Tata Power to Acquire 51% Stake in Odisha’s Discom; Doubles Consumer Base

Marking its successful entry into the state of Odisha, utility giant Tata Power Company Ltd has won the bid to acquire a major shareholding of 51 percent in the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) of Odisha.

Mumbai-headquartered Tata Power said in a statement that “the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has awarded the Letter of Intent (LOI) to the company informing it’s selection as the successful bidder to own the licence for the distribution and retail supply of electricity in the state’s 5 circles together constituting CESU.”

Also, the licence is being offered initially for a period of 25 years, it added.

The 5 electrical circles constituting CESU includes the areas of Bhubaneswar (Electrical Circle – I and II), Cuttack, Paradip and Dhenkanal.

Through this acquisition, the company’s consumer base will get doubled to touch 5 million consumers, as its current consumer base is 2.5 million across Mumbai, Delhi and Ajmer, and CESU’s consumer base is also 2.5 million.

Commenting on the achievement, Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD of Tata Power, said “Tata Power has several successful public-private partnerships in generation, transmission & distribution in the country. Recently, our focus has been on increasing the company’s existing footprint in distribution of electricity through Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) with discoms. This tie up with CESU is the latest such partnership in the distribution business.”

Further, CESU is spread in an area of more than 30,000 Sq km with a population of more than 1.4 crore. Moreover, its average demand is approx. 1.3 GW with an annual input energy of 8,400 MUs (FY 2018).

“We hope to transform Odisha distribution system with 24×7 reliable power and unmatched customer services with extensive social engagement using our existing experience in distribution of electricity in Delhi, Mumbai and Ajmer,” said Sanjay Banga, President-T&D of Tata Power.

Meanwhile, the proposed sale of Discom will be through the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), in which, the utility giant will hold 51 percent equity with their management whereas the state government will own 49 percent shareholding.