Patalganga To Hike Power Tariff

The Maharashtra cabinet has given relief to Reliance Industries (RIL) promoted 410 MW Patalganga power project by deciding to hike its tariff by seven paise.

The state government has decided that RIL can charge Rs 1.48 as levelised capacity charge per unit. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had recommended a rate of only Rs 1.41 per unit. Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi announced this at his weekly press briefing yesterday in Mumbai. The state government has accorded powers to the Maharastra State Electricty Board (MSEB) to effect certain changes in its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Reliance.

Certain fundamental and technical changes are to be effected in the PPA and MSEB has been given full powers to do so Joshi added. Reliance had obtained in-principle clearance from CEA in March 1996 for the project. The PPA was signed in August 1996 with a tariff of Rs 1.55 per unit. The project's forex component was pegged at $300 million and the rupee cost at Rs 463 crore.

However, at the time of the granting of the techno-economic clearance in January ,1998 CEA introduced fresh conditionalities including a reduction in levelised tariff to Rs 1.41 per unit, a cut in forex component by $16.58 million and by Rs 32.82 crore in the rupee cost. The project capacity should be hiked to 447 MW, it further added. In other decisions, the cabinet has also approved giving away on a lease of 30 years the Bhandardara hydro-electric power project no 2 to an NRI V Rajsdhyaksha's company Dotson Lindblock International, Joshi said. The project, to be completed in 15 months and costing Rs 36 crore, would produce 36 million units that would be purchased by MSEB. Initially, the rate would be Rs 2.13 per unit which would be later raised to Rs 2.38 per unit, he added.