Auditor says government measures to provide feedstock for electricity generation seem inadequate
With billions of dollars worth of investments lying stranded in as many as 55 gas-based power plants that are lying idle for lack of gas, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has decided to dig deep into the matter and find out how improper planning by the petroleum ministry in supplying adequate natural gas to the power sector rendered investments in nearly 18,632 mw of power generation capacity unviable.
"The CAG of India has selected the topic, supply and pricing of natural gas, for performance audit relating to ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) and the report is to be placed in the budget session of Parliament in 2014," said a recent CAG letter. The CAG noted that steps initiated by the government in providing natural gas to meet the requirement of the power sector remained inadequate, which left the sector with no option but to reduce production or to use costlier alternate fuels.
Even as the power sector is critical to economic development of the country, power generation in the past 10 years fell short of demand - mainly due to limited fuel availability.
"Constraints of natural gas and infrastructure to handle imported LNG have rendered the generation capacity created with substantial investment stranded/idle or inadequately utilised," it added.
According to CAG, it was the non-availability of gas that had forced the power ministry to issue an advisory in March 2013 asking all power plants developers not to plan any gas-based power plants till 2015-16.
Commenting on government's decision to run the existing gasbased capacities on imported LNG following a shortage of domestic natural gas, CAG said delays in creation of adequate infrastructure to handle imported LNG and lack of adequate pipeline infrastructure/gas grids, among other things, led to a situation where gas-based power plants were denied the benefits of natural gas and had to suffer losses.
"The availability of gas (as also R- LNG) to these plants was short of demand during all the 10 years from 2002-03 to 2012-13 resulting in under-utilisation of installed capacity," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said.
With billions of dollars worth of investments lying stranded in as many as 55 gas-based power plants that are lying idle for lack of gas, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has decided to dig deep into the matter and find out how improper planning by the petroleum ministry in supplying adequate natural gas to the power sector rendered investments in nearly 18,632 mw of power generation capacity unviable.
"The CAG of India has selected the topic, supply and pricing of natural gas, for performance audit relating to ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) and the report is to be placed in the budget session of Parliament in 2014," said a recent CAG letter. The CAG noted that steps initiated by the government in providing natural gas to meet the requirement of the power sector remained inadequate, which left the sector with no option but to reduce production or to use costlier alternate fuels.
Even as the power sector is critical to economic development of the country, power generation in the past 10 years fell short of demand - mainly due to limited fuel availability.
"Constraints of natural gas and infrastructure to handle imported LNG have rendered the generation capacity created with substantial investment stranded/idle or inadequately utilised," it added.
According to CAG, it was the non-availability of gas that had forced the power ministry to issue an advisory in March 2013 asking all power plants developers not to plan any gas-based power plants till 2015-16.
Commenting on government's decision to run the existing gasbased capacities on imported LNG following a shortage of domestic natural gas, CAG said delays in creation of adequate infrastructure to handle imported LNG and lack of adequate pipeline infrastructure/gas grids, among other things, led to a situation where gas-based power plants were denied the benefits of natural gas and had to suffer losses.
"The availability of gas (as also R- LNG) to these plants was short of demand during all the 10 years from 2002-03 to 2012-13 resulting in under-utilisation of installed capacity," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said.
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