India's JSW proposes to top Adani's bid for coal-power plant -sources

Power Finance

12/01/2024 08:33

By Sarita Chaganti Singh
       NEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - JSW Energy  JSWE.NS  has
proposed to top a bid by Adani Power  ADAN.NS , led by
billionaire Gautam Adani, for a thermal power plant, two sources
with direct knowledge of the matter said, as India looks to drum
up investment in coal-fired power. 
    The tussle for the 1,980-megawatt plant in central India,
ensnared in insolvency proceedings, comes after the power
minister called last November for more private investment to
meet a dramatic rise in electricity demand.
    In a letter, JSW Energy has asked India's insolvency court
to allow it to participate in an auction for the Amarkantak
project, said the sources, who sought anonymity as they were not
authorised to talk to media. 
    JSW has offered a better value than Adani's bid, added the
sources, who are aware of the letter, which has not been
previously reported.
    "Adani Power, with its revised offer, looked the best suitor
so far," one of the officials said.
    The official was referring to a bid of 41 billion rupees
($494 million) the company made last month, just as the
insolvency court prepared to give final clearance to another bid
from the lenders to the project.
    Adani Power's bid, an increase from a previous offer of 29.5
billion rupees, exceeds the bid of 30.2 billion rupees made in
Dec.2022 by state-run lenders Power Finance Corp (PFC)  PWFC.NS 
and REC Ltd  RECM.NS .
    Adani Power did not respond to Reuters' query while a
spokesperson for JSW Energy did not offer comment.   
    Private investments in coal-based power in India started
dwindling after 2018, hit by lower demand and an ambitious
national thrust in renewable energy. 
    Now the Amarkantak project goes up for a fresh auction
ordered by the insolvency court, which has limited participation
only to those who had put in financial bids. 
    Adani Power's revised bid will form the base price for the
auction, the two sources said.
    JSW, which had not put in a financial bid despite submitting
an expression of interest early in the insolvency process, was
excluded from the auction and is now seeking court permission to
join it.
    Reuters could not determine how much JSW intended to bid for
the partly operational project, which belongs to insolvent
industrial group Lanco and is located in the central state of
Chhattisgarh.
    It is one of many distressed coal-fired private power
stations mired in insolvency proceedings in recent years as 
owners did not have fuel supplies or the funds to complete them.
 ($1=83.0050 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Clarence
Fernandez)
 ((Sarita.ChagantiSingh@thomsonreuters.com;))