Tuesday, May 29, 2001

Centre names nominee for PPA between MSEB and DPC

MUMBAI, May 28 (UNI)

Union Power Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the Centre has adopted a pro-active attitute to find a solution to the dispute between Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and Dabhol Power Company (DPC).
Speaking to reporters after the seminar on national conference on power reforms at the state level here today, Mr Prabhu said: “On the State Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh's request the Centre has appointed Mr A V Gokak, as its nominee on the renegotiation committee for the power purchase agreement and we are ready to provide any type of help to resolve the issue.”
However, Mr Prabhu declined to comment on the chief minister’s charge that the Centre was not co-operating with the state government to resolve the Enron issue.
Mr Prabhu confirmed that the Centre was ready to consider any worthwhile idea emerging out of the renegotiating committee for the settlement of the dispute. Any proposal has to be acceptable to the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and Dabhol Power Company (DPC), who are the main parties to the dispute.
The Union Government is of the view that a quick settlement of the dispute is essential for the power sector of Maharashtra, he added.
The Central Government is ready to give any type of assistance to those states, who want to control the distribution losses in their respective state, it may be a policy or finance decision, the power minister said.
There is urgent need to restructure the state electricity boards because most of the boards are not maintaining proper account of generation, transmission and distribution, he said and added that the ministry has appointed a committee under the leadership of Mr Monteksingh Ahluwalia to study the restructuring the SEBs. Mr Ahluwalia may submit the report by July 31 or first week of August, he added.
The government is also planning to go in for a one-time settlement to tackle the past liabilities to the tune of Rs 26,000 crore for the state governments towards the Central power sector units. This will be provided only to those states that are willing to take up a timebound reform programme, Mr Prabhu said.

“Power sector is closely linked with the economic development of the country. Electricity is also part of progress of human life. This cannot be imported like other products,” the minister emphasised. Mr Prabhu also said that there were about 80,000 villages across country, which did not have electricity.
The power minister also stated that the Union power ministry and European countries will jointly organise five major events in India which includes transmission and distribution and resources of fuel available for the power generation and to resolve the problem of power sector. The first seminar on transmission will be held in Mumbai in August this year.