Singapore, 1 September (Argus) — Indian private sector utilities Adani Power and Torrent Power have won the rights to build coal-fired power plants with a combined generation capacity of 2.4GW in Madhya Pradesh, India.
The companies were awarded the projects following a tariff-based auction conduced by the state’s MP Power Management, according to separate stock exchange filings on 30 August. Torrent will set up a 1.6GW power plant at an estimated cost of 220bn Indian rupees ($2.49bn), while Adani won the right to build an 800MW power plant in the state at about Rs105bn. The plants, to be built in the state’s Anuppur district, will run on domestic coal.
Torrent was awarded the 1.6GW project after its /KWh tariff bid was successful, while Adani’s bid was at /KWh. Torrent will take 72 months from the date of the power purchase agreement to build the plant, while Adani aims to commission its project within 54 months, the companies said in their respective filings.
The project awards come as India aims to boost its overall generation to power its economic growth and provide round-the-clock electricity to all households in coming year. The project awards are also in line with India’s plans to add 80GW of new coal-fired generation capacity by 2032 to meet an anticipated growth in India’s power demand over the next decade.
The projects, along with other under construction and existing power plants, could buoy domestic coal demand and absorb the bulk of local coal supplies, at a time when state-owned coal producer Coal India (CIL) aims to bulk up its output.
CIL plans to raise its production in the April 2025- March 2026 financial year to 875mn t, up by 12pc from about 781.1mn t in the 2024-25 financial year and lift it further to 1bn t in the subsequent financial year. CIL will further raise the output to 1.04bn t in 2027-28, 1.08bn t in 2028-29 and 1.13bn t in 2029-30.
The plans are part of India’s efforts to meet most of its coal demand through domestic sources and reduce non-essential coal imports. The country’s local coal output is expected to grow by /yr to reach about 1.5bn t by 2029-30, with CIL accounting for three-quarters of production. India’s total coal production stood at 1.05bn t in 2024-25.
By Saurabh Chaturvedi
