Was MERC aware of Adani-Reliance Infra deal, asks Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam

MUMBAI: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam today demanded to know whether the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) was aware of the agreement under which Reliance Infrastructure would be selling its power business in Mumbai to Adani Transmission.

"As the Regulatory Commission overseeing distribution of electricity supply in Maharashtra, were you aware of this binding agreement between Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) and Adani group?" Nirupam asked MERC chairman Anand Kulkarni in a letter.

The MERC should ensure that this development doesn't lead to a hike in power tariff, the Congress leader said.

He expressed apprehension that the new power distributor may increase the tariff.

Reliance Infrastructure signed an agreement to sell its Mumbai power business to Adani Transmission for a total consideration of Rs 18,800 crore earlier this week.

Reliance Infrastructure's Mumbai power business, known as Reliance Energy, is India's largest private integrated power utility, distributing power to nearly 3 million residential, industrial and commercial consumers in suburbs of Mumbai.