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Quote by Mr.Manu Shrivastav, (IAS) – Secretary GoMP & MD-MPUVNL – On Rewa 750 MW Solar Project Bidding Outcome

Quote by Mr.Manu Shrivastav, (IAS) – Secretary GoMP & MD-MPUVNL – On Rewa 750 MW Solar Project Bidding Outcome

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Thanks. We are a small organisation. RUMS was created only in 2015. SECI and MP Urja Vikas Nigam created it as a 50:50 JV. We have been helped in each step by MNRE, MoP, GoMP(Energy, Finance, Forest, Law departments), MPPMCL, Powergrid, MP Transco, IFC, World Bank. Delhi Metro trusted us, even though we had no VGF support. It is the 1st project with inter-state Open Access customer with a unique scheduling arrangement. We have an energy contract rather than pro rata power contracts prevalent in the sector including thermal. It has been a great relief, since our first target was to reach Rs 4.43, as we had to compete without any VGF or CFA. The auction has been on since 10am on Feb 10th . For Rewa Project, Bhanu spent sleepless mornings, starting 3am! Very often, I would edit some document and send to him by 1am and he would start working at 3am. And this continued for months. Bhanu & his team kept focus all along and that’s how we have this success today. 3 cheers!

According to Manu Srivastava, chairman, Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMS), and principal secretary in the state government, the project has its strengths. “There is payment security by way of a state government guarantee. The final consumers are also known, unlike in other contracts. Besides, in case something goes wrong, third party sales and compensation are available to the operators.” He said viability should not be an issue since safeguards were already in place. In case a company does not sign a power purchase agreement (PPA), it will forfeit its bid security of Rs 25 crore for each unit. Besides, there will be a performance guarantee of Rs 75 crore, which will be forfeited in the event of the project not taking off. “Solar panel prices have come down and these are serious players,” he added. Bidders are required to have a net worth of Rs 300 crore for one unit, Rs 550 crore for two units and Rs 750 crore for three units.

Srivastava said open access contracts were already in place and Power Grid’s transmission line and sub-station at the site would be up by October. Ninety-seven per cent of the land was already available, he said. RUMS is a state-owned company with Solar Energy Corporation of India as a 50 per cent partner. “We do not have even one employee. State government employees are working with it part time.” The World Bank-funded project will have three units of grid-mounted solar photovoltaic power plants of 250 mw each. The selected bidders will sign two sets of PPAs with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Power Management Corporation Ltd (MPPMCL). While DMRC is likely to buy 121 million units (kilowatt per hour) from each of the three units, MPPMCL will book 80 per cent of the generation capacity. Located in Gurh Tehsil in Rewa, the project will supply solar power to meet almost the entire daytime requirement of Delhi Metro. This will also enable the project to supply the bulk of the power within the state during peak demand hours.

Anand Gupta Editor - EQ Int'l Media Network

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