GAIL plans power units in four states

Taking advantage of its vast pipeline network, GAIL (India) is planning to put up a gas-based power plant each in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The country’s biggest gas marketing company already has land and other infrastructure available for these units.

Chairman and Managing Director B C Tripathi said the company had undertaken a feasibility study for the proposed units and a plan would be finalised in three to four months. “Wherever we have land, township and water availability, along with our gas pipeline, we will go for distributed power plants,” he told Business Standard.He said distributed gas-based power plants with smaller capacity would be more economical for the company. “The move will help us leverage our existing infrastructure in terms of land, manpower, etc.” The company’s investment in these plants would be in the range of Rs 3.5-4 crore for each megawatt.

The four plants, generating about 250 Mw each, would require 2.5 million standard cubic metres of gas a day. “Gas for these plants would either come from a domestic source or it could be imported as LNG (liquefied natural gas),” he added.

With GAIL already a promoter in the erstwhile Dabhol (Maharashtra) project, which is producing 1,800-1,900 Mw power, Tripathi said it had decided to enter the sector in a big way. GAIL is also a 12 per cent equity partner in Gujarat State Energy Generation Ltd. GAIL’s total investment in these two ventures is about Rs 1,100 crore.

Alongside gas-based plants, the company is also working on a commercial foray into wind and solar power. “We will participate in the bidding rounds of the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission,” said the CMD. The company planned to start with a plant of 10 Mw capacity but wanted to later scale it up to 50 Mw.

The solar power generation would be through a combination of both geo-thermal energy and photo voltaic technology. The project is meant for Rajasthan.On the wind energy side, it is studying the possibility of setting up a 100 Mw project for commercial purposes in Gujarat. The company already has a 5 Mw captive wind power project in the state.