Anil Ambani-led energy utility Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) today hit out at Tata Power (TPC), saying it plans to sell a high quantity of power outside Mumbai in order to rake in a huge profit. "They (TPC) plan to sell a large part of the capacity outside Mumbai. This will lead to supernormal profits (around Rs 1,200 crore) to TPC," R-Infra CEO and Whole-Time Director Lalit Jalan said here.
The metropolis will suffer from a shortfall resulting in power being purchased from outside which will naturally push up costs for the consumers here, Jalan said.
Till March 31, Tata Power used to sell 500 MW to R- Infra, but had threatened to stop doing so from April 1 on the ground that the latter had refused to sign a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with it. R-Infra supplies power to suburbs.
The Maharashtra government then intervened and asked both firms to maintain a status quo till this month-end. With this deadline nearing, the private companies have once more resorted to blaming each other for not arriving at a PPA.
On April 19, TPC said that its 60,000-strong customers would face increased tariffs if they continued to provide 500 MW supply to R-Infra at a discounted rate.
"As the State Government has ordered us to continue supplying power to R-Infra, we will have to procure power from outside. This will cost more to our customers," TPC Executive Director (Operations) S Padmanabhan had said.
Denying this, R-Infra said that TPC has unnecessarily created a controversy as it wants to sell power outside Mumbai at a higher rate. "This (selling the power outside at a higher rate) would be against the spirit of the Electricity Act which provides for protection of consumer interest," Jalan said.
"If consumers of Mumbai have contributed about Rs 534 crore towards TPC generation capacity (through a special fund) and approvals have been granted by statutory authorities on the premise that consumers will benefit from such facility, then withdrawal of capacity by TPC would be grossly unfair to Mumbai's consumers and set wrong precedents," Jalan said.
"It is factually incorrect that TPC is not selling Mumbai power outside Mumbai for profits to its shareholders. This can independently be confirmed from the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC)," the R-Infra official said.
"TPC's intent to use Mumbai generation capacity for the benefit of its shareholders is clearly reflected in it having made an offer to MSEDCL (state-run utility) and R-Infra to sell the same power at market rates," he added.
But TPC maintains it is the unwillingness of R-Infra to sign a PPA with any of the power generating firms to cater to Mumbai consumers that is at the root of the present row. "In spite of being the oldest distributor in Mumbai and having a large customer-base of 28 lakh, R-Infra did not meet its obligation of tying up power for its consumers," TPC has said.
Nine months ago, after receiving a Supreme Court order favourable to it, TPC said it had notified the Anil Ambani Group company that the non-contractual 500 MW being supplied to it will cease from April 1 this year.
"We had informed R-Infra that the non-contractual 500 MW being supplied to it will cease from April 1 as our own customer-base is growing. Further to that, we are not legally obliged to supply power as there is no PPA between us and R-Infra," the Tata Group company has said.
"It is their (R-Infra) failure in not getting a long-term contractual arrangement to procure power which is the primary reason for a potential tariff hike for its consumers," TPC has said.
TPC, which was earlier into power generation, has now taken up distribution too.
