Anil Ambani, who?s locked in a pitched battle with elder brother Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance Industries Ltd over supply of gas from the Krisha-Godavari Basin to his firm, RNRL, has now warned the power ministry that the state-owned NTPC could lose up to Rs 30,000 crore if it did not get gas at the committed rate of $2.34 mmBtu.
In a letter written to power minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde on July 31, Anil has termed NTPC as an ?innocent victim? of RIL?s corporate greed, and offered every possible cooperation to the state-owned firm, which is the country?s largest power generating company.
Anil has also sought a meeting with Shinde to clarify that his group company RNRL was not at all attempting to scuttle NTPC?s chance of getting 12 mmscmd gas, contrary to ?speculative media reports and misinformation campaign by vested interests?.
?We firmly believe that NTPC, like RNRL, is an innocent victim of RIL?s corporate greed, which is reflected in its attempt to back out of its solemn and legal contractual commitments,? Anil has written.
The junior Ambani, who is fighting a bitter battle with RIL for getting 28 mmscmd gas at $2.34 per mmBtu, had written a letter to the Prime Minister last month urging him to direct the petroleum ministry to ?cease from overtly and covertly attempting to intervene in our commercial dispute with RIL?.
Anil had written the letter in the wake of the petroleum ministry moving the Supreme Court seeking annulment of a memorandum of understanding between RIL and RNRL.
In his letter to Shinde, Anil has said, ?I would want to assure you in all sincerity, sir, that we would be delighted if NTPC, a navratna, gets its rightful share of 12 mmscnd of gas for 17 years at a price of $2.34, which was discovered through open transparent international competitive bidding in 2004?.
Expert opinion and independent financial analysis suggest that NTPC could potentially lose over Rs 20,000 crore if the gas price is revised from $2.34 to $4.2, he said, adding that this loss could be even higher and touch Rs 30,000 crore, based on cost of alternate fuels. ?Beyond this, the biggest impact would be that these NTPC plants may never come up thus affecting power capacity addition in the country,? Anil has highlighted.
Petroleum minister Murli Deora is scheduled to make a statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha on Monday on the issue of gas supply to Anil Ambani-promoted Dadri power plant, which has been lingering for the assured supply of fuel.
