‘Power sold to other states affects city consumers’

The state legislature has directed the government to fulfill the assurance that power that is meant for the city’s use will not be sold outside the state.

The state legislature has directed the government to fulfill the assurance that power that is meant for the city’s use will not be sold outside the state.

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The directions were issued by the Legislature on June 25, in response to Shiv Sena leader, Subhash Desai’s letter to the Assurance Committee of the Legislature.

All-party legislators raised the issue when the Tata Power Company (TPC) and Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) started fighting for extra power in the peak of summer. Since Tata decided to withdraw about 500 MW supply to RInfra, the government had to step in to resolve the issue.

RInfra contended that withdrawal of supply would affect its suburban distribution and it would need to buy expensive power from outside to plug the deficit. TPC said it needed the power for its own consumers and it was within its legal right to pull the plug as the Supreme Court had issued orders in its favour.

Desai, in his letter said that the TPC has been selling 100 MW of power generated in its city-based units to states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu at higher prices. “This is affecting the city’s consumers directly,” his letter said.