 "Tariff revision issue: Blackout hit states urge Piyush Goyal to resolve power crisis")
Power ministers of five states have urged union Power Minister Piyush Goyal to help restore power supply to their states facing major blackouts caused by the closure of some generation units of Adani Power and Tata Power plants at Mundra over a tariff revision dispute.
In a marathon meeting with Goyal Tuesday, energy ministers of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan suggested that the Centre intervene to resolve the power crises in their respective states owing to shutting down of units of two power plants, a ministry source told IANS.
Adani Power has shut down six generating units at its 4,620 MW plant at Mundra in Gujarat citing payment default by Haryana, while Tata Power has closed down two units of its 4,000-MW plant there due to technical snags.
The source said that in the meeting the states suggested that the government consider filing an affidavit in the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) to strengthen the powers of the regulator Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to revise tariffs due to rise in input costs.
Meanwhile, Haryana power utilities are blaming Adani Power for the power crisis saying the company resorted to the move to cut electricity supply from its power plants just two days after the Supreme Court stayed an earlier order of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) granting it compensatory tariff.
Haryana’s distribution companies (discoms) had gone to the Supreme Court against the CERC and APTL order.
“The CERC had awarded the compensatory tariff over and above the normal tariff (about 61 paise per unit) to Adani Power which was challenged by Haryana in APTEL to protect the interest of 55 lakh (5.5 million) electricity consumers of the state,” a state government spokesman said.
He pointed out that thermal power plants were not getting enough coal supplies and existing stocks were depleting fast.
The Haryana government had, in August 2008, signed its biggest so far power purchase and power-sharing agreements totalling 3,044 MW with various private and public sector companies for power supply for the next 25 years. Out of this, the agreement with Adani Power was for 1,424 MW.
The CERC had, in February, separately allowed compensatory tariff to both Tata Power and Adani Power on the basis of a formula to make up for the increase in cost of imported coal.
In 2011, both companies had petitioned CERC for a tariff hike after Indonesia hiked the price of its coal.
IANS
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