GVK wants to sell Punjab unit to NTPC

Power plant under construction, expected to go on stream in the first quarter of FY15

GVK Power & Infrastructure is looking to monetise its 540 Mw Goindwal Sahib power plant in Punjab. The company is known to have approached state-owned power generator NTPC for a possible sale.

The plant has coal linkages with the Tokisud and Seregarha mines from Jharkhand. It is still under construction and is expected to commission in the first quarter of the coming financial year, according to a Prabhudas Liladher report. It also has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Punjab State Power Commission. The cost of setting up the project is around Rs 2,000 crore.

“The talks are yet to begin on the deal but the paperwork has begun,” said a source. GVK said it would not comment on speculation when asked; NTPC did not respond to a query. But GVK is known to be interested in completely exiting the project.

In an interview earlier, the chairman of NTPC had said they’d been getting offers for purchase from various private power entities to sell their assets. “However, we will only look at power assets if land, fuel, water and environmental clearances are available. Some producers have gone in for power assets without ticking off these boxes and we will not do that,” said  Arup Roy Choudhury, chairman and managing director.

NTPC, the country’s biggest power generator, with cash reserves of Rs 16,867 crore, had last month issued an expression of interest (EoI) to buy coal-based power plants, whether operational, commissioned, synchronised, under construction or under planning. State electricity boards (SEBs), independent power producers, power plant developers and captive power producers were asked to offer projects based on domestic coal, imported coal or a mix. EoIs have to be given by April 7.

GVK’s power business has been posting lower revenues on account of reduced supplies to its three operating gas-fired power plants, totalling 900 Mw in capacity. In the quarter ended December, it posted revenue of Rs 97.6 crore, down from Rs 237 crore in the same quarter last year.

After a hiatus of around  two years, a few power companies  have been able to strike a few deals to monetise their assets. Recently, Singapore-based Sembcorp bought a 45 per cent stake in Nagarjuna Construction’s Company’s 1,320-Mw project in Andhra, Rs 848 crore. In December last year, French power utility GDF Suez bought 74 per cent in Meenakshi Energy for $400 million (Rs 2,440 crore). The company has 300 Mw of operational capacity and is building a 700-Mw coal-fired plant in Andhra.

PROJECT BLUEPRINT

* The 540-Mw Goindwal Sahib power plant in Punjab has coal linkages with the Tokisud and Seregarha mines from Jharkhand

* It has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Punjab State Power Commission

* The cost of setting up the project is around Rs 2,000 crore

* The cost of setting up the project is around Rs 2,000 crore