If all goes well, a 36 Megawatt(MW) power plant using natural gas will be commissioned at Brahmapuram by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) by September 2015.
The feasibility study of the project has been completed and the tender process is likely to commence by May or June this year. We are hopeful of commissioning the plant by September next year, said a KSEB official.
The plant will be set up by converting the two dysfunctional diesel power machines at the Brahmapuram plant into liquefied natural gas (LNG) mode. The KSEB had given administrative sanction for the project earlier. The board has also applied for the domestic natural gas supply for the power plant.
The Brahmapuram plant has a total of five machines with a capacity to generate 20 MW power each. However, only three machines at the plant are in working condition now.
“We are giving priority to convert the existing diesel machines into natural gas mode. As the pipeline from the LNG Terminal at Puthuvype passes near Brahmapuram we could use the fuel till we get the domestic supply of natural gas.
We hope to float the tender for the project once the elections are over. After completing the tender procedures, it will take nearly a year to commission the project,” KSEB sources said.
The board has also plans to construct a 400-MW liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based combined cycle power project on the premises of the existing power plant at Brahmapuram. Hyderabad-based agency Bhagavathy Analabs is preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment study on the project.
The cost of power production at the existing diesel plant at Brahmapuram is `13 per unit. Considering the cost the three machines are operated only when it is absolutely necessary. The power produced from here is connected to the grid and supplied to the consumers in the state.
The fuel used at the plant is low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS), a residual fuel processed from indigenous crude.
Experts pointed out that if the KSEB depends on imported LNG supplied from Puthuvype terminal the cost of production will be higher than the existing rate.
The domestic supply of natural gas is the only panacea for the problem, they said.
