Ahmedabad-based Adani Transmission Limited (ATL), has signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the WRSS XXI Transco Limited (WRSSTL) from REC Transmission Projects Company. WRSSTL is a project-specific special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated on March 26, 2019, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC Transmission Projects Company Limited and after successful completion of the bidding process for the project; the SPV was to be transferred to the selected bidder.

ATL had won this project through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent (LoI) in July 2019.

WRSSTL transmission project consists of approximately 272 circuit kilometers 765kV and 3,000 MVA transformation capacity.

According to its Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing, “This project is primarily being constructed to strengthen the transmission system for relieving over loadings observed in Gujarat intra-state system due to renewable energy injections in Bhuj pooling station.”

The equity shares were acquired at face value of ₹10 (~$0.14).

The company will build, own, operate and maintain the transmission project in Gujarat for 35 years.

With this project, the cumulative transmission network of ATL will reach more than 14,000 circuit kilometers of transmission line and more than 23,000 MVA transformation capacity, out of which more than 11,000 circuit kilometers and more than 18,000 MVA are under steady-state operation.

This acquisition also takes the company closer to its target of setting up 20,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines by 2022.

In September 2019, ATL signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the special purpose vehicle of Bikaner-Khetri Transmission Limited (BKTL), incorporated by PFC Consulting Ltd.  ATL had won the project through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent (Lol) for the project in July 2019.

Lack of transmission infrastructure has been a growing concern for solar and wind companies in the country. In the past, Mercom has written about how, with the expected surge in electricity demand over the coming decade and the rapid installation of solar and wind, India’s transmission and distribution system requires significant expansion.

Image credit: By Nixdorf, CC BY-SA 3.0