The federal government has decided to provide power plants with five percent supplemental RLNG this winter and has authorized the use of furnace oil in the event of gas pressure fluctuations.
This is part of the Petroleum Division’s winter-gas load management strategy for 2021-22, which was presented to the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE). The plan’s implementation has already begun as of December 1, 2021.
As per the plan presented to the CCoE, the federal government has undertaken swift measures for maximum progress during the stipulated duration of the season. The government will provide an uninterrupted gas supply to the Fertilizer Sector to boost agricultural productivity. Power Sector IPPs on dedicated arrangement (3000 MW) will get uninterrupted supply as ascribed under the revised timeline for winters, and power plants will get 5 percent extra supply during the winter, as compared to last year’s actual consumption.
After meeting national requirements of the gas for the critical industries, maximum efforts will be made to accommodate the domestic consumers on priority as already decided by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). In extension, during extreme winters, the curtailed gas from CNG, Cement, and associated export and non-export sectors will be diverted to the domestic sector to ensure progress.
The government will provide uninterrupted Gas/RLNG to export-oriented industries, including the top 50 exporters. The supply of gas/RLNG to export-oriented captive power plants shall be monitored till 15 December 2021 and readjusted in view of the supply/availability of the gas.
Moreover, the CNG Sector will remain closed till 15 December, as planned earlier. Regardless, the General Industry (non-export) shall be provided gas on a weekly rotation basis, with one day off, for each sector or zone. The cement industry will be treated at par with the non-export general industry (closure subject to supply review).
Keeping up with the energy demand and supply gaps, the Ministry of Energy has adopted an integrated policy approach to help the country in these trying times. As per the proposal with the CCoE, domestic consumers will receive electricity incentives at the rate of Rs. 12.96kWh till February 2022.
Furthermore, an electricity incentive package for the export industry has been put in place at nine cents per kWh, and the gas tariff for the export industry (captive) has been raised from $6.6 MMBTU to $9 MMBTU, allowing the industry to switch from gas to power grid, and fundamentally enabling more gas to be supplied to the domestic sector during peak winter months.
In addition, policy to resolve issues in the short to medium term includes the creation of a virtual LNG supply chain, the utilization of excess terminal capacity, and the implementation of a new LPG Policy 2021.
