The controversy over payments for power wheelchairs has been growing as the demand for them has increased.
The power plant has been idle for months because of an extended dispute with its only customer, a state utility, over payments for power.
Jimmy Mogul, a spokesman for Enron, which owns 65percentt of Dabhol, said the company remained open to discussions in the dispute, which involves overdue payments for power.
The market provides payments for power plants that would otherwise be closed or mothballed to stay online, as well as for new generating capacity and "demand-side response" schemes that cut demand when supplies are tight.
Dabhol, a 2,184-megawatt 2,184-megawatt65 plantnthatned by the Enron Corporatisn, has been idle as a result of a dispute over back payments for power by a utility in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Industry watchers said successful offshore windfarm developers may secure guaranteed payments for power as low as £70-80 per megawatt hour in the government's auction, known as the second Contracts for Difference Allocation Round.
In recent years, Medicare reimbursements have nearly tripled, to more than $845 million in 2002 from just over $289 million in 1999, an increase that reflects a rise in the number of Medicare payments for power wheelchairs, to 159,000 in 2002 from 55,000 in 1999.
Delays in payments for power sold in California and in the sale of aviation and entertainment businesses are hurting Covanta's ability to meet terms of credit agreements with its banks, the company said on Friday after the close of regular trading.
The company is also looking beyond power, and basic notifications and into mobile payments for power services.
The system, based on the Japanese Felica standard, would allow authenticated power usage, power management for cafes and offices, as well as payments for power use.
