Electricity regulator CERC said it will hear the petitions filed by Reliance Power - seeking relief for increased cost of the 4,000 MW Sasan project - after the appointment of its new Chairman. The present Chairman of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Pramod Deo will retire on June 9.
The 3-member CERC bench heard the petitions seeking relief for the increased cost on setting up the Sasan project due to rise in construction cost and depreciation in rupee.
According to the bench, the next hearing of the case would be scheduled after the new Chairman takes charge.
Reliance Power through its subsidiary Sasan Power Ltd is setting up the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh.
The company bagged this project in 2007 in a global tender quoting the lowest 'levelised' tariff of Rs 1.19 per unit for 25 years.
As per the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the developer of the project and procurer of electricity, the company can approach CERC for any change in law during the construction period and fluctuation in the value of the rupee.
Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency for the UMPPs in the country, has awarded four such projects of which Reliance Power has bagged three - Krishnapatnam ( Andhra Pradesh), Tilaiya ( Jharkhand) and Sasan.
Tata Power has set up a 4,000 MW Mundra plant in Gujarat. An UMPP is a power plant of at least 4,000 MW generation capacity.
