The US-based power major AES Transpower has sought the intervention of the Orissa government to resolve its dispute with the Grid Corporation of Orissa (Gridco) over pulling out of the management of the distribution firm Central Electricity Supply Company (Cesco).
In a letter to the state chief secretary D P Bagchi, the AES-nominated director of Cesco, Ravi Chandran, has sought the former's help to sell Cesco shares at an attractive price to Gridco or any third party. AES has 51 per cent shares in Cesco vis-a-vis Gridco's 39 per cent. The rest 10 per cent is held by the employees.
As per the shareholders' agreement, AES is barred from selling its shares to any third party without permission of Gridco, the minority stakeholder, before the lock-in period ending March 31, 2002.
AES had recently run into problems with Gridco following its desire to pull out of Cesco without clearing the outstanding dues of Gridco to the tune of over Rs 500 crore against purchase of power. The Gridco board had rejected the AES offer.
In the letter, the AES official has also resented appointment of an administrator in Cesco at Gridco's instance as "gross abuse of law".
The Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), disposing off a plea of Gridco, had appointed an administrator to run the affairs of Cesco after AES had abandoned the management of Cesco abruptly.
Referring to the incident, Ravi Chandran, said, "The move exposes Gridco's manipulative intentions to misuse AES' participatory rights in the distribution company". Dismissing the allegation of Gridco that the October 22 conciliation meeting was cancelled due to the absence of AES nominees, he said, AES nominees were there to attend the meeting, but was cancelled due to Gridco's insistence. "As a shareholder of Cesco, we believe that we have been treated unjustly by Gridco," he pointed out, adding, "The actions of Gridco amounts to expropriation, repeated violation of contract, intimidation, lack of support for reforms and direct interference in the day-to-day management of the company."
