Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Godbole Committee to wind up

S Ravindran

The Godbole committee, set up by the Maharashtra government to renegotiate the Power Purchase Agreement with the Dabhol Power Company, has decided to submit its final report and wind up operations by the third week of August.

There will be no further meetings between the committee and DPC representatives, sources said. The committee's move follows a decision by global energy major Enron, General Electric and Bechtel, which hold a combined 85 per cent stake in the $3 billion power project, to sell out.

The balance 15 per cent is held by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board through a special purpose vehicle.

"What else can we do? If Enron wants to pull out of the project, what do we discuss with them? We will be stating in our report that there is no point in continuing further negotiations," sources in the Godbole committee said.

The panel's decision follows a flurry of letters between the state government and DPC.

The power company had written to the state government on Monday stating that it wants to exit the project alongwith its partners.

This was in response to a letter from the state government asking it to clarify the remarks made by Enron Corporation chairman, Kenneth Lay in an interview to London-based Financial Times about 10 days back.

"We want out. We have made it pretty clear to the government leadership we are now at a point where we would like to be taken out and we think most of our partners do," Lay had been quoted as saying.

Lay's statement had derailed the Godbole panel's negotiations with DPC and the next meeting between the two sides scheduled for August end was cancelled.

Powered by

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO READ:
The Enron Saga
The Rediff-Business Standard Special
The Budget 2001-2002 Special
Money
Business News

Tell us what you think of this report