CM did not meet Adani: Senthil Balaji

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin never met Gautam Adani, chairperson of the Adani Group, and no agreement was ever signed by the DMK government with the group for power procurement, State Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji averred on Friday, threatening to sue all those who were spreading rumours on business transactions that did not take place.

Dispelling the charges of DMK government’s business transactions with the Adani Group as a figment of the imagination of the media and the opposition parties, Senthil Balaji said it was the AIADMK government that agreed to purchase 648 MW solar power from the Adani group companies in 2015 by paying Rs 7.10 per unit.

Denying that power was bought at high rates from the Adani companies by the DMK, he said Chief Minister M K Stalin had brought the State Electricity Department out of the red after it had plunged into heavy debts due to the mismanagement during the AIADMK regime.

It was the AIADMK government that also agreed to buy 313 MW solar power from Adani companies, which was before the Union Government brought in the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) that mandates the purchase of a certain amount of power from renewable energy sources by the electricity distribution networks, he said.

When the DMK government was obliged to buy power from renewable energy sources after the RPO came into force, it purchased power, after obtaining permission from the Tamil Nadu Energy Regulatory Commission, only from the Union Government owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in 2020, 2020 and 2023 and not from any private company, he said.

For the huge bill sent by the Adani companies, TANGEDCO said that it would pay only at the rate of Rs 5.10 per unit but lost the case filed through two petitions, he said, adding that the appeals to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) did not bring any orders in favour of the State that was forced to pay Rs 568 crore after the bill was uploaded on the PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power Procurement) portal.

Senthil Balaji also made it clear that the DMK government did not enter into an agreement with any private power company in the last three years and only paid Rs 2.61 per unit for the electricity it purchased with the permission of TNREC, besides operating all the State’s power stations to full capacity.

Those who were unable to criticize the AIADMK government or the Adani Group for the faults were blaming the Chief Minister, accusing him of meeting a company representative, without any basis and he could see the hidden hand of the BJP-AIADMK alliance behind such false allegations, the Minister said.