Integrated power utility company India Power Corporation (IPCL), which on Wednesday announced completion of the acquisition of Meenakshi Energy from French power giant Engie, is planning to invest around Rs. 3500 crore for setting up a 450 MW power plant in West Bengal’s Haldia.
Engie sold Meenakshi Energy to IPCL, a publicly listed Kanoria Foundation entity, as a part of its plan to exit thermal power operations worldwide to reduce carbon footprint. Meenakshi has a thermal power plant of 1,000 MW capacity in Andhra Pradesh.
“The acquisition has been done by transferring Rs. 2800 crore of Meenakshi’s debt into our own accounts and buying out Rs 3800 crore of equity at $1,” IPCL chairman Hemant Kanoria said.
Of the 1,000 MW capacity of Meenakshi Energy, 300 MW is already operational and 700 MW is under advance stage of implementation, which will be commissioned by the third quarter of next year. IPCL said the Meenakshi plant will enable it to add capacity of thermal power generation to its portfolio.
The company is setting up a 450 MW (150 MW x 3) power plant in Haldia, West Bengal, with an investment of about Rs. 3500 crore. The first unit of the plant will be commissioned by end of December this year, the second unit by March 2017, and the final unit by the end of next year.
India Power has recently formed a 50:50 joint venture with Germany’s Uniper Kraftwerke GmbH, which is one of the largest integrated energy corporations in the world. “The joint venture company will offer a broad range of flexible and customised services and customers can choose from full-service arrangements or select only individual services,” a company statement said.
Apart from expanding its power generation capacity, India Power has been expanding its power distribution operations strategically and now has distribution network of 250 MVA in Asansol-Durgapur and 200 MVA in Gaya. The company operates 100 MW wind power plant in Karnataka, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
IPCL said its consolidated estimated enterprise/asset value is now close to Rs 15,000 crore, with a combined debt of around Rs 6,000 crore.
