"There are two conditions we have (for bidding in UMPPs). One, it should not be imported coal-based. Second is that the financial market should be such that it attracts foreign currency loans," Tata Power Executive Director S Ramakrishnan said. The company's decision stems from the volatility in international coal prices, which could further pressurise domestic power prices in future.
"We are already exposed to about 20 million tonnes of imported coal. Any more is not advisable from our portfolio point of view because international coal prices can go high, in which case the power you produce becomes very expensive. We are very keen to look at domestic (coal-based) UMPPs. If it is based on imported coal, we will not bid," Ramakrishnan said.
He also added the company would remain "averse" to taking decisions in the matter until the government's policy on making imported coal affordable and the policy on foreign currency exposure becomes clear.
"There are some discussions in terms of a pool price of coal, wherein imported coal and Indian coal could be mixed into one pool, so that it (imported coal) becomes affordable. Also, foreign currency loans for Indian projects have almost evaporated. We believe that the Indian financial system will get overloaded with exposure to the power industry. Until this issue is solved, there will be an issue of funding. So, let these policies get cleared before we review this," he said.
Tata Power, which is implementing the imported coal-based Mundra UMPP, had bid for the Sasan pithead UMPP but the project went to Reliance Power after the latter matched Lanco's bid at a tariff of Rs 1.19 a unit. Tata Power is currently locked in a legal battle over the government decision allowing Reliance Power to use coal linked to Sasan for other power projects.
Under the UMPP scheme, the government has proposed to set up 13 power projects of 4,000-Mw capacity each to increase India's power capacity by over 50,000 Mw by 2017 in order to minimise the gap between electricity demand and supply in the country.
The government has so far bid out four of such UMPPs, one of which was in Mundra in Gujarat and was bagged by Tata Power in 2007. The other three UMPPs -- Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand -- are being developed by Reliance Power.
Tata Power is planning to commission the first two units of 800 Mw each of the Rs 17,000-crore Mundra UMPP in the terminal year of the current Plan period ended March 2012. The company has already claimed that the project has progressed 30 per cent and it plans to commission the first unit in September 2011.
The project would be funded on a 75 per cent debt and 25 per cent equity basis. Foreign exchange loans, to the extent of $1.8 billion, are being provided by Korean Exim, Korean Insurance, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Another $1.2 billion has been raised from a consortium of domestic banks led by the State Bank of India.
Ramakrishnan also informed that the total coal requirement for the project is about 12 million tonnes, which the company is planning to source from two Indonesian mines where it holds a stake of around 30 per cent.
"We are looking at other sources apart from Indonesia to meet the remaining requirement. The total requirement for our various projects is around 20 million tonnes," he said.
The company has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 23,600 crore by the end of the current Plan period in various projects it is implementing currently. This includes, apart from the Mundra UMPP, a 1,050-Mw coal-based power project in Maithon in Jharkhand and two captive power plants of 120 Mw each in Orissa.
