New Delhi, August 02: Terming NTPC as an “innocent victim” of Mukesh Ambani-led RIL’s corporate greed, Anil Ambani today warned that the power PSU could lose up to Rs 30,000 crore if it did not get gas at the committed rate of USD 2.34 per mmbtu.
Offering every possible cooperation to NTPC, Anil sought a meeting with Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to clarify that his group company RNRL was not at all attempting to scuttle the PSU’s chance of getting 12 mmscmd gas, contrary to “speculative media reports and misinformation campaign by vested interests”.
In a letter to Shinde, Ambani, who is fighting a bitter battle with RIL for getting 28 mmscmd gas at 2.34 per mmbtu, said, “We firmly believe that NTPC, like RNRL, is an innocent victim of RIL’s corporate greed, which is reflected in its attempt to back out of its solemn and legal contractual commitments.”
Anil Ambani had earlier written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month wherein the industrialist urged Singh to direct the petroleum ministry to “cease from overtly and covertly attempting to intervene in our commercial dispute with RIL”.
Anil had written the letter in the wake of Petroleum Ministry moving the Supreme Court seeking annulment of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mukesh-led RIL and Anil group firm RNRL.
“We have recently seen a spate of unfortunate public utterances with unusual frequency, by various functionaries in the Petroleum Ministry… in a manner not witnessed in any other part of the government that too on a matter that is sub-judice in the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” Anil’s letter to Singh said.
And now in a letter to Shinde, he said, “I would want to assure you in all sincerity, sir, that we would be delighted if NTPC, a navratna, gets its rightful share of 12 mmscnd of gas for 17 years at a price of USD 2.34, which was discovered through open transparent international competitive bidding in 2004.”
Expert opinion and independent financial analysis suggest that NTPC could potentially lose over Rs 20,000 crore if the gas price is revised from USD 2.34 to USD 4.2, he said, adding that this loss could be even higher and touch Rs 30,000 crore, based on cost of alternate fuels.
“Beyond this, the biggest impact would be that these NTPC plants may never come up thus affecting power capacity addition in the country,” Ambani said.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora is also scheduled to make a statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha tomorrow on the issue of gas supply to Anil Ambani promoted Dadri power plant which has been lingering for the assured supply of fuel.
–Agencies–