Govt. convenes meeting on Dabhol project

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 24 September 2002, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: The government has finally convened a meeting of Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and GE Capital, a promoter of the Dabhol Power Project, on Wednesday to weigh pros and cons of restarting generation from the first phase of 740 MW lying idle now for over 15 months. R V Shahi, the union power secretary, was quoted as saying by a business daily that “This is just a parallel step we are trying to take in the process of restarting the plant. First and foremost condition remains that MSEB and IDBI-led lenders will have to reach a consensus on tariff.” GE, which has 10 per cent equity in the project, had written a letter to the Center objecting to power minister Anant Geete's statement to restart the project within 2-3 months saying the technical aspects needed to be assessed first. Shahi said even in long hauls, the power plants should not take such a long period ranging between nine and 15 months as suggested by GE in his communication to Power and Finance Ministers.