Tata Group Chairman spends a day at Mundra UMPP in Kutch

Briefing, Mundra/Ahmedabad, 7 May, 2014

Tata Group Chairman Mr C.P. Mistry and the entire board of Tata Power and CGPL spent a day today visiting the Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) plant in Kutch district of Gujarat. This was Mistry’s second visit to the facility and first after the full commissioning of this 4000 MW power station. In addition to the plant tour, he was given detailed information on the operational performance of this landmark power station and the challenges it faces due to under recovery on account of fuel prices. He was also given an account of the work done by the Mundra UMPP team on various community initiatives with a focus on the initiatives taken for development of fisher communities.

In addition to experiencing the safety and human resource initiatives undertaken by the Company for this project, the Chairman applauded the cutting edge technology and best practices incorporated in the project like:

• Choice of low emission fuel
• The PLF achieved by the plant
• The specific fuel consumption achieved by the plant
• Lowering the auxiliary power consumption of the plant

Community Initiatives

The Chairman was appreciative of the community engagement strategy of the plant along with the sustainability initiatives undertaken by the Company, some of which are mentioned below:

– Augmenting the livelihood of local fishermen around the region
– Bringing healthcare to the doorstep around the region
– Women empowerment initiatives
-Environment conservation initiates like preserving waterbodies and setting up of green belt around the plant

Mundra UMPP

Mundra UMPP was commissioned in a record time of just over a year from the date of commissioning of the first 800 MW Unit in March 2012, becoming the first fully operational UMPP among the 16 UMPPs conceptualised by the government in 2006. As compared to any other subcritical power plant in India, this project saves 1.7 million tonnes of coal per year, thus averting carbon emissions of almost 4 million tonnes per year.

The Mundra UMPP is a national asset and a pride for the company and the Tata group. It directly benefits the consumers in many ways, some of which are highlighted below:

-Tariff from Mundra UMPP today is at INR 2.87/ unit, after the CERC’s tariff hike order

-Mundra UMPP not only continues to be one of the lowest as compared to the average purchase price but is also substantially lower than the current market rate for providing replacement power at a cost of Rs 4.10 to 4.50 per unit; or even Rs 7 per unit for purchasing spot power in a shortage situation – which could leave buyer states to load shed or buy costly power

-The fixed cost of Mundra UMPP at 90 paise per unit stands as being one of the most economical in the country

-The Mundra UMPP meets about 2-3 per cent of the power needs of the country.

Mundra UMPP not only provides competitive and reliable power having minimum impact on the environment, but also reduces the dependence of manufacturing and services industries on the expensive alternative of diesel generation in order to keep the production going. It also reduces the subsidy burden on the state government, which otherwise resorts to power purchase at spot prices.