KARUR: The Adani Group has no commercial relationship with the Tangedco in the past three years, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise V Senthil Balaji said in Karur on Thursday.
Responding to questions about reports of an arrest warrant issued against Gautam Adani by a New York court, the minister clarified that the Tamil Nadu government has only signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a union government agency for power procurement.
“I came across reports on social media about a case being filed in the US against the Adani Group. Several states were mentioned in those reports, with Tamil Nadu also being briefly referenced. I want to clarify that as far as the Tangedco is concerned, there has been no commercial relationship with the Adani Group in the past three years,” he affirmed.
Balaji further said that to address Tamil Nadu’s electricity needs, agreements were signed to procure 1,500 MW of power through organisations associated with the union ministry of power. Tamil Nadu’s MoU was signed with the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a union government entity, he added.
“The SECI facilitates agreements with power producers and determines pricing based on the requirements of various states. Only after that the union government concludes agreements with the respective state governments. As per the norms, Tamil Nadu entered into an agreement with SECI to procure power at a very low rate of `2.61 per unit, while it was procured at `7.01 per unit during the AIADMK regime,” Balaji clarified.
Balaji appealed to social media to ensure accuracy by contacting the minister himself or the officials of the department concerned as they are ready to provide clarification, he added. Reports say Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and its two other executives were booked in the US on Thursday for alleged bribery and fraud to secure contracts even as they sought to raise funds from US investors.