Torrent Power Limited has emerged as the highest bidder to buy 51 per cent stake in the power distribution companies in the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

The company has annual revenues of about ₹4,500 crore and sales of 9,000 million units and 1.5 lakh customers.

The company caters to a geographic area of 603 sq km.

“The acquisition of 51 per cent stake in the power distribution company by Torrent is subject to further formalities as prescribed under the tender documents,” the company said on Saturday.

The bidding for the distribution business of the UT has been undertaken as part of the Centre’s initiative to privatise distribution utilities of Union Territories to usher in efficiency, which will provide a model for emulation by other utilities across the country.

Torrent Power is the ₹13,641-crore integrated power utility of the ₹21,500-crore Torrent Group.

Samir Mehta, Chairman of Torrent Group, said, “With this acquisition, Torrent will be entrusted with the responsibility to distribute over 25 billion units of power, which is equivalent to around 2 per cent of India’s total power consumption. This acquisition will significantly strengthen Torrent’s position as the leading power distribution company in the country with a presence in 12 cities spread across 3 States and 1 Union Territory. We are excited to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and provide them the high standards of reliability and service that Torrent stands for.”

Torrent Power currently distributes nearly 16.66 billion units to over 3.65 million customers in the cities of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Dahej SEZ and Dholera SIR in Gujarat; Bhiwandi, Shil, Mumbra and Kalwa in Maharashtra and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

With the addition of Dadra & Nagar Haveli (including Silvasa) and Daman & Diu, Torrent will distribute nearly 25 billion units to over 3.8 million customers and cater a peak demand of over 5000 MW, the company said.

The company enjoys a strong balance sheet position with some of the best financial ratios amongst private players in the power sector with debt: equity ratio of 0.79 as at December 31, 2020 and net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.18 for FY20.

Torrent Power has the distinction of having the lowest AT&C losses of 4.53 per cent and best reliability indices in the country. It is well poised to participate in the new opportunities coming up in the sector in renewable generation, transmission and privatisation of state-owned distribution circles, the company said.

Published on February 20, 2021