Odisha government wants Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) to sign power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gridco in order to be eligible for extension of its memorandum of understanding (MoU).
It may be recalled that JSPL had signed MoU with the government in 2009 for a 1,320 mw coal-fired plant at Boinda in Athamalick area with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. It appears on record that JSPL has not executed PPA with Gridco till date.
In a letter to Gridco, the state energy department requested to intimate whether JSPL can execute PPA at this belated stage as per the prevailing rules before extension of MoU.
But the letter does not have mention of the free power condition, indicating softening of the government stand. It may be noted that earlier the state government was pressing MoU signed companies to give an undertaking for providing certain amount of power for free of cost to the state grid.
As per the state government policy, all Independent Power Producers (IPP) are bound to sign PPAs with Gridco for selling a fraction of their power output to the state-run power trader at a pre-determined rate. The IPP is mandated to sell between 12 to 14 per cent of total power generation to Gridco.
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