Reliance Power may petition CERC for higher Tilaiya tariff

Reliance Power may approach the electricity regulator seeking a higher tariff for its proposed ultra mega power project at Tilaiya due to an increase in raw material costs.

The company is expected to file a petition with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) this week, seeking an upward revision in the power tariff, a source privy to the development told PTI, adding that the reason may be the increase in input costs.

When contacted, a Reliance Power spokesperson declined to comment.

Reliance Power won the bid for the 4,000 MW, coal-based ultra mega power project (UMPP) at Tilaiya in Jharkhand in January 2009, quoting a tariff of Rs 1.77 a unit. This would be the second project for which it has sought a price revision.

The company has already filed four petitions with the CERC, seeking relief for the Sasan UMPP in Madhya Pradesh due to a rise in construction costs and depreciation in the rupee.

Power Finance Corporation, the nodal agency for UMPPs, has awarded four such projects. Reliance Power has bagged three - Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Tilaiya and Sasan. Tata Power has set up a 4,000 MW plant at Mundra in Gujarat.

A UMPP is a power plant with a generation capacity of about 4,000 MW.