Sterlite Tech wins 6th UMTP project from govt

The company said the project consists of one substation and 800 circuit kilometers of 400kV lines in the states of Punjab and J&K

Sterlite Technologies Ltd today said its arm Sterlite Grid Ltd has been awarded sixth ultra- mega transmission project (UMTP) on build-own-operate basis by the Ministry of Power.

"This Northern Region Strengthening Scheme project (NRSS 29) is a part of the National Grid and is designed to carry over 1000 MWs of electricity from Punjab to the Kashmir Valley," Sterlite Tech, a Vedanta Group firm, said in a statement without disclosing the contract amount.

The Kashmir valley has been troubled by frequent blackouts on account of unavailability of sufficient power. These blackouts occur mostly during the winter months thereby having a severe impact on the lives of Valley residents.

"The NRSS 29 project was conceived by the Central Electricity Authority to provide a direct link between Punjab and the valley region," the company said, adding that a new route was specifically chosen to ensure the line has minimum outages.

Post-construction, Sterlite Grid will be responsible for ensuring that the link is active for 98% of the year.

The company said the project consists of one substation and 800 circuit kilometers of 400kV lines in the states of Punjab and J&K.

Sterlite Grid had quoted an annual tariff of about Rs 440 crore per year, which is 5% lower than the next highest bid.

This will be Sterlite Grid's largest project in terms of revenues and scale.

Sterlite Technologies Director Pravin Agarwal said this "iconic" infrastructure project which will bring over 1000 MW of uninterrupted power to residents of the Kashmir valley.

"We look forward to commissioning this transmission link in record time with the help of the State Government, the GoI and the people of Jammu & Kashmir," he said.

The company said Sterlite Grid continues to enjoy a leadership position in UMTP and now has a portfolio consisting of over 5000 circuit kilometers of EHV lines and 3 substations.

When operational, this portfolio will deliver approximately Rs 1100 crores of tariff per year, it added saying its first three projects are in final stages of construction whereas its first operational line Purnea to Biharsharif 400kV D/C has been generating revenue since September 2013.

Sterlite Grid is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sterlite Technologies and develops power transmission systems on build-own-operate basis. Currently, it is developing transmission projects across 10 states.

Sterlite Technologies scrip was trading at Rs 38.75, down 6.06%, in the pre-close trading on the BSE.