KUMPP procurers ask RPower to withdraw petitions to exit proj

Power procurers of the 4,000 MW Krishnapatnam project of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power have asked it to withdraw petitions filed against them in courts, if the company wants an amicable solution to exit from the project, AP GENCO Managing Director K Vijayanand has said.
Looking to exit the stalled Krishnapatnam UMPP, Reliance Power had earlier written to Andhra Pradesh government suggesting that it could be done on similar lines to that of Tilaiya UMPP, which was acquired by procurers from the firm.
Reliance Power said Krishnapatnam UMPP, which was awarded to it in 2007, could not be taken forward due to escalated coal cost from Indonesia, among other factors. The power produced from the project was supposed to be sold to 11 procurers comprising five states.

The KUMMP is located in Andhra Pradesh while Tilaiya plant was in Jharkhand.
Reliance company is engaged in a legal battle with the procurers in Delhi High Court. The company had also approached the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission seeking appropriate relief.
"We have asked them to give a concrete proposal. Tiliaya (model) cannot be equated with us. If we have to take a decision, all the cases have to be withdrawn. We asked them to do it as early as possible," Vijayanand told PTI.

An email query to a spokesperson of Reliance Power did not elicit any response.
Reliance Power CEO N Venugopala Rao, in a letter to Andhra Pradesh government in December had said the procurers of Tilaiya UMPP -- which was stalled for over five years -- have accepted the termination of power purchase agreement and decided to purchase the entire shareholding in the project Special Purpose Vehicle from the company by way of mutual discussion with the developers.

"We, therefore, request you to kindly consider similar resolution for KUMPP by purchasing the ownership of the project SPV with its assets, including land, from the present owners on mutually acceptable terms and return the Performance Bank Guarantees furnished by us," Rao said in the letter.
Vijayanand said all the procurers will meet once after they get a reply from the Reliance Power.
"There are several steps involved in this. They should come up with a concrete proposal. All the cases are to be withdrawn. All the procurers should agree to the proposal put forward by the company," the official said.

Coastal Andhra Power Limited (CAPL), a Reliance Power Limited subsidiary, was awarded the Krishnapatnam UMPP in 2007 and the power produced by the project was to be shared by four states - Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Later, Telangana was added as it was carved out of AP in June 2014.
Southern Power Distribution Company Limited, an AP government power utility on behalf of power procurers of rest of the states, had in 2012 issued a notice to CAPL that it would encash the bank guarantee of Rs 300 crore as penalty, besides terminating the contract as the project work has been stopped for more than three months.