Chhattisgarh serves notice to JSPL to recover excess payment

The company had been asked to pay the amount by July 22; JSPL declines to comment

The Chhattisgarh government had served a notice to Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) to recover excess payment of over Rs 153 crore it had made to the company against power purchase.

The state government had reached agreement with private power producers for short-term power purchase in 2011-2012 and 2012-13. JSPL, which had power facilities in Raigarh district, was one of the companies that had supplied power to the state during the period.

“The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Regulatory Commission (CSERC) had raised objection over the payment made to JSPL against power purchase,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said in the state legislative assembly today. The commission had issued order in this connection on June 12, 2014.

JSPL was paid Rs 153.55 crore excess, Singh said. Of this, Rs 35.93 crore was made against power purchased in 2011-12 and Rs 117.62 crore in 2012-13.

Interestingly, the state government had challenged the order of CSERC. Singh informed the House that the state-run Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company had filed an appeal in the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity in January 2015.

The Chief Minister, who holds the energy portfolio, said the tribunal quashed the appeal and maintained the order passed by CSERC. “The state government had issued notice to JSPL to recover Rs 153.55 crore with interest,” Singh said. The company had been asked to pay the amount by July 22, 2016, he added.

JSPL officials declined to comment on the issue.