BSES weighs options to mobilise funds for proposed power projects

Nisha Das
24 September 2003

Mumbai: BSES Ltd, a Reliance-controlled company, is weighing options to mobilise funds for the proposed power projects in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Senior BSES officials say preliminary talks are on with leading financial institutions and banks to mobilise the debt part for these project. The total cost of the projects is estimated at Rs 12,000 crore.

The officials add: "We may go through the traditional fund mobilisation route to finance the projects. Our presentation to various state governments is under way. Once this process is over, we will make presentations to the financial institutions for funding."

The officials say the balance sheet of Reliance Industries will be used to mobilise the funds as BSES''s balance sheet may not provide enough provisions to tap the huge debt required for these projects.

Currently the Mumbai-based power utility is looking at setting up one or maybe two such plants in phases, depending on the demand in the respective states. The officials say the project will be fired by natural gas, which will be sourced from Reliance Industries'' Krishna-Godavari basin gas findings.

The recent gas find on the East Coast, with a capacity of 60 million cubic meters per day, is enough to generate 20,000 MW of power. As per the current plant, BSES will supply electricity to consumers directly through its own distribution company, or sell it to a private distribution company, and not to the cash-strapped state electricity boards (SEBs).