Adani to boost Udupi Power capacity to 2,800 MW

UPCL had signed power PPA with Karnataka to sell 90% of generated power while the balance 10% was to be sold to Punjab.

Adani Power is set to expand the capacity of Udupi Power Corporation (UPCL) to 2,800 MW from the present 1,200 MW at an estimated investment of Rs. 11,500 crore, reports a financial newspaper.

The company plans to set up two more units of 800 MW each near Udupi to raise capacity, according to the daily.

It may be recalled that Adani acquired UPCL from Lanco Infratech early last year at an enterprise valuation of INR 6,300 crore.

“We have just received the approval from the State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) of Karnataka government for our proposal. We will be signing a MoU with the state government very soon. We still require many other approvals including one from the ministry of environment,” UPCL ED Kishore Alva told the newspaper.

He said that the company would be funding the project through a mix of debt and equity, yet to be decided.

“The debt to equity ratio will be decided once we sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state government,” Alva said.

For the first phase of the project, UPCL had borrowed 76% of the project cost of INR 5,800 crore from a consortium of bankers, led by Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

Currently, UPCL is generating 1,200 MW thermal power using imported coal at Nandikur near Udupi in Karnataka and the entire power is supplied to electricity companies in the state.

UPCL had signed power PPA with Karnataka to sell 90% of generated power while the balance 10% was to be sold to Punjab.