The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has decided to push ahead with a plan to convert the Kozhikode Diesel Power Project (KDPP) at Nallalam and the Brahmapuram Diesel Power Plant (BDPP), Kochi, into LNG (Liquefied natural gas)-fuelled power stations.
Global tenders will be invited for the LNG conversion and operation of both plants and supply of electricity to the KSEB under tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) norms, the KSEB director board has decided.
As per the decision taken earlier this month, the successful bidder will be leased the existing plant infrastructure. Sources said the KSEB had decided to inject fresh life into the gasification project citing the need to step up power generation within the State.
Commissioned in the 1990s, the projects had lost their charm due to the high operational costs. The KSEB has been using low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS), a residual fuel processed from crude, for running them. Of late, the KDPP has been maintained as a stand-by for meeting emergency power requirements in north Kerala. “At present a bare minimum stock of fuel is only available at KDPP as the production of LSHS has been completely stopped by the oil refineries in Kerala,” the KSEB noted in an August 10 order.
The proposal to convert the plants into LNG-based facilities to had begun doing the rounds after the construction of Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) pipeline project. However, the high cost of LNG conversion and the availability of cheaper power from outside the State had prompted the KSEB to tread cautiously.
The 128 MW KDPP, situated on 26.8 acres at Nallalam, Kozhikode, last saw commercial operation between December 2020 and February this year. Launching operations in September 1999, the plant has so far generated 4629 million units (MU).
Of the five generating units at the 106.6 MW BDPP which were commissioned in 1997 and 1998, two were decommissioned and scrapped in 2014 following shortage of spares.
