Ratnagiri Gas-Mahavitaran dispute intensifies

The dispute between Ratnagiri Gas & Power (RGPPL) and state utility Mahavitaran over repayment of dues of over Rs 1,450 crore may hurt the already troubled Dabhol project hard as it could be declared as non-performing asset if it fails to service the Rs 8,500-crore debt pile.
RGPPL has borrowed around Rs 8,500 crore from various banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and Canara Bank, and has to pay Rs 108 crore every month towards interest.
Though RGPPL claims over Rs 1,450 crore from Mahavitaran, the state utility rubbishes the claim saying it does not owe anything to the power producer.

"Mahavitaran owes us over Rs 1,450 crore which includes power and fixed cost charges. We have to pay Rs 108 crore per month for servicing our loan. But if the state defaults its payment, the project could become an NPA as we will not be able to honour the payments," a RGPPL official said on condition of anonymity.
However, in the poll season, the state utility was forced to bail out the producer on March 28 paying Rs 151 crore, which was utilised by RGPPL to make part re-payment to its lenders and thus avoiding a default.
"We have not made any payments to RGPPL since last August as we do not owe them anything. There is a dispute over some amount, but the Rs 151 crore that we paid to them is an advance given to ensure that the project does not become an NPA," a Mahavitaran official told PTI.

To run the project at full capacity, the company needs 8.5 mmscmd gas of which 7.6 mmscmd should come from Reliance, while remaining from ONGC through GAIL. The plant had shut operations since December last year for want of gas.

"Currently only GAIL has agreed to supply 2.8 mmscmd gas a day. With this, the project can daily generate 600 mw only for the next two months. But now the issue is whether Mahavitaran will buy the power if we generate it, because they are insisting on lowering the cost of power from the current Rs 4.50 to Rs 2.50-2.70 per unit," RGPPL official said.

Since gas is very expensive, the company will not be able to sell power at lower tariff as it will have to incur huge losses, he said.
"Until we have clarity on whether Mahavitaran will buy power, there is no point in generating electricity," he said.
Currently, the plant supplies 95 percent of generation to Maharashtra and of the remaining 5 per cent, 2 per cent each is sold to Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and 1 per cent to Goa.