NTPC has come to the rescue of the Bihar government by taking stake in three power projects there; two projects are under construction and the third has been identified as a stressed asset.

A company statement said that NTPC had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bihar government, Bihar State Power Holding Company, Bihar State Power Generation Company, North Bihar Power Distribution Company, South Bihar Power Distribution Company, and Bihar State Power Transmission Company Ltd.

Projects

Under the MoU, the 720 MW Barauni Thermal Power Station will be transferred to NTPC. The equity held by Bihar State Power Generation Company in Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited and the Nabinagar Power Generating Company Limited will be transferred to NTPC.

At the Barauni Thermal Power Station in Begusarai district, while the stage-I (2x110 MW) is in advance stages of renovation and modernisation, stage-II (2x250 MW) is under construction. NTPC is expected to complete the balance work and achieve sustained commercial operation in a time bound manner.

The Nabinagar Power Generating Company is a 50:50 joint venture company of NTPC and Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited. The joint venture is developing a 1,980 MW (3x660 MW) Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project in Aurangabad, Bihar. The project is under construction.

The third project that NTPC will take over is of the Kanti Bijli Utpadan Nigam Limited, a subsidiary of NTPC in a joint venture with the Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited. Currently, NTPC owns 72.64 per cent and Bihar State Power Generation Company 27.36 per cent equity in KBUNL.

KBUNL owns and operates the Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station in Kanti, Muzaffarpur district . While this plant is operational, it has been identified as a stressed/non-performing asset, according to a Power Ministry statement in the Rajya Sabha.

An NTPC official said, “The valuation of these three projects is still being undertaken. For now we are at the MoU stage.”

Assets transfer

All the three power generation facilities are to be transferred to NTPC from a date that will be notified by the Bihar government through a Statutory Transfer Scheme.

“The transfer of these power stations to NTPC will result in their optimal and efficient utilisation, bring the tariff down and benefit the people of Bihar. Power from all the three power station shall be available to Bihar as before after approval by the Ministry of Power,” the NTPC statement added.

comment COMMENT NOW