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Power promise runs out
of gas
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| OUR CORRESPONDENT TELEGRAPH INDIA | ||
Nov. 23: Chief minister Tarun Gogoi may have
promised an end to powercuts in the state by 2009, but
the scenario is far from bright in the three Lower
Assam districts.
A dip in the supply of natural gas from ONGC wells may
soon force two DLF plants, which supply power to the
Power Grid Corporation, to close shop.
The 9-mw plant at Adamtilla, which was set up in July
1997 at a cost of Rs 47 crore, now produces only 2.2mw
of power.
The other one, at Banskandi, which cost Rs 74 crore to
set up, produces 15.5mw of thermal power using 1 lakh
standard cubic metre of natural gas a day.
This one, too, in dire straits after the supply of gas
from ONGC’s Banskandi well slumped to an all-time low
of 76,000 cubic metres a day from its original 1 lakh
cubic metre of gas a day.
The dip in gas supply has hit the Northeastern grid,
which now receives only 9mw of power from the
Banskandi plant, against the promised 15.5mw.
The peak load of the three south Assam districts on
any given day is 70mw. This autumn, the availability
of power has slumped to 30mw, which when translated in
layman’s terms, means powercuts at regular intervals.
Unable to cope with this steady dip in resources, the
DLF is now considering shutting the Adamtilla unit
within the next two months.
Senior officials today confirmed that their
Delhi headquarters were holding meetings in
this regard and it is time before the decision is
taken.
The plant, which used to receive its gas supply from
ONGC through the Assam Gas Company, has been forced to
delink itself from at least two wells. Although DLF
officials have been stridently accusing ONGC of not
doing enough to restore adequate gas supply, the oil
major insists that there is not much it can do since
accumulation of foam and sand has been hindering the
supply of gas in two wells in Lower
Assam.
Water has been gushing out from another well ever
since it was damaged during floods in 2005.
DLF officials, however, maintain that ONGC could done
better — it should have at least tried to set the
flooded wells right by deploying a work-over rig,
which it has to haul from its eastern region
headquarters at Nazira in Upper Assam.
This rig is programmed to sweep away the accumulated
water and dirt in gas wells.
The ONGC had set January this year as the deadline to
transport this mammoth rig to Barak Valley, but
nothing has been done so far in this regard.
ONGC sources now say that according to the revised
work schedule, the rig’s dispatch to Karimganj would
be delayed till January 2009.
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