DABHOL (GUHAGAR), MAY 25: The Union Government will float global tenders for two greenfield 2000 mw LNG (liquified natural gas) power plants by mid-June. Both the projects will come up on the western coast as per a Cabinet decision taken in November, Union power minister P R Kumaramangalam said here on Tuesday.``There is an opportunity here for Maharashtra if it is smart enough (to bag it),'' he said, indicating there was a similar opportunity for Gujarat. Kumaramangalam was addressing the media after the inauguration of phase I of the $ 1.078 billion Dabhol power project.There are already four LNG projects on the western coast - Dahej, Cochin, Dabhol and Pipavav. The power from the two proposed plants will be bought by the Power Trading Corporation and the tariff is likely to be below Rs 2 per unit, he estimated. Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), on the other hand, has signed a power purchase agreement with DPC to buy electricity at the rate of Rs 3.01 per unit for 20 years.Speaking at thefunction, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and energy minister Gopinath Munde ruled out any increase in the cost to consumer as a result of the higher purchase cost from DPC for a one-year period. The additional capacity to the MSEB grid from DPC would reduce the power shortage in the state from 1200 mw to around 500 mw, he said. State chief minister Narayan Rane and US ambassador to India Richard Celeste were also present at the inauguration ceremony.On the privatisation of distribution and transmission business, Kumaramangalam said the government was considering going through the joint venture route. Referring to the partnership between MSEB and Enron International in Dabhol Power Company (DPC), he said there was greater need for private and public sector interaction. ``Let us have foreign investment where it is necessary. Without electricity we cannot have productivity and progress,'' he said.The Dabhol project is jointly promoted by Enron International of US (50 per cent), MSEB (30 per cent) andGeneral Electric Capital Services (10 per cent) and Betchel Enterprises (10 per cent).Responding to the announcement of two new LNG projects, Enron International chairman and CEO Joseph Sutton said the company was interested in bidding for them but a final decision would be taken only after studying the tender documents. Answering a query on what Enron was planning to invest in India over the next five years, he said ``The figure is unconstrained.'' He said the success of phase I ``showed India was ready to foreign investors''.Though the DPC project is ready, the MSEB would evacuate power only from Tuesday as it has been undertaking tests so far. MSEB chairman Asoke Basak said the electricity board would in future consider other forms of security rather than the escrow cover. ``We would like to avoid escrow when other forms of security are available,'' he said. Basak ruled out giving escrow cover to the 410 mw Reliance project at Patalganga. ``However, we would allow them to sell power to third party,''he said.Dabhol Power Company managing director Sanjay Bhatnagar said phase I would serve as a stepping stone to phase II which would be India's first LNG terminal and largest natural gas project in the world. The $ 1.87 billion phase II is scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2001. The 1,444 mw project achieved financial closure on May 6, 1999.
