Last checked at 10 Jul 2009 08:00
OPG POWER VENTURES PLC
OPG Power Ventures Plc ("The Group" or "OPG") the developer and operator of group captive power plants in India, is pleased to announce that its 77 MW facility near Chennai, which is presently under construction, has received grid connectivity with the energising of the station transformer. This energising marks the beginning of commissioning trials, which includes the ignition of the boiler and testing of other plant equipment.
These trials are in line with the Company's commissioning trial schedule and the 77 MW plant remains on course for commissioning during Q4 2009.
Arvind Gupta, Chief Executive Officer said, "It is pleasing to be able to report a milestone on the road to the forthcoming commissioning of our 77 MW plant. The outlook for power producers in India is becoming more favourable by the day and we expect the 77 MW plant to contribute significantly to the realisation of our objectives and to the planned expansion of our portfolio of power generation assets."
For further information, please visit www.opgpower.org/ or contact:
| OPG Power Ventures Plc | |
| Arvind Gupta (Managing Director) | +44 (0) 7814 830 893 +91 (0) 98400 96299 +91 (0) 44 429 11 222 |
| V. Narayan Swami (Finance Director) | +44 (0) 7843 595 394 +91 (0) 99400 17927 +91 (0) 44 42911214 |
| Martin Gatto (Senior Non Executive Director) | +44 (0) 7778 749 223 |
| Cenkos Securities (Nominated Adviser & Broker) | +44 (0) 20 7397 8900 |
| Stephen Keys/ Camilla Hume | |
| Tavistock Communications | +44 (0) 20 7920 3150 |
| Simon Hudson / Nick Peters/ Andrew Dunn |
Note to editors:
OPG Power Ventures Plc is a profitable developer and operator of power plants in India. India's rapid economic growth has been constrained by power shortages and the government has deregulated the industry with a new open market framework allowing developers into the market. The Group Captive Power Producers Scheme, introduced in 2005, allows companies such as OPG to build new power plants to supply electricity directly to groups of customers at mutually agreed prices and the Company has substantial capacity expansion plans.
OPG has two plants in profitable operation, a further one under construction and two more in the pipeline for medium term development. Taking advantage of the new regulatory environment, OPG's pipeline includes a further five power plants with the capacity to generate 5.5 GWs. Planning for these plants is at an early stage. OPG has secured £125m financing for the Company's 2x150 MW power stations at Kutch, Gujarat, which will be commissioned in 2011.