Godbole Panel, Dpc Meet On June 30

The Madhav Godbole committee held discussions with the representatives of the Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) today and agreed to meet again on June 30.

The Central government nominee on the committee A V Gokak, while reiterating that the Centre could only play the role of a facilitator to ensure the offtake of power from the DPC if tariff levels were brought down, told the representatives point blank that the Centre would not purchase power from the project directly.

Confirming this Maharashtra's energy minister Padamasinh Patil said: "It is true that the Centre has stated its inability to purchase power directly from the project. The fact is that the tariffs have to come down substantially even if it (Centre) has to facilitate the offtake of power from phase II."

Moreover, the offtake of power at 90 per cent plant load factor (PLF) was discussed with the negotiating committee seeking to gradually increase the power absorption from a lower level to a higher. However, DPC noted that lower tariff levels were possible only if 90 per cent PLF was maintained.

Former Union power secretary E A S Sarma chaired the meeting in the absence of Madhav Godbole who is at present on a foreign tour.

Sarma said after the meeting, "We discussed various alternatives and have decided to meet again."

Tuesday's meeting comes in the wake of the Mumbai High Court directing the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and DPC to try and find an amicable solution to the issue out of court.

The next hearing has been set for Thursday. A senior government official said: "Tuesday's meeting basically revolved around the various proposal put forth by DPC and the negotiating committee. Nothing concrete evolved although it was accepted that arriving at a negotiated settlement was preferable to the one reached through litigations and arbitration."