RPower plans Rs 50,000-cr capex over next five years

Reliance Power (RPower) plans to invest nearly Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years to undertake various expansion projects, including increasing power generation and coal production.
"We will complete our first phase of investments of Rs 50,000 crore, in development projects, this fiscal. We now plan to invest another Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years for undertaking various expansion projects," RPower chairman Anil Ambani told shareholders during the AGM.
He said the company has invested in projects like the 600-mw Butibori project in Maharashtra, the 4,000-mw Sasan UMPP and coal production in the region, the 40-mw solar project in Rajasthan and other wind-based projects.

"These projects are coming to financial closure and most of them have begun operations," Ambani said.
He said the funds will be used to commence power generation from its 4,000-mw ultra mega power project in Tilaiya in Jharkhand as well as the coal production, with a capacity of 40 mt per annum, linked with it and the 700-mw Tato hydel project in Arunachal.
"The Supreme Court has cancelled the allocation of coal blocks but four and two of them which are linked to our UMPPs in Sasan in MP and Tilaiya in Jharkhand belong to us. We have coal blocks with a total capacity of 65 mt of coal and once they are operational we will be the largest coal producer in the country," he said.

Ambani further said the company is mulling participating in the government's plans to set up solar UMPPs in various parts.

"We are actively considering participating in the government's plan to set up solar UMPPs in India. The government will announce the UMPP schemes and each project is likely to be as large as 500 mw each. We will support one of them," Ambani said.
Replying to a shareholder's query about the proposed 7,480 mw Dadri gas-based project in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "based on the overall scenario we have decided to give back 2000 acres acquired for the Dadri project to the state which will in turn give it back to the owners."

However, he said "as and when the gas scenario changes, we will have exposure to largest 2,400-mw gas based Samalkot project in Andhra".
"We hope the government will take efforts to put the capacity of nearly 28,000mw which is lying idle due to lack of gas to productive use as these are national assets. There were assurances from the government when these plants were built that gas will be supplied.
"As the government reviews the gas based pooling combining domestic and imported fuel, we believe gas based plants will start in near future," Ambani added.