Torrent Power has contracted three LNG cargoes to operate its gas-based power plants during the peak summer season, with the company indicating that any additional fuel requirement during FY27 will be met through spot purchases and short-term contracts depending on market conditions and electricity demand.
“We have contracted three cargoes to meet the summer demand. Out of the three cargoes, two we have received and the next cargo is expected to come in the month of June,” Saurabh Mashruwala, executive director and chief financial officer at Ahmedabad-based Torrent Power, said during the company’s earnings call earlier this week. The imported LNG will primarily be used to run Torrent’s gas-based plants for meeting electricity demand across its licensed distribution business. The company said any surplus generation capacity after meeting internal distribution requirements could be diverted towards merchant power sales.
“The three cargoes are available for our distribution requirement. We are optimising our distribution requirement and meeting the availability criteria, and any additional gas available after the optimisation will be used for merchant sale,” Mashruwala said. Torrent Power operates 2,730 MW of gas-based generation capacity, including the 1,200 MW DGEN mega power plant at Dahej, the 1,147.5 MW SUGEN plant at Surat and the 382.5 MW UNOSUGEN project at Surat. Gas-based assets account for nearly 54% of the company’s total installed generation capacity of 5,094 MW. The company distributes electricity across multiple licensed distribution areas in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Union Territories, including Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat and Dahej in Gujarat, parts of Mumbai in Maharashtra, and power distribution franchises in Agra, Bhiwandi and Shil-Mumbra-Kalwa.
Torrent Power said it has not faced any disruption in LNG availability despite geopolitical tensions and concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route. “As far as supply is concerned, there is ample amount of gas available in the market. Though prices have gone up, availability is not a concern,” Mashruwala said. He added that the three cargoes currently being sourced by the company are not routed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Contracted cargoes
Torrent also indicated that beyond the currently contracted cargoes, it retains flexibility to source additional LNG through spot purchases and short-duration contracts if demand remains elevated during the rest of FY27. “Any further requirement we can meet from spot purchase or short-term contract for the balance period of the year,” Mashruwala said.
The company separately noted that LNG prices remain elevated, making merchant power sales less viable at current levels.“At current prices ranging between $16-20, it will be very difficult to sell power on merchant prices,” he said, adding that softer LNG prices combined with sustained power demand could improve merchant market viability going forward.
Torrent further said domestic gas availability for the power sector remains constrained after Indian Oil Corporation invoked force majeure, while government-allocated domestic gas from ONGC and Reliance has largely been diverted towards city gas distribution and fertiliser sectors. “IOCL invoked a force majeure and so nobody is getting gas from them. The gas supplied by ONGC and Reliance was domestic gas and government pulled back all the gas to be supplied to CGD and fertilisers, and so that gas is not available for the power sector,” Mashruwala said.
Published on May 14, 2026