The committee for recommending compensatory tariff for the 4,000-MW Mundra project has submitted its report to the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, said Anil Sardhana, Managing Director, Tata Power. The panel had been set up on the directions of the commission.
Tata Power had sought the regulator’s intervention as policy changes in Indonesia had pushed up the cost of coal import and consequently the generation cost at its Mundra plant. “It is a judicial process and it is for the regulator to endorse the recommendations,” Sardhana said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting of the company here on Friday. Asked whether Tata Power would transfer its coal assets in Indonesia to the Mundra plant, he said the company was looking to comfort lenders by making available their cash flows.
Earlier, Cyrus Mistry, Chairman, told shareholders that he expected a resolution to the Mundra issue by the year-end. He also mentioned that expansion plans for the current fiscal would be Rs 1,200 crore.
Asked about the impact of the depreciating rupee on the company, Sardhana said Tata Power would have to re-think its investment plans if the currency depreciated further
Sardhana further said the weak rupee more than nullified the drop in overseas coal prices.
With domestic coal availability a constraint, imported coal would ensure a rise in cost of generation. Ultimately, the burden of cost rise would have to be borne by the consumer, Sardhana cautioned.