R-Infra issues LoI for medium-term power purchase

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure, which supplies power to Mumbai suburbs, has issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to power producers for medium- term power purchase, a top company official said."We have opened both the long-term and medium-term bids for power purchase and issued LoI (a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized) for the medium term power purchases," R-Infra Chief Executive Officer, Lalit Jalan, told."We have forwarded the medium-term bids to power regulator MERC for approval," he said.The long-term bids are under process and it would take a few days more to reach finalisation, he said."We are negotiating with power producers on the long-term bids and it will take another week to finalise everything," he said.

The company had invited bids from domestic and foreign companies to procure 1,500 MW of power to meet demand for its Mumbai distribution licence area, in July, 2009.A tender floated by the company had said it "intends to procure power on 'round the clock' basis for a period of 25-years, with power supply starting from 48-months to 60- months from the date of signing of relevant documents"."The power supply, as per the long-term contract, will start from April 1, 2014, for next 25-years," Jalan had told reporters recently during a media interaction.

As per the medium-term contracts, the power supply will start from April 1, 2011. The company is looking for 315 MW for the first year and 460 MW for the next two-years, another company official said.

Reliance Infra supplies close to 1,500 MW power to around 27-lakh customers in the Mumbai suburbs.