Top guns in fray for Anpara C

Reliance Energy confirms bidding for 1,000MW thermal plant in UP.

Reliance Energy, Essar Power, Torrent Power and Lanco Kondapalli are in the race to set up a 1,000-Mw thermal power plant in the Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.

The four companies have purchased the request for proposal (RFP) documents for the Anpara C power project from the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. "The RFP documents were issued on February 20," sources close to the development told Business Standard.

Confirming the development, JP Chalasani, director (business development), Reliance Energy, said, "We will be bidding for the project."

Essar Power Head (Business Development Group) Mukesh Tyagi said, "We are adequately equipped to deal with projects of this size and sizes even larger than this. However, we are also open to strategic partners for Anpara C."

Anpara C power project is a pit-head station with linkages from Northern Coal Fields Ltd. The total project cost is around Rs 4,000 crore. Ernst & Young is the government's adviser for the project.

The work on the project had come to a halt following strong opposition from power sector employees and Left parties on the privatisation issue.

Uttar Pradesh's State Electricity Regulatory Commission had also questioned the decision to use common facilities of the public sector Anpara A and B power plants for the Anpara C project.

The project will be awarded on the basis of tariff-based bidding. "Most of the approvals and clearances are in place for the project," the sources said.