REL eyes 15000MW addl power, to focus on EPC

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm Reliance Energy is planning a capacity addition of 15,000 MW from power generation projects using coal, gas, hydro and other renewable fules at an investment of over Rs.60,000 crore over the next five years. This is over a tenth of the installed power generation capacity in the country today.

Addressing the 78th annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Energy in Mumbai today, Anil Ambani, chairman, said the company is planning to bag at least two of the proposed 4,000 MW ultra mega power plants, which would involve investment of nearly Rs 40,000 crore. The company is pre-qualified for the final bid for the Krishnapattanam ultra mega power project in Andhra Pradesh and has submitted request for qualification for the pit-head based Tilaiya project in Jharkhand.

Reliance Energy currently produces a total of about 950 MW of power through its 500 MW (2 units of 250 MW each) Dahanu thermal power plant near Mumbai, and from power projects at Kochi, Andhra Pradesh, Goa as well as a windfarm in Karnataka.

It is also setting up a 1,200 MW (2 units of 600 MW each) coal-based power plant at Rosa and a 7,480 MW project at Dhirubhai Ambani Energy City at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. Further, it is also developing a 300 MW coal-based power plant at Butibori near Nagpur and a 4,000 MW power plant at Shahapur in Raigad district of Maharashtra at an estimated investment of Rs 15,000 crore, comprising a 2,800 MW gas-based project and a 1,200 MW imported coal-based project.

To feed these plants, Anil Ambani said Reliance Energy has also applied to the coal ministry for the allottment of eight coal blocks located in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal.

In the field of renewable energy, the company has already won bids for 2,000 MW of hydro electric projects and is currently developing the 280 MW Urthing Sobla power project in Jharkhand at an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore and has commenced work on 2 hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh at Tato and Middle Siang with a total capacity of 1,700 MW and an investment of Rs 8,500 crore.

Reliance Energy has emerged as the preferred bidder for a further six hydro projects in Arunachal Pradesh with a total capacity of over 3,000 MW, expected to cost Rs 18,000 crore, Ambani said.

In the field of wind energy, the company is installing wind farms in Maharashtra with an aggregate capacity of 150 MW for nearly Rs 1,000 crore. These projects are likely to be operational before March 2008.

Reliance plans to add another 350 MW over the next few years to become one of the largest players in India in this segment, said Anil Ambani.

Once the necessary legislatory provisions are in place, Reliance Energy would also endeavour to develop 2,000 MW of nuclear power at a cost of about Rs.12,000 crore, he said.

The company has also set its eyes on power related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business and core infrastructure projects like highways, mass transport systems and real estate development as major areas of growth in future.

The company plans to bid for EPC projects worth more than Rs.20,000 crore over the course of this year. Currently, EPC business contributes about 32% of the company's Rs.6,500 crore turnover, Anil Ambani said.