India Power aims to become preferred partner of state governments

KOLKATA: India Power Corporation, in consortium with a €71 billion (Rs 6.11 lakh crore) French power utility major EDF International, have submitted bids to acquire power distribution utilities in Odisha.
The consortium offers a combination of technical capabilities, financial strength and decades of experience in domestic and global environments, the company said in a statement.

The move is part of India Power's strategy to become the preferred partner of state governments across India for supplying electricity to domestic and industrial consumers at affordable rates.

India Power whole-time director Somesh Dasgupta said: "We believe that the consortium is well placed to meet expectations of all the stakeholders in Odisha. While India Power will bring in the local knowledge and domain expertise of more than a century, EDF International will offer cutting-edge technological capabilities and global best practices."

Having established its expertise in West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the company now plans to expand its operations to enter new geographies, subject to necessary clearances and approvals, said Raghav Raj Kanoria, managing director, India Power.

An integrated power utility, India Power has been supplying power over 618 square kilometres in West Bengal's Asansol-Ranigunj region for more than a century and has a 2 MW solar plant in Asansol jointly with the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation.

The company's renewable portfolio also includes 35.2 MW of wind power generation assets in Gujarat and Karnataka, where it has been supplying power to the state electricity distribution companies.

India Power's wholly-owned subsidiary, MP Smart Grid, has been engaged in executing a first-of-its-kind public private partnership that involves installation of 350,000 smart meters across five towns – Ujjain, Ratlam, Dewas, Khargone and Mhow – in Madhya Pradesh. In addition to the end-to-end deployment of smart meters at the consumer premises, the project entails setting up of sophisticated technology infrastructure with an operation and maintenance mandate for a period of five years.