The Maharashtra government may ask the Centre to take over the Dabhol power plant, the erstwhile Enron project that has had a chequered fate for more than two decades, on account of soaring gas prices and shortage of fuel.

Assembly speaker Dilip Walse Patil mentioned the issue last week in the House, and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan assured that it would receive serious consideration.

The thinking in the state government is that the Centre could then allot the power generated at Dabhol at lower rates though the central pool mechanism.

Maharashtra's distribution company Mahavitaran buys 95% of the total power from the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Company Ltd (RGPPL) at Rs.5-5.30 per unit. The open market rate for power is Rs.3.45 per unit, while the central pool charges R2.20-3 per unit.

Maharashtra could get up to 30-35% power from RGPPL from the central pool.