AES to exit from OPGC, in talks with Adani to sell stakes

AES has 49 per cent stake in the State-run OPGC which operates four power thermal power units of 1,740 MW at Banharpalli in Jharsuguda district.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

BHUBANESWAR: AFTER divesting its interests in six power generation utilities in Jordan and the United Kingdom in April 2019, speculations are rife that US-based AES Corporation will quit its Odisha operation.

While the State Government is tightlipped on the development, sources said AES is in talks with Adani Power Limited for transfer of its stakes in Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC).

AES has 49 per cent stake in the State-run OPGC which operates four power thermal power units of 1,740 MW at Banharpalli in Jharsuguda district.

“Any negotiation with a third party for transfer of interests is not feasible without the knowledge of the State Government, the major stakeholder in a joint venture company like OPGC,” sources said.

The partners, in a joint venture, generally possess the right of first refusal on buying out the stakes held by other partner if the latter wishes to leave the business venture, it added.

Since the State Government being the major shareholder in OPGC, AES will search for a buyer for sell of its stake only after the Government refused to buy back the interests of the JV partner.

Authoritative sources told Express that AES has been discussing the issue of quitting OPGC in the Government for some quite sometime. However, nothing concrete has emerged yet.

AES acquired stake in OPGC from the State Government through an international competitive bidding (ICB) process in 1998.

The State-run company was operating 2 x 210 MW thermal power plant at Ib Thermal Power Stat i o n (ITPS).

Meanwhile, OPGC has added two supercritical units of 2 x 660 MW with an investment of Rs 11,300 crore.

While the first unit was commissioned in March 2019, the second unit went into commercial production in June the same year.

The thermal power generator has been awarded two coal blocks - Manoharpur and Manoharpur dip side - for the third and fourth units.

The captive coal blocks have been awarded to Odisha Coal and Power Limited Ltd (OCPL), a 51:49 joint venture between two State-run entities - OPGC and Odisha Hydro Power Corporation (OHPC). Both the coal blocks have a combined coal deposit of 531 million tonnes.

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