HC adjourns Tata-Reliance power tussle till June 7

The vacation bench of the High Court here today adjourned to June 7 the case between Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) over the supply of electricity to the latter’s distribution arm.

Tata Power has petitioned against an order of the Maharashtra government to continue to supply 360 Mw of power to R-Infra’s distribution arm in Mumbai, at regulated rates, till a specified period.

The HC asked both the state government and R-Infra to file an answer to Tata’s petition by June 4.

Tata Power claims that it needs 160 Mw of the power it was asked to supply to Reliance for its own additional consumers, in Mumbai, who have shifted from Reliance’s distribution network.

“Our distribution business is suffering an additional financial burden of about Rs 60 lakh per day on account of this illegal refusal to schedule 160 Mw power to us,” Tata said in its petition. Scheduling decisions go through the state government.

R-Infra had earlier made a presentation to the state government (before the decision) saying the rates it charged its consumers would have to be raised if Tata stopped supply. It also accused Tata Power of selectively choosing high-end consumers from those who wished to change from its network.

“We welcome the decision of the High Court for not staying the government decision. As directed by the High Court, we will file our response by June 3,” the company spokesperson said.

“At the request of Reliance Infrastructure and the state government, they have been given an opportunity to file an affidavit. All issues will be addressed in the next hearing,” Tata Power said.