Reliance Energy Pitches For Gas

Out of the India''s total electricity requirement of about 80,000 Mega watts close to 35,000 mega watts has to come from gas alone.And there is no consensus on the price for gas and in fact Anil Ambani controlled Reliance Energy has now raised a question on whether there is a market for gas at all.

In high-energy fight between Ambani brothers, a tussle that could affect India''s energy future, it is all about gas from RIL''s KG basin on who will get it and at what price. And what it could do to the power and energy companies.For the first time management of the Reliance Energy is on a record arguing that it needs gas to power its electricity business. Power addition in this plan equal to power added in previous four plans, said JP Chalasani, Director, Reliance Energy.

But exactly how much power will be generated using gas? India needs to add 80,000 megawatts of electricity in five years. Coal, water and nuclear will contribute 45,000 megawatts. So India will need to produce 35,000 megawatts using gas. But nobody seems to agree on what price to pay for gas or even whether there is a market.

The fertiliser and power markets are regulated where is the market for gas? said JP Chalasani when asked about objections to RIL''s gas price first from Andhra government and fertiliser companies.The war of words between gas suppliers like Reliance Industries, ONGC and gas buyers like power and fertiliser companies is going to continue till the Prime Minister takes a call and gets a regulator for India''s gas market.