UP signs MoUs for 4 power plants

Under the energy policy of 2009, the department had set a target of making UP power-rich by 15,000 MW through the MoU route. Before Friday, it had already signed MoUs with different power providers for setting up power plants with a combined capacity of 9,680 MW. On Friday, the department signed MoU with four more companies for setting up power plants, each of them having an installed capacity of 1,320 MW. Together, the four would contribute 5,280 MW. The four power providers included Torrent and Wel Spun Power. While the former would set up a 1,320 MW power plant in Sandila, the latter would come up with a power plant with a similar capacity in Ghazipur. The state government also entered into an agreement with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Tehri Hydro-electric Development Corporation (THDC) for setting up power plants in Bilhaur near Kanpur and Khurja respectively. Together, the four power plants would come up at a cost of Rs 26,400 crore, said chief secretary, Atul Kumar Gupta. Energy secretary, Navneet Sehgal, who signed the MoU on behalf of the department of energy, said 90% of the total output from power plants to be set up by Torrent and Vel Spun would come to the state. Likewise, NTPC and THDC would also provide 60% of the output to the state. Sehgal said that the state government intends to make UP power-sufficient by 2015. For this purpose, it has proposed setting up of power plants with a total installed capacity of 25,000 MW. Energy minister, Ram Veer Upadhyay, who was also present on the occasion, claimed that the MoU route was an efficient way to set up more and more power plants in the state. Significantly, the MoU had been questioned by the central power ministry, which claimed that it lacked transparency. The ministry, in fact, went on to set a deadline of January 5, 2011 for all state governments to switch over to competitive bidding process.