Date:05/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/05/stories/2006120505261000.htm

No proposal to sell Dabhol plant: Govt

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Dec. 4

The Union Government on Monday clarified that it was not considering any proposal to sell the Dabhol power plant.

"There is no such proposal with the Government for sale of Dabhol power plant at Ratnagiri," the Power Minister, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The 740-MW naphtha-fired first phase of the 2,184-MW Ratnagiri project has largely been idle for the past five years following a dispute between its former owner Enron Corporation and the Maharashtra Government over electricity payments.

As part of its turnaround strategy, the project was handed over to Ratnagiri Gas and Power Ltd, promoted by NTPC Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd, last year.

The project was subsequently restarted in May this year using naphtha reserves available at the station and remained operational till the end of June.

However, after demand from the peak summer season slackened, Maharasthra stopped buying power from the project.