India seeks more gas amid emergency measures to end blackouts

India is seeking additional volumes of natural gas and has asked utilities to expedite completion of power plant maintenance, as part of emergency steps to stop electricity outages, according to a government note.

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The move follows the extension of an emergency law that forces power plants running on imported coal to maximize output, as record power demand in August due to unusually dry weather, and a sharp decline in hydro and wind energy output resulted in the country's widest electricity shortage in 16 months.

"States may ensure that all gas-based power plants with whom they have power purchase agreements must be brought into use, during high demand days and non-solar hours," the power ministry note dated 5 September said.

"All efforts to be made to bring back the units under forced outage as quickly as possible," it said, adding that states should try to expedite commissioning of new renewable and thermal power plants.