Power Min to seek Cabinet nod for revised UMPP bid documents

Power Ministry will seek Cabinet approval for revised bidding documents for Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs), paving the way for auctioning three plants entailing an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore by March-end.
"We shall shortly be putting to the Cabinet, a draft bid document for UMPP (domestic coal-based) duly revised taking into account all the concerns of all stakeholders," Power Minister Piyush Goyal said.
The investment for a UMPP of 4,000 MW has been revised from Rs 20,000 crore to about Rs 27,000 crore recently on the basis of rise in prices of coal and land. Thus, the auction of three UMPPs entail an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore.

About the bid document for imported coal-based UMPPs, the minister said, "It will take some time to finalise the bid document for imported coal-based UMPPs. The discussion on it is on."
Once approved by the Cabinet, the auction for domestic coal-based UMPPs can be conducted. The government has planned to auction three UMPPs by March-end.
"I will try to come out before March with at least two or three UMPPs and may be other two by June," Goyal had said.

Goyal had also said the auctions would have a mix of old and new UMPPs.
He had indicated that the UMPPs in Banka in Bihar, Tilaiya in Jharkhand, Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu and Bedabahal UMPP in Odisha are likely to go under hammer.

The bidding for Tilaiya UMPP in Jharkhand is also expected this fiscal as the 18 procurers of power across 10 states from the project have agreed in-principle to accept the termination letter served by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power.
Reliance Power has also sought to exit the stalled 4,000 MW Krishnapatnam UMPP on the lines of Tilaiya UMPP.
Government had aborted bidding for Cheyyur (Tamil Nadu) and Bedabahal (Odisha) due to tepid private sector response in January last year.
The private firms, which had participated in the first round of bidding for both the projects, withdrew their bids citing difficulties in securing finances for these projects.

About India's capability to enhance power generation, Goyal said, "As on today, India has capability to enhance its power generation to one-half time from existing level of one trillion units. Our coal-based plants are running on less than their installed capacities."
The minister added, "In three-and-a-half-year term of the Narendra Modi government, the transmission capacity in South India will be increased to three times."
On coal production, the minister said, "...Coal India's production growth is 9.7 per cent as on today. We have to slow down the production because offtake is less."
He said, "We are facing this problem because of global issues. There is a situation that price of coal has come down so much that some are preferring to continue dry fuel imports. Despite that we have reduced coal imports."

During this year, the thermal coal imports would be reduced by 25 per cent compared to 2014-15. The import of coking coal cannot be reduced because its availability in the country is less, he added.