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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday reached out to industry by promising a congenial business environment in the state.
The chief minister said his government would provide all possible help to industry and businesses desirous of making investment in Uttar Pradesh.
He was speaking after state power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Lanco for the purchase of 424Mw of electricity, effective for 25 years beginning October 2016.
UPPCL would purchase power at the rate of Rs 4.31 to Rs 4.437 per unit.
Under case I bidding, UPPCL had already completed the bidding process for purchase of 6,000 Mw, of which letter of intent (LoI) was issued for 1464 Mw.
Meanwhile, the government also issued LoI to seven power developers for generating 130 Mw of solar energy. The developers would be given 13 months to set up the plant, preferably in the arid Bundelkhand region, where the government would wheel in the energy to the state grid for transmission at its own cost.
These companies include Moser Baer Projects Private Limited and Jakson Group.
Apart from this, the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Develo-pment Agency (UPNEDA) signed an agreement with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) for setting up of a 100 Mw solar plant in Jalaun district of Bundelkhand.
A joint venture would be set up and UPNEDA would acquire about 267 hectares of non-agricultural land for the unit, while the power plant would be set up by NHPC.
A typical solar power plant requires investment of Rs eight crore per MW of installed capacity. Initially, the power tariffs of a solar power plant is higher, however, over a period of time, it would become cheaper for the state.
Yadav said all these power power projects would help in attracting investment in the state.
Uttar Pradesh faces acute power demand-supply gap of about 20 per cent and is now upgrading its power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure to meet the growing energy needs of the present and be better equipped for the furture.
