Lawmaker bats for Vijjeswaram power plant

Lok Sabha MP Vundavali Aruna Kumar has requested allocation of 0.20 mmscmd of gas on a priority basis for APGPCL's 270 MW power plant situated in Vijjeswaram.

He addressed his request before the Empowered Group of Ministers, after GAIL, which was initially supposed to supply 12.2 lakh scmd of gas, fell back on its commitments owing to supply shortages from the KG D6 basin. The supply, according to the Member of Parliament, now ranges between 7.50 to 7.80 lakh scmd.

Short supply has resulted in the first unit with 100 MW being shut down since September 1, 2010.

The MP observes that if the said amount of gas allocated on a priority basis, the 100 MW unit can at least partially begin operations. He believes this will assuage both the worried shareholders as well as APTRANSCO even though the plant as a whole will operate at a mere 69% PLF.

Kumar argued that since newer plants have been allocated gas not only for existing but also expansion units, overlooking APGPCL's 20-year-old plant's needs amounts to discrimination against older plants, something which is contrary to the existing policy.