Reliance Energy bags MIDC nod for group captive power plants

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has mandated Reliance Energy Ltd to set up a 100 mw group captive power plants in the industrial estates of Thane-Belapur and Butibori-Hingna to cater to units suffering from erratic and poor quality power supply.

"We have evaluated all the request for proposals and have selected rel for setting up gcpps in both the industrial areas," MIDC chief executive officer Satish Gavai said here today.

Gavai said the projects would be operational by the second half of 2006.

The two projects, with an aggregate cost outlay of Rs 700 crore, are part of MIDC'S initiative to tide over frequent power cuts by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) in industrial areas.

"The provisions of the electricity act, 2003 allow industries to set up captive power plants for generating power for their own use. MIDC decided to take advantage of this provision by facilitating setting up gccps at estates in neighbouring Thane district and the other near Nagpur," he said.

The plants would be run with active participation of the consumers and a special purpose vehicle would be floated for this, he added. Consumers would hold 26 per cent equity while the balance would be held by Reliance Energy, which would be free to raise additional capital from the market.

MIDC has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as consultants for the project and four companies "" Wartsila Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Tata Power Company and Reliance Energy were shortlisted forthe final bids.

Gavai said these gcpps would ensure stability of power and also reduce the load on MSEB's supply grid.

The Thane-Belapur plants would tap gas from the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline put up by GAIL (India) Ltd, while the Butibori plant would be a coal-based power plant.

The contract would be for 30 years and the power tariff would remain stable over a mutually agreed timeframe, which would be reviewed later.

Nearly 960 out of the 2,300 manufacturing units in Thane-Belapur MIDC had shown their willingness to participate in the project while around 1,000 manufacturing units in Butibori-Hingna MIDC will avail of the group captive plant service.

MIDC is also planning to facilitate various other group captive plants in industrial areas such as Kagal, Badlapur, Ranjangaon, Tarapur, Hingawadi and Airoli in the near future.

"We are facilitating the setting up of such plants in areas which have the demand for such projects and also have the natural resources needed to keep such a plant functioning," Gavai said.