Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Saturday informed the State Assembly that it has bought electricity worth Rs 8,160 crore from Adani Power Ltd between 2021 and 2022. It further stated that the electricity was procured at tariff rates revised upwards from Rs 2.83 to Rs 8.83 per unit.
The information was shared by the State's Energy Minister Kanu Desai in response to a question raised by Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Hemant Ahir. The Minister said that in the year 2021-22, 11,596 million units of electricity were purchased by the Gujarat government from Adani Power Ltd at a price of Rs 8,160 crore. Desai also said that the cost of the electricity was revised upwards month-on-month in the range of Rs 2.83-Rs 8.83 per unit.
Elaborating further on the issue, the Minister said that in 2007 the Gujarat government entered into an agreement with Adani Power Ltd to procure electricity for a duration of 25 years at levelised tariff rates of Rs 2.89 and Rs 2.35 per unit. He also said that due to the rise in the price of imported coal the State Government revised the unit rates upwards under its power purchase agreement with Adani Power Ltd.
According to the Minister, the company was unable to produce energy in its full capacity due to the "unscheduled increase in the price of coal sourced from Indonesia after 2011."
" A high-powered committee was constituted by the State government to look into the issue. The State government vide resolution dated December 1, 2018, gave its nod to the hike in power purchase rates by accepting the recommendations of the committee, with a few amendments, as a policy decision," the Minister said.
He also said that a subsequent agreement was signed by the State Government with Adani Power Ltd on December 5, 2018, which received the approval of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission through an order dated April 12, 2019. He said that there were further revisions in 2021 following the increase in coal prices in the international market.
He also said that to ensure adequate power supply in Gujarat, electricity was procured from Adani Power (Mundra) under the principle of merit order. Relying to a separate question, Desai, who is also the Finance Minister of Gujarat said that as on January 31,2023, there are 447 companies with individual outstanding VAT worth Rs 10 crore or more.
