Warning that the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL) 1979 MW Dhabol power project was on the verge of becoming a non-performing asset (NPA) and the public and private sector banks could stand to lose an exposure of Rs. 9000 crore, State Bank of India (SBI) chairperson, Arundhati Bhattacharya has sought government intervention to save the situation from turning grim by allocating adequate gas to RGPPL to ensure its smooth operations.
Earlier, ICICI bank had informed the government that RGPPL, popularly known as Dhabol power project was turning into a NPA due to failure of the government to allocate adequate gas.
In a letter to the Power Secretar, P.K. Sinha, the SBI chairperson has pointed out that RGPPL has not been able to service interest for August, September, and October 203 and the instalment for the quartering ending September 30 due to the lenders. “The account if on the verge of becoming an NPA if interest for August 2013 is not serviced on or before November 29,” the letter states.
Further it has pointed out that the exposure of public sector lenders, currently about Rs. 8500 crore (SBI’s share is Rs. 1752 crore), was restructured once in 2009 under the guidance of Ministry of Power due to delay in implementation of the project. The company has no funds to meet repayment commitments and the company is on the verge of default in meeting repayment commitments because of stalled operations due to non-availability of fuel. This would result in slippage of asset quality, which would be a setback for the lenders despite their sacrifice through waivers and concessions in reviving the project, it added.
Ms. Bhattacharya said as against 8.5 mmscmd of gas requirement, there has been no supply for the last four months and the supply of 0.9 mmscmd from GAIL India as and when gas is available is not sufficient to run even one out of the six gas turbines at technical minimum operating parameters. “We request you to use your good offices in ensuring adequate supply of gas for the project to enable the power plant to run without interruption to protect the interests of all the stakeholders. We request you to take up with Power Ministry and the Government of Maharashtra for payment of dues to RGPPL immediately so that the company would be able to meet its repayment commitment to the lenders in time to tide over the crisis,” the letter states.
The current plant load factor (PLF) of Dhabol project has fallen to 29 per cent much lower than 45 per cent in April and 38 per cent in May this year. For RGPPL to achieve break even and service its current debt obligations, it has to operate at a PLF of 69 per cent during 2013-14 and 79 per cent in 2014-15.
