Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) State-run power utility NTPC may sign an agreement to buy natural gas from Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries (RIL) at the government-approved rate of $4.20 per unit for plants other than Kawas and Gandhar, Power Secretary H.S. Brahma said Thursday.
“In all likelihood, NTPC will sign the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with RIL by this month-end,” Brahma told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

This gas will be for plants other than Kawas and Gandhar, he said.

NTPC, however, will continue to fight its legal battle with RIL for gas from the D6 block of the Krishna-Godavari basin at $2.34 per unit for the Kawas and Gandhar plants, a company official said.

NTPC had last Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Bombay High Court order that had permitted Reliance Industries to amend its petition on the ongoing Krishna-Godavari gas row.

Reliance Industries had told the Bombay High Court it cannot sell gas to NTPC at $2.34 per unit - which it had proposed in an international competitive bidding - since an empowered group of ministers had fixed the price at $4.2 per unit.

The bid was for 12 million metric standard cubic metres of gas per day for a period of 17 years at $2.34 per unit for NTPC’s Kawas and Gandhar expansion projects, both in Gujarat.

At the FICCI meet Thursday, the power secretary also said that NTPC would float a bulk tender worth Rs.21,000 crore for sourcing supercritical power equipment that can generate 7,260 MW electricity.

“NTPC will float the tender in the next 10 days for sourcing super-critical equipment for its nine 660 MW unit and two 660 MW units of Damodar Valley Corp (India’s first multipurpose river valley project).”