Speaking at a press conference, director, projects, PGCIL, R K Madan said notices have been served to five electricity boards to come to the negotiating table by June 7. The state utilities cumulatively owe the PGCIL Rs 711 crore. ``Notices have been served in conjunction with NTPC to double pressure on errant state utilities,'' he said.

The five defaulting state utilities are UP State Electricity Board (Rs 416 crore), Delhi Vidyut Board (Rs 131 crore), Bihar State Electricity Board (Rs 107 crore), West Bengal State Electricity Board (Rs 51 crore) and Sikkim State Electricity Board (Rs 6 crore). Madan admitted that despite the best intentions of combining pressure on SEBs, the strategy might not fully work because NTPC is negotiating with the utilities on its own. He however, was unable to explain how PGC will cut power to Delhi when NTPChas struck an agreement with the Delhi Vidyut Board for payment of arrears.

Power Trading Corp incorporated

Power Trading Corporation of India Limited (PTC), the joint public sector initiative to supply power to states, has begun negotiations with various power producers for purchase and supply of power in the country, a top corporation official said today.

PTC has already initiated discussions with Southern Electric Company of the US for setting up a 6X660 mw power plant at Hirma in Orissa through memorandum of understanding (MoU) route, he said.

The corporation is also conducting studies to explore possibilities for developing a couple of multi-site mega power projects based on LNG in the western coast, Madan said.

The chairman said PTC would also be looking at a proposal from West Seti, an Australian company which is developing a 750 mw power project in Nepal, to buy and sell power to SEBs. Madan said PTC has also been approached by the government of Bhutan to locate buyers for the 1020mw Tala power project being jointly developed by India and Bhutan.

PTC would also explore the possibility of selling the power produced from the 1000 mw Maithon project being developed by the Mumbai-based electric utility BSES and the Damodar Valley Corporation, he said. "We have received a number of proposals from our neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan for finding buyers for power," Madan said.

ICICI to do due diligence

PTC has appointed ICICI as its consultant to develop both short and long term financial structure and business plan.

The corporation has also appointed Dresdner Klienwort Benson of Germany and Freshfield of UK as its financial and legal advisor respectively for its mega power projects.

Dresdner will advise the corporation on the complex financial issues involved in developing various mega power projects being planned by PTC under the central government's mega power project policy, corporationchairman R K Madan told reporters.

ICICl will assist PTC in developing a financial structure, security mechanism and business plan with a short and long term perspective, he said.