UP, Reliance Energy sign power pact

The agreement was signed by UP Chief Secretary VK Mittal and Reliance Energy Executive Vice-Chairman Satish Seth in the presence of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, State Development Council Chairman Amar Singh and Reliance group Vice-Chairman Anil Ambani.

The first phase of the plant, with an installed capacity of 8,000 Mw, was expected to be commissioned in two years, Ambani said.

The state would get over 1,500 Mw from the plant, to be set up with an investment of around Rs 11,000 crore, he said. The state, which was reeling under power shortage, would be the major beneficiary of the project, he added.

Ambani said the Reliance group, through its ventures in power generation, transmission and distribution, was committed to fulfilling the vision of  Dhirubhai Ambani.

Noting that it was by far the single largest investment in the state, Ambani said it would transform UP from a power deficient to a power surplus state. It would transform Dadri into the energy capital of the country, he added.

The company was committed to providing high quality, low cost and clean  power, Ambani said. Besides UP, the plant would supply power to Delhi and other power-starved states of the north.

Over 40 per cent of the power from the plant was committed to the state, said the Reliance Energy executive vice-chairman.

After the signing of the agreement, Ambani paid Rs 64 crore to the state government for completion of the land acquisition process.

Earlier, the company had proposed to procure natural gas from Reliance group's Dhirubhai gas fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, but later it also contemplated sourcing it from other sellers.

Under the pact, the state government and Reliance Energy are committed to give support to each other. The state government would provide all support for the completion of the project.