NTPC, the country’s largest state-owned thermal power producer, has issued a second expression of interest (EOI) for acquiring coal-based thermal power projects, to put to use its cash reserve of around Rs 5,000 crore.

The company has invited applications from state electricity boards/power generation companies, independent power producers, power plant developers and captive power producers. The earlier EOI saw an overwhelming response from the private sector. As many as 32 projects with a cumulative generation capacity of 55,000 Mw were lined up for sale to the ‘maharatna’ stature company. Of the shortlisted five projects, private consultancy KPMG is finalising the best buy for NTPC.

The delay in the commissioning of NTPC’s R10,000-crore-Barh-I power project in Bihar, where Russian company TPE is a contractor, will figure prominently in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

Given the upcoming Bihar polls, the Modi government wants see early commissioning of the project, which has been delayed by three years due to slow work by TPE, a power equipment supplier fully owned by the Russian government. Sources said TPE has told NTPC it will be able to complete the project in 2017 only. The Indian power generator is in favour of changing the contractor so that pending work could be fast-tracked.

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has found 22 public sector firms including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Coal India, and Indian Oil Corporation to have violated various capital-market guidelines.

Meanwhile the State Bank of India has filed for the settlement of a case against it to the regulator, Parliament was informed on Friday.

Reiterating that revival of the beleaguered Dabhol was on the cards, NTPC today said all possible options are being explored for the same.

Dabhol will be revived. How can we afford in a country like ours to leave one project to get killed by itself. Many options are being considered and it has to be revived, NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury told reporters here.

NTPC Ltd, a maharatna PSU, that is in the course of implementing two super thermal power plants in Odisha, has now decided to commit investments in solar energy sector in the state.

“The state government has suggested to us that we should invest in solar power and we are okay with the proposal. Nationwide, NTPC has been mandated to generate 3,000 Mw solar power,” said NTPC chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury after meeting chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

The country’s largest power producer, NTPC Ltd has evinced interest to develop the 2,400 Mw coal-based power station proposed at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district through the joint venture (JV) route.

NTPC’s chairman and managing director, Arup Roy Choudhury today called on chief minister Naveen Patnaik and presented the proposal to the latter. But it is not clear the percentage of stake NTPC would have in the JV company.

The government has sought a report from the Coal Controller on delay in mining by NTPC from a Jharkhand mine which was alloted to the PSU about a decade ago.

The Coal Ministry has asked the Controller to inquire into non-mining of coal by NTPC on the basis of a complaint received from Bhu Visthapit Jagran Samiti, an association of villagers of Pakri Barwadih in Jharkhand.

New Delhi: The acquisition plans of India’s largest power generator NTPC Ltd may not help stranded power plants and financial institutions much, with the state-owned company scaling down its target and demanding that promoters and banks take haircuts.

We expect to acquire around 3,500 megawatts (MW) by March 2015, provided a substantial haircut is taken by the promoters and the banks. The due diligence is on for around seven or eight assets, said Arup Roy Choudhury, chairman and managing director of NTPC.

NTPC, the country's largest thermal power producer, witnessed a growth in the gross generation for the first half of 2014-15 to 118.5 billion units while the profit declined by 16 per cent for Q2FY15 owing to changes in rate regulations.

For Q2 FY15, the unaudited profit after tax was Rs 2,071.63 crore as against Rs 2,492.90 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Mumbai: The Sensex and Nifty on Friday hit a new high for the second consecutive day on hopes that further reforms by the government may attract more investment from foreign as well as domestic institutional investors. This is the fourth consecutive day of gains for the benchmark indices.

Investors also think that reforms will help narrow fiscal deficit.

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