India Power completes acquisition of Nellore power plant

• 8 years ago (2016-11-17)
• David Flin

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India Power Corporation, a Srei Group company, has announced that it has concluded the purchase of Meeakshi Energy, a 1000 MW power plant at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. The company bought the plant from Engie Group of France for $1. India Power is expanding its business through the acquisition of plants.

Hemant Kanoria, Chairman of India Power, said that the company has already commissioned 300 MW of generation at Nellore, and another 700 MW will be available by the middle of 2017. Kanoria claimed that the Engie Group was struggling to run the plant and wanted to reduce its carbon footprint.

The Nellore plant will run on coal imported from Indonesia. India Power is looking to acquire more stressed assets, such as Meenakshi Power, and a team headed by Kanoria’s son, Raghav Raj Kanoria, a Director at India Power, is examining proposals from lenders.

India Power is set to commission the first unit of its 450 MW power plant in Haldia in West Bengal. The plant will start generating 150 MW from the end of December, and will be run on imported coal.

Both the plants will be managed by India Power’s 50:50 joint venture with Germany’s Uniper Karftwerke, launched two months ago. The joint venture will provide the technology for improving operational efficiency at Indian thermal power plants.

India Power is also looking to expand its distribution business, and it has applied for new licences in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district and Gurgaon in Haryana, Kanoria said. It currently supplies power in some parts of West Bengal and Bihar.