Reliance Power has used the debt raised from Singapore-based Varde Partners to settle ₹925 crore debt owed by its subsidiary in Rosa, Uttar Pradesh.
Reliance Power and Varde Partners had signed an agreement last year for availing debt of up to ₹1,200 crore ($150 million) for settlement and discharge and/or acquisition and restructuring of certain financial debt availed by Reliance Power.
The entire power generated at the Rosa plant is supplied to UP, under the long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under the PPA, Rosa Power will continue to supply power to the State for another 14 years.
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Debt-free status
Sources revealed that Rosa Power used the funds from Varde to prepay the ₹925 crore of debt of PSU banks two-and-a-half years before maturity. The balance funds were used to settle the debt of Reliance Power with banks, including SBI, Canara Bank, YES Bank and Axis Bank. With this, Reliance Power has become debt-free on a standalone basis.
The exposure of Indian banks to the Reliance Power group is now limited to Sasan Power. The total debt of Sasan from PSU banks is ₹7,600 crore. Sasan Power operates a 4,000 MW integrated ultra mega power project in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh. The project also has a captive coal mine with 18 MT mining capacity.