NTPC accuses RIL of changing contract

New Delhi: Governmentowned power g e n e r at i o n c o m p a ny NTPC on Thursday accused Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL of seeking unilateral changes in a 2004 gas supply contract and said gas at the contracted price would help consumers save Rs 32,000 crore.      "The $2.34 per mmBtu price that RIL committed in NTPC's tender would result in lower electricity tariff of Rs 1.07 per unit and savings of around Rs 32,000 crore for consumers over 17 years,'' NTPC said in a filing to stock exchanges.      Responding to media reports that RIL had signed a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) and that it was only the state-run firm which had not reciprocated, NTPC said: "RIL instead of honouring the contract and executing the GSPA, unilaterally modified the GSPA in December 2005 and signed and forwarded the same to NTPC for counter-signing.''      NTPC said a contract for supply of gas from KG-D6 at a delivered price of $3.3 per mmBtu for 17 years "came into existence (when RIL accepted the Letter of Intent) with draft GSPA already finalised during the bidding process.''      NTPC claimed that a draft GSPA was finalised before RIL's $2.34 per mmBtu price bid was accepted and the said agreement had a clause for liability in the event of default in supply of gas. RIL, however, made "unilateral changes in the GSPA before forwarding it to NTPC,'' the PSU said.      "These unilateral changes were unacceptable to NTPC and were unfavourable to customers. NTPC in these circumstances was constrained to file a suit against RIL (in December 2005) for specific performance in the Bombay high court,'' NTPC said in the filing. However, an RIL source said the $2.34/mmBtu matter is subjudice as NTPC did not sign the deal with RIL at this price and instead went to court.      NTPC cannot demand gas at $2.34/ mmBtu till the case is settled and price is approved by the government. The expansion project Kawas and Gandhar in Gujarat, for which RIL committed gas at $2.34 per mmBtu in 2004, will generate 19.36 billion units of power in a year.  Identify customers for KG gas: RIL to govt  New Delhi: RIL on Thursday asked the government to immediately identify new customers for its natural gas so that it can increase production from KG-D6 block to 80 million metric standard cubic meter per second (mmscmd). Since the government has not named the customers, the company is not able to increase production to maximum capacity level, RIL said. RIL's eastern offshore KG-D6 fields can produce over 60 mmscmd but the firm is being forced to keep output below 40 mmscmd as the government has not yet released allocation to new customers. "There being an immediate demand from existing customers in various sectors to consume more than 80 mmscmd gas, we once again request you to make additional allocations which will enable us to increase the production of gas from KGD6 to 80 mmscmd,'' the company said in a letter to the petroleum ministry. TNN