GUWAHATI, Oct 29 - The Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd (APGCL) has cried foul against the Oil India Ltd (OIL), alleging that the latter has not been supplying adequate natural gas to its Namrup Thermal Power Station (NTPS). The APGCL has stated that since July, 2016, the OIL has not been supplying adequate gas to the power station and the latter has, therefore, not been able to meet the power demand. On October 27, the operation in the power station came to a halt. This resulted in a shortage of 70 MW of power in the State�s power supply system, said the APGCL in a statement.
APGCL sources told this newspaper that it has a contract with the OIL to supply 6.6 lakh standard cubic metre (SCM) of gas per day to the NTPS. The power station has been receiving gas from the OIL since 1965 when it was commissioned. Short supply of gas from the OIL has been affecting the power station for the past several years. But this year, the crisis has become more frequent and acute, said the sources.
The OIL, along with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGCL), is supplying natural gas to the APGCL�s Lakwa Thermal Power Station (LTPS), too. While the ONGCL is to supply 4 lakh SCM of gas to the LTPS, the OIL is to supply 5 lakh SCM of gas to the power plant everyday. Of this .9 million SCM of gas, the LTPS receives around .78 million SCM of gas daily on an average, the sources said.
The gas supplied by the OIL to the APDCL power thermal plants is transported by the Assam Gas Company Ltd, while the ONGCL gas is transported by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL). The APGCL has signed an agreement with the GAIL to supply the ONGCL gas, but in the case of the gas supplied by the OIL, the power utility has signed agreements with the OIL itself, the sources said.
