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JSEB chairman SN Verma (right) and Abhijeet Group CEO (second from left) in Ranchi on Wednesday. Telegraph picture
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Ranchi, Dec. 5: Abhijeet Group today signed an agreement with Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB), promising to give the state surplus electricity generated from its upcoming Seraikela-Kharsawan captive power plant.
The timing of the power-purchase agreement is tidy as it gives a welcome distraction to JSEB, facing flak from unions for privatising distribution jobs in Ranchi and Jamshedpur. It also gives the Arjun Munda government a rare piece of good news.
The Group is also in the final stage of commissioning 2x30 (total 60 MW) captive power plants along with a proposed 2.5 MTPA integrated steel mill in the tribal-dominated district. Production is expected to roll from early 2013.
The agreement was signed in the presence of JSEB chairman S.N. Verma and Abhijeet Group chief executive officer Arun Gupta.
Deputy general manager Shyam K. Patel of the Group’s sister concern, Corporate Ispat Alloys Limited, and JSEB chief engineer (commercial) S.C. Mishra signed the deal.
Abhijeet Group head (corporate affairs) Sanjay Srivastava told The Telegraph that the power purchase agreement would greatly help the state.
The Group is also aggressively pursuing the 1,740 MW power plant in Naxalite-hit Chandwa area, Latehar. It is in final stages of commissioning the first phase of the project that would generate 270 MW. Work to commission another 270 MW unit is also on.
According to the MoU signed with the state, the Group is expected to provide 25 per cent of the electricity generated from the Chandwa plant to the state government. Jharkhand may use it for consumption primarily inside the state.
Touted as a game-changer, the Chandwa project has been facing delays due to niggling troubles in the area. The Group is yet to sign a power-purchase agreement with regard to the Chandwa units as well.
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