Falling spot prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) make this an opportune time for revival of stressed gas-based power assets in the country. A proactive push from the government at this stage thus becomes the need of the hour.

As per the report of Parliamentary Committee on Energy, 14 GW of gas based capacity is stranded due to lack of domestic gas, of which 11 GW is operational and generating on an intermittent basis, resulting in low average plant load factor (PLF) of 24% as of fiscal 2019.

Of this 11 GW operational capacity, 2 GW is owned by the central sector and 2.7 GW by Gujarat (1.9 GW) and Delhi (0.75 GW), which can be supported by the central government or the respective state governments.

The remaining 6.6 GW capacity, which is in private hands, is in dire need of support, and can be revived using imported spot LNG.