Adani wins power transmission bid for Uttar Pradesh power plant

Adani pipped two other bidders by emerging as the lowest bidder for laying the transmission lines for the much-delayed power plant

Adani Group company Adani Transmission Limited has won the bid for laying the transmission line for the 1980 megawatt (MW) Ghatampur thermal power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Adani pipped two other bidders, including Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited by emerging as the lowest bidder for laying the transmission lines for the much-delayed power plant.

Ghatampur plant is being developed by a joint venture (JV) between central public sector undertaking Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited and UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited. Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited, Neyveli and Utpadan Nigam own 51% and 49% stake in the JV respectively.

The plant is estimated to cost Rs 156 billion, while the contract for laying 4 transmission lines for the unit has been awarded for a consideration of Rs 22.60 billion. The contract would be valid for 35 years and the state power utility would pay rent for using these transmission lines for relaying power.

The Yogi Adityanath cabinet last evening approved the name of Adani Transmission to develop the transmission lines for the Kanpur-based Ghatampur unit, which would feed energy to the Western UP and Agra regions.

The power plant is likely to go full steam by 2011, although a 660 MW unit is projected to be complete by November 2020, followed by two other 660 units by May 2021 and November 2021 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government has also decided to set up anti-power theft police stations in all the 75 districts of UP. Manned by 28 police personnel, each thana would be headed by an inspector and comprise 5 sub-inspectors apart from head constables, constables and support staff.

“These police stations would function under the administrative control of UP Police, but its expenditure would be incurred by UP Power Corporation Limited,” UP energy minister and government spokesperson Shri Kant Sharma said.

Similar police stations already exist in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, he said. 

The infrastructure is being created to curb rampant power theft across the 5 power distribution companies (discoms) in the state, which results in massive financial losses and power outages.

In all, the energy department would recruit 2,157 personnel to man these anti-power theft police stations.

“There were some difficulties in dealing with power thieves, therefore, we have decided to raise a separate police force to end this menace,” Sharma added.

At the end of 2015-16 fiscal, the accumulated losses of UP power discoms had breached Rs 600-billion mark. Under Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the state had made budgetary provisions of Rs 400 billion to issue bonds to discoms to partly clean their books.

UP has always grappled with high aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of about 40%, which was targetted to be tamed to 10%.