news article enron india enron aftermath business line 02 21 2000 abhay mehta copyright c 2000 kasturi source world reporter tm asia intelligence wire power play study enron project publishers orient longman new delhi price rs 195 enron power project dabhol ratnagiri district maharashtra mired nationwide controversy ever since inception project proposal 1992 sordid tale ends 1997 supreme court india refusing even admit appeal bombay high court decision december 1996 commenting case highlighted people even 50 years independence political considerations outweigh public interest interest state extent government go justify actions public even courts law yet dismissed public interest petition project purely technical ground res judicata even though new facts new arguments new evidence violation laws land advanced petitioners fact fresh violations law even considered recorded despite petitioners adducing required evidence termed strange perhaps bizarre abhay mehta simple factual documentation fact chronological narration events including process bending rules subverting law promoting project involving unparalleled future liabilities maharashtra indeed whole india masterly devastating short pithy book deserves read cover cover thinking citizens country barring concluding chapter epilogue personal comments facts disseminated original papers mostly secret documents documentation carefully faithfully recorded including extracts supposedly top secret minutes cabinet committee meetings specific violations law opposed public spirited civil servants much disadvantage pointed apart introductory primer electricity introduced benefit layman explaining technical issues relating electricity generation transmission distribution background events 1991 foreign exchange crisis aftermath crisis fifteen chapters three appendices fourteen annexes small book 226 pages packs enormous volume factual information strange saga enron project sheer magnitude future problems one single project poses country need briefly recounted essentially coming generation would face problem mseb contracted buy used pay 2000 mw electricity period 20 years dabhol power company legal entity set enron unlimited liability company registered india maze intricate crossholdings equity half dozen front companies registered various tax free havens abhay mehta indicated total payments enron 20 years amount 35 billion 1998 exchange rates around rs 1 25 000 crores life project one must record crude oil oil product prices writing doubled since calculations made per doctored figures presented company advocate charge per unit electricity supplied 1998 level prices 4 39 cent per unit capacity charge 3 43 cents per unit energy costs former indexed us inflation rate latter international fuel prices former may assumed gone marginally rounded 4 4 cents per unit know fuel prices doubled internationally 1999 assuming fuel costs increased less 100 per cent even though international prices doubled may assume 1999 energy costs 6 85 cents per units making total payment 11 25 us cents per unit electricity supplied dabhol power company dpc mseb late 1999 phase project within another two years 2000 mw annual offtake 365 days x 24 hours day would 17 52 billion kwh 11 25 cents per unit total payment amounts 1 97 billion annually 20 years workout 39 4 billion counting inflation either energy costs capacity charge today exchange rate rs 43 5 per us dollar rupee terms works wore rs 175 000 crores compared rs 125 000 crores indicated abhay mehta cost mseb rupee country foreign exchange payment one project authority supply part power required maharashtra really significant point note connection payment considerably depending future increase capacity charges depending us inflation rate international prices lngaphtha fuel costs b depreciation exchange rate rupee vis vis us dollar obligatory assets mseb maharashtra government indeed assets government india present future mortgaged enron way sovereign guarantees extended governments significant point connection predicted independent indian experts well world bank enron project forced mseb cut offtake tata electric company much cheaper thermal power already postscript dated august 1999 abhay mehta indicated already mseb stopped buying 200 250 mw power tata electric available rs 1 80 per unit backdown chandrapur thermal power station cost power rs 1 20 per unit forced buy expensive enron power rs 5 per unit loss mseb count alone comes rs 460 crore per year fact predicted earlier even world bank pointless go details precisely contrived deliberate campaign disinformation blatant lies sidelining expert opinion independent experts also goi official advisers matter namely central electricity authority well world bank resolutely opposed project detailed facts letters exchanged context pressure tactics adopted flouting procedures norms even statutory provisions electricity supply act carefully documented abhay mehta mehta correctly concludes frequently blame external agencies like world bank problems matter fact worst enemies instant case world bank advised government india project stood resolutely firm assessment total inadvisability project fact one must note 1996 neighbouring pakistan entered somewhat similar mou enron cancelled project power purchase agreement enron 670 million 782 mw residual oil fuelled power plant even though agreement stipulated enron power supply fixed rate 6 4 us cents per kwh 30 year period note estimated rate 11 25 cents per kwh dabhol power mseb december 1999 works around rs 5 per unit one could go one must leave reader go abhay mehta crisp factual matter fact narration enron saga switch point made epilogue story next round scams quite time ruling elite india intent privatising public enterprises even utilities exception unbundling infrastructure view privatisation profitable segments per current disinformation campaign supposedly interest rationalisation greater efficiency poorer supply author referred context acquisition government torrent group ahmedabad surat electricity companies less one tenth market value assets thee facilities much like enron saga objections finance department gujarat government overruled abhay mehta predicated onslaught break power utilities three segments generation transmission distribution view privatisation likely new thrust ruling elite reasons require spelt though mehta examples torrent group takeover ahmedabad surat electricity companies break orissa state electricity board yet statement stated today prophetic upseb firing line recent strike workers engineers upseb protest announced government decision trifurcate upseb union minister power mr rangarajan kumaramangalam statement upseb loss making inefficient unit privatisation facilities trifurcation need noted 40 per cent dues upseb government tariffs electricity supply fixed government upseb upseb cash even routine maintenance result facts nobody prepared even consider remedy upseb lies different kind reform restructuring even debated whole idea privatise profitable segments leave public sector entity problem areas including rural energy supply background abhay mehta book needs widely disseminated read implications understood stake utility psu stake future 80 per cent nots country stake pillory assets nation private aggrandisement arun ghosh