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Mumbai, Aug 22: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday vacated the stay given by the Gujarat High Court on the Centre’s notification on pool pricing of gas to be supplied to Ratnagiri Gas & Power (previously, the Dabhol project).
The high court had stayed the notification at the end of July on petitions filed by Essar Steel and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC). However, Petronet LNG, Indian Oil Corporation, GAIL India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd challenged the decision in the Gujarat High Court and also filed appeals with the Supreme Court demanding vacation of the stay.
The apex court ruled that a division bench of the Gujarat High Court would hear all petitions on September 10. It has allowed the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MahaVitaran) to be interveners in the case and file their replies before September 10.
The Gujarat High Court on July 31 had stayed the Central government directive raising the price of LNG for customers like Essar Steel and GSPC to keep the fuel price for the Dabhol power project low. Separately, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and state-run IOC, BPCL and GAIL on a request for clubbing a bunch of petitions challenging the government order.
Following the Gujarat High Court order, power generation at the Ratnagiri project ground to a halt from August 1 as MahaVitaran, the sole procurer of the power, expressed its inability to do so at a per unit tariff of Rs 4.50.
While Essar Steel had challenged the directive to average the long-term LNG price of Petronet with the high-cost, short-term fuel purchase for Dabhol in the Delhi High Court, GSPC had challenged the order that raised prices of LNG for existing Petronet customers in the Gujarat High Court.
The petitioners in the apex court on Wednesday argued that pool pricing was not discriminatory and that it was the prerogative of the Centre. The pooled price of regassified LNG would be uniformly applicable on a non-discriminatory basis to all existing and new consumers, irrespective of location.
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