power generation and the other for for running LNG terminal.

An RGPPL officer, who did not want to be named, told Business Standard: 'The power generation has not begun from November 1. Even though the Indian Railways have entered into power purchase agreement with RGPPL, the former has not yet conveyed schedule and the actual demand for power purchase. This is necessary for a company to accordingly restart generation and supply power.' He said that a team of Indian Railways is expected to visit the plant soon and discuss power purchase schedule.

The official said RGPPL now hopes to restart the generation from November 9 if it gets power purchase schedule from the Indian Railways.“The company has already secured 1.98 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of gas under the power system development fund (PSDF) set up by the government to help power companies buy expensive imported fuel,” he noted.

BS