MIDC signs MoU with REL for two GCPP in Thane, Nagpur

Mumbai, Apr 18 (UNI) Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) today signed an agreement with Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) for setting up Group Captive Power Projects (GCPP) in Thane and Nagpur in Maharashtra.

Speaking on the occasion Maharashtra Minister Industries, Mines, Cultural Affairs and Protocol Ashok Chavan said, ''We are delighted to have Reliance Energy Ltd on board, to help us build Group Captive projects in Thane and Butibori. We are certain that this initiative will meet the power requirements of our industrial consumers and advance the business opportunity and development potential of the region.'' In an interaction with scribes after the signing ceremony, MIDC CEO Rajiv Jalota said the new projects will increase power supply to the Industrial consumers of Thane-Belapur and Butibori Industrial areas.

He also said the selection of REL was done on the basis of the Expression of Interest (EOI) sent by MIDC to the developers for setting up GCPP with a minimum capacity of 100 MW in the month of June 2004 and short listed bidders on November 2, 2004. Subsequent to which, the final bids were submitted on March 30, 2005.

Based on the Technical and Financial evaluation criteria envisaged by MIDC, Reliance Energy has been selected as an implementing agency through the process of competitive bidding for both the projects and received the Letter of Intents (LOI) on May 16, 2005.

The Thane-Belapur power project will have 165 MW capacity and will have Natural Gas as the feedstock to cater to consumers in Thane and New Mumbai which includes about 566 HT (heavy Transformer) consumers, while Butibori power projects at Nagpur with a 130 MW capacity will cater to the targeted consumers including 194 HT consumers.

Mr J P Chalasani, Director (Business Development), Reliance Energy said the Company will incorporate two Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) along with industrial consumers for both industrial areas to execute the project. The SPV will hold necessary equity requirements of both REL and the industrial consumers as per requirement to qualify for Group Captive Power Project.

The concept of GCPP envisages a power plant set up by to generate electricity primarily for own consumption. Further, not less than 26 per cent of ownership is held by the captive users, and not less than 51 per cent of aggregate electricity generated on annual basis is consumed for captive use. It also envisages that a unit in the generating station can also be classified as captive and the requirements will then be on proportionate basis for the generating company.

UNI SN MAZ VKG2235