PSPCL set to take possession of GVK Thermal in January

Published on: 04 Jan 2024 at 02:57 PM

Published by: PreetiMahajan

Chandigarh, January 4

Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd.(PSPCL) is all set to take the 540 MW GVK thermal plant in its possession in January as all the legal formalities have been completed.

The time period for takeover by the purchaser is two months from the date of order of NCLT.

Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) in its order on Wednesday approved the proposed acquisition of the GVK Power Plant at the stated bid of Rs. 1080 crore and stated that this would result in the supply of economical and reliable power to the consumers of the state.

Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd.(PSPCL) is all set to take the 540 MW GVK thermal plant in its possession within this month as all the legal formalities have been completed.

Earlier NCLT, Hyderabad bench approved the sale of the GVK thermal plant to PSPCL on December 22, 2023. After this, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday approved the proposed acquisition.

PSERC in its order observed that PSPCL’s bid of Rs. 1080 crores for a project assessed to have a ‘Fair Value in the range of Rs. 1785.93 crores to Rs. 1955.42 crores ’ and an ‘Average Liquidation Value of Rs.1347.97 crores is a most economical option.

Now PSPCL will use better quality coal available at an economical cost from its own Pachwara Mine, the variable cost, upon acquisition, is likely to be around Rs. 3.40 per unit as compared to an existing average of Rs. 3.98 per unit for FY 2023-24 (till Nov., 2023).

Now with the reduced variable charges, the plant is expected to pick up its PLF to about 80% from an existing level of 40-50%, thereby reducing the per unit fixed cost further.

The Average tariff paid by the PSPCL during 2023-24 (Till Nov-23) comes to about Rs. 6.04 per unit i.e. at per unit fixed rate and variable rate of Rs. 2.06 and Rs. 3.98 respectively. PSPCL has taken 11165 million units of energy at a total cost of Rs.7902 crores during the last 8 years.

With this takeover over it would avoid a potential liability/ burden of about Rs. 3000 crores.