MP govt's power purchase agreement with Adanis at 'highest ever contracted rate'

By A Representative
As many 28 civil rights and grassroots organizations, led by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) have opposed the Madhya Pradesh government for entering into an agreement with the Adani Group for setting up a 1,320 MW thermal plant in Madhya Pradesh, stating, this is being despite the fact that the state claims it has surplus electricity for the next 10 years.
Objecting to the power purchase agreement (PPA) by the Adani Power arm Pench Thermal Energy with the state government’s MP Power Management Company Ltd (MPPMCL) for procurement of 1,320 MW of electricity on a long-term basis (25 years), a statement by these organizations said, the agreement is “more expensive than the one entered into by the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP).”
“Reliance-controlled Sasan UMPP’s per unit rate is Rs 1.194, while Adanis’ per unit rate is four times higher, Rs 4.79 per unit, which is the highest ever contracted rate”, the statement claimed, adding, “This is a complete violation of India's tariff policy.”
The statement said, “On the one hand, the state government is in agreement to buy power from expensive coal-fired power projects, but on the other hand, the price per unit of electricity generated from renewable energy projects like solar and windmills has been falling continuously for the last few years. The per unit rate of solar energy has reached Rs 2.49 per unit today.”