Essar Power sells transmission line to Adani Transmission for Rs 1,913 crore

NEW DELHI: Essar Power Ltd on Friday said it has agreed to sell one of its two electricity transmission lines to Adani Transmission Ltd for Rs 1,913 crore.

The sale is a part of deleveraging strategy following which Essar has repaid over Rs 1.8 lakh crore to banks and financial institutions in the last three years - the largest debt repayment in the history.

In a statement, Essar Power said it "has entered into a definitive agreement with Adani Transmission Ltd to sell one of its two transmission lines for Rs 1,913 crore".

Essar Power Transmission Company Ltd (EPTCL), a unit of Essar Power, has 465-km transmission lines across three Indian states.

The asset transacted is an operational 400 kV inter-state transmission line linking Mahan to the Sipat pooling substation. The project operates under the CERC regulated return framework.

During the last three years, Essar Power has reduced its debt from a peak level of Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore, the statement said, adding the firm has been in the process of curating a green balance sheet around renewable energy, which is in line with the group's strategy of investing in future-centric businesses that give a superior rate of return within the ESG framework.

Kush S, CEO of Essar Power Ltd said, "With this transaction, Essar Power is rebalancing its power portfolio with the twin objective of deleveraging its balance sheets and investing in green and renewable power, thereby furthering its ESG-oriented future growth."

Essar Power has a current power generating capacity of 2,070 MW across four plants in India and Canada. It is one of India's first private sector independent power producers.