Central PSU NHPC has taken over its second hydropower project through a resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
NHPC, in a statement, said that it signed a definitive agreement on January 13, 2021, for implementation of the approved resolution plan for takeover of the 120-mw Rangit-IV hydropower project in Sikkim.
The project was taken over from Jalpower Corporation Ltd, part of the now-insolvent Jaypee Group.
The agreement was signed between NHPC, Resolution Professional and Secured Financial Creditors (PFC and PNB) in presence of Y.K. Chaubey, Director (Tech) NHPC, R.P. Goyal, Director (Finance), NHPC and senior officers from NHPC and PFC.
The Hyderabad bench of NCLT approved NHPC’s Resolution Plan for taking over Jalpower Corporation Ltd as a going concern vide its order dated December 24, 2020.
NHPC had submitted its Resolution Plan and was declared the successful resolution applicant by Committee of Creditors (CoC) on January 24, 2020. The CoC approved Resolution Plan was filed by Resolution Professional with Hon’ble NCLT Hyderabad Bench on January 28, 2020. The total cost of the project is estimated as Rs.943.20 crore.
Second takeover
Jalpower Corporation Ltd is the second company to be acquired through NCLT process by NHPC. In October 2019, the Central PSU successfully acquired Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd as a wholly-owned subsidiary company for the implementation of the 500-mw Teesta VI hydropower poject through Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The 500-mw Teesta-VI project, also in Sikkim, is estimated to cost around Rs.900 crore.
20 GW by 2030
NHPC has targeted to attain total installed capacity of 20 GW by end of 2030, the company’s CMD, A.K. Singh, said at the 44th AGM held on September 29, 2020 through video conferencing.
The company currently has under-construction hydropower projects aggregating installed capacity of 2,800 mw. Besides, projects aggregating 5,945 mw are under clearance or approval stage. Prominent among projects under construction is the 2,000-mw Lower Subansiri project straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
The 20 GW of installed capacity will include hydropower as well as other clean energy sources like solar. This will cover capacity owned by the company, as well as that by its joint ventures and subsidiaries.
Currently, NHPC’s operational hydropower capacity is around 7,100 mw.
