The sharp fall in Pragati Power Corporation Ltd’s gas bills between August–September and November 2025 offers a revealing case study for POWER TARIFF ANALYSIS INDIA. Invoice data shows the plant’s gas cost dropping by around 44% in a single quarter, driven entirely by a shift from RLNG-based supply to Non-APM diverted gas. There is no evidence of efficiency improvement or operational optimisation.

For those engaged in POWER TARIFF ANALYSIS INDIA, the message is clear: gas-based power tariffs remain structurally dependent on supply categorisation rather than plant performance. The same generating asset can oscillate between high-cost and relatively affordable operation purely due to administrative gas allocation.

Yet the relief is only partial. While the commodity component softened dramatically, pipeline transportation tariffs increased steadily, rising to about Rs 94.5 per MMBtu. These charges, regulated by PNGRB, apply uniformly across gas consumers and do not respond to commodity price cycles. This creates a one-way pressure point within POWER TARIFF ANALYSIS INDIA.

The invoices underline a deeper policy issue. Gas price volatility can occasionally favour generators, but transport tariffs quietly accumulate regardless of market direction. Over time, this erodes the benefit of cheaper gas and complicates tariff stability for power utilities and consumers.

As India leans on gas-based generation for flexibility and cleaner peaking power, POWER TARIFF ANALYSIS INDIA must grapple with this imbalance. Without regulatory attention on transport cost trajectories, gas risks becoming a fuel where headline price relief masks steadily rising embedded charges.