Torrent Power secures PPA for 300 MW solar capacity in Gujarat

Gujarat-based Torrent Power, the INR 13,641-crore integrated power utility of the INR 21,500-crore Torrent Group, has announced it has secured a 25-power purchase arrangement (PPA) for 300 MW of solar capacity that it will build in Gujarat.

Under the PPA, the company will supply the electricity produced from the plant to its licensed distribution business unit at an INR 2.22/kWh tariff toward the fulfilment of its renewable purchase obligation.

The project is estimated to cost INR 1,250 crore and is scheduled to be commissioned within 18 months from the PPA date.

Torrent Power is one of the largest companies in the country’s power sector, with a presence across the entire power value chain – generation, transmission, and distribution. It has an installed renewable power capacity of 786.5 MW (comprising 648.5 MW of operational wind power capacity and 138 MW of solar power), in addition to 2,730 MW of gas-based capacity and 362 MW of coal-based capacity. Further, it has an under-development RE portfolio including 115 MW of wind power capacity and 400 MW of solar power (including the 300 MW capacity for which it signed the PPA recently).

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, the company reported a significant increase in profitability after the pandemic-hit first half of FY2020-21. Profit before tax for the third quarter increased to INR 399 crore compared to INR 315 crore of Q3 FY20, an increase of 27%.

The company cited marked improvement in collection efficiency in franchised distribution business, increase in contribution from renewable generation due to capacity addition; and decrease in interest cost, both due to lower debt and reduction in interest rates, as major reasons for the improvement in the profit before tax for the quarter on year-on-year basis.