PFC extends a loan of Rs 30 billion to MSEDCL (India)
The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has signed a Rs 30 billion loan agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL). The loan will help MSEDCL clear its outstanding power purchase liabilities. It will also assist the discom in meeting its operational requirements within the working capital needs under the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
REC extends financial assistance to state power utilities in Jharkhand
The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has signed two agreements with Jharkhand’s state power utilities for financial assistance worth Rs 151.5 billion. The utility signed two separate MoUs with Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and Jharkhand Urja Sancharan Nigam Limited for Rs 81.5 billion and Rs 70 billion respectively during the Momentum Jharkhand Investors Summit 2017.
Uttar Pradesh government to issue bonds worth Rs 100 billion under UDAY
The Uttar Pradesh government plans to issue bonds worth Rs 100 billion under UDAY. This will be the second bond issuance by the state under the scheme. Till July 2016, the state government had issued bonds totalling Rs 240 billion in three tranches. Under UDAY, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited will fund its operational losses post October 2015 through the issuance of bonds backed by state government guarantees.
ADB and Government of India sign $500 million loan agreement
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $500 million loan agreement to improve power transmission in the country. The loan will facilitate financing of 800 kV high voltage direct current converter stations and 765 kV power transmission systems in India. It will help Power Grid Corporation of India (Powergrid) to add 6,000 MVA of transmission capacity between Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and Pugalur in Tamil Nadu, 2,000 MVA transmission capacity between Pugalur and North Thrissur (Kerala), and 3,000 MVA transmission capacity to accommodate renewable energy flows via Bikaner (Rajasthan) by 2020. The loan will account for about 19 per cent of the total project cost of $2,581 billion, with Powergrid financing the remaining $2,081 billion.
PFC sanctions Rs 27.03 billion loan to WBPDCL
PFC has sanctioned a loan of Rs 27.03 billion for developing the 660 MW Unit 5 of the Sagardighi thermal power plant in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. The project, being developed by West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), will be the first supercritical power project in the state. It is expected to be commissioned by October 2020 and will generate 4,209 MUs of electricity.
KfW extends Euro 200 million loan to EESL
German Development Bank KfW has signed a loan agreement of over Euro 200 million with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). With this, the total German commitment for energy efficiency in India stands at Euro 600 million.
Leap Green Energy to buy Inox’s wind power assets
JP Morgan-backed Leap Green Energy Private Limited has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Inox Renewables Limited’s entire wind power assets totalling 260 MW. The deal has an estimated enterprise value of over Rs 10 billion. Inox Renewables decided to exit the wind farming business to focus on its core business of wind turbine manufacturing. The acquisition will help Leap Green Energy increase its operating capacity to 762 MW. It plans to have a total operating capacity of 2,000 MW by 2019.
Kalpataru Power raises Rs 1 billion through NCDs
Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited has raised Rs 1 billion via the allotment of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The company has issued unsecured redeemable taxable NCDs on a private placement basis. A total of 1,000 NCDs of Rs 1 million each have been allotted under this arrangement.
ANEEL to auction transmission projects worth BRL 13.1 billion (Brazil)
Brazil’s energy regulator Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica (ANEEL) will auction new licences to build and operate 7,400 km of transmission lines worth BRL 13.1 billion. These power lines would pass through 20 Brazilian states and become operational within five years of the auction scheduled for April 24, 2017. The maximum annual revenue from the projects has been set at BRL 2.7 billion, while work deadlines range from three years to five years. Through the move, Brazil is attempting to rekindle interest in the transmission segment after a series of poor auction results in recent years.
World Bank sanctions $100 million loan for Rewa solar project
The World Bank will lend $100 million through the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency to finance the upcoming Rewa ultra mega solar project in Madhya Pradesh. Of the loan amount, $25 million will be used for developing transmission infrastructure at the site. The loan period of $75 million will be 19 years, at an interest rate to be calculated at the time of signing the papers. The loan period for the remaining $25 million is 40 years. Of the total loan amount, 25 per cent will come from the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which will charge an interest of only 0.25 per cent. The Rewa project is the first Indian solar project to receive a loan under the CTF. n