RFO shortage may force GEB plant to use gas

VADODARA: The Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) may switch over to the use of gas at some of the units at its 534 mw Dhuvaran thermal power station due to the nonavailability of the required quantity of residual fuel oil (RFO) at a reasonable price from Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Gujarat Refinery.
Besides RFO, gas can also be used at this duel fuel operated power station.It can use RFO to produce power at two units having a capacity of 140 mw each, and gas at four units having a generation capacity of 63.5 mw each.
Speaking to TNN, GEB chairman Manjula Subramanium said that GEB will not incur any additional expenditure for switching over to the use of gas at the power station. She said that GEB is currently thinking on two options — first to get an adequate supply of RFO and the other to use gas for generation of power.
In fact, both these fuels can be used in maximising the generation of power at the plant.
“GEB won’t have a problem in procuring gas for the plant as an LNG project is being set up at Dahej in neighbouring Bharuch. Some private companies have also shown their willingness to supply gas,� Subramanium said. The high cost of RFO is preventing GEB from operating the thermal power station at its fullyinstalled capacity.
This issue was included in the charter of demands raised by the joint action committee of GEB employees’ unions and associations which had threatened to go on strike from October 25.
The strike call was called off following assurances from caretaker state energy minister Kaushik Patel to take up the matter with the Centre.
Under a revised agreement, IOC has agreed to give a 22 per cent discount on the price of RFO to GEB for the power station. Even after this 22 per cent discount, the hike in the price of RFO works out to about 55 per cent. IOC had wanted to fix it at more than Rs 11,000 per metric tonne, effecting a 150 per cent hike in its price which was prevailing in the market then.
However, this is an ad hoc arrangement. So, GEB is thinking about using gas at the station, Subramanium said. Till the amicable settlement on the RFO price issue, the Gujarat Refinery had drastically cut the supply of RFO to the station for several months.
This had led to the closure of several units till December.Even today, the power generated at this station is about half of its totalled installed capacity of 534 mw.