CEA bars new power plants till 2015-16

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has said no new gas-based power plants will be set up in the country till 2015-16, as the natural gas output is expected to fall considerably.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has said no new gas-based power plants will be set up in the country till 2015-16, as the natural gas output is expected to fall considerably.

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The CEA in a letter to states indicated that as per ministry of petroleum and natural gas reports India's natural gas production is likely to fall by 35% to 27.64 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscd) in the next fiscal and may further dip by another 12% to 24.22 mmscd in 2013-14.

The power producers woes may worsen across the country as some of the plants are ready but sitting idle due to non- availability of gas.

A power ministry official, said the embargo may not have any impact on the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17) capacity additions as it was only little above 1,000 MW that was targeted for gas-based power. "As per the information made available by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas regarding NELP gas, the production is likely to go down by 15.03 mmscmd in 2012-13 and additional 3.42 mmscmd in 2013-14 against the availability of 42.67 mmscmd in 2011-12," the CEA letter dated March 19 said.