Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project

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Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project is an operating power station of at least 1350-megawatts (MW) in Sinnar, Nasik, Maharashtra, India with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project	Sinnar, Sinnar, Nasik, Maharashtra, India	19.866659, 74.081749 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Phase I Unit 1, Phase I Unit 2, Phase I Unit 3, Phase I Unit 4, Phase I Unit 5, Phase II Unit 1, Phase II Unit 2, Phase II Unit 3, Phase II Unit 4, Phase II Unit 5: 19.866659, 74.081749

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year
Phase I Unit 1	operating	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	2014
Phase I Unit 2	operating	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	2017
Phase I Unit 3	operating	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	2017
Phase I Unit 4	operating	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	2017
Phase I Unit 5	operating	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	2017
Phase II Unit 1	cancelled	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	–
Phase II Unit 2	cancelled	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	–
Phase II Unit 3	cancelled	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	–
Phase II Unit 4	cancelled	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	–
Phase II Unit 5	cancelled	coal: unknown	270	subcritical	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Phase I Unit 1	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 2	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 3	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 4	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase I Unit 5	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Unit 1	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Unit 2	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Unit 3	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Unit 4	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]
Phase II Unit 5	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100%]	RattanIndia Power Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): South Eastern Coalfields Limited, Western Coalfields Limited and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited

Financing

Source of financing: Phase I: US$1,095.48 million in debt from Axis Bank, Bank of India, Power Finance Corporation, Syndicate Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Rural Electrification Corporation, and United Bank of India

Background

The power station was being developed in two phases by Indiabulls Power (later known as RattanIndia Nasik Power) in Sinnar, Nasik district. Phase I would be 1,350 MW (5 x 270 MW) and Phase II: 1,350 MW (5 x 270 MW).

In 2011, the company stated that "coal linkage has been granted and letters of assurance from South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL), Western Coalfields Ltd. (WCL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL) have been issued." The company also stated that the project had achieved financial closure and that "construction is in full swing."

According to the September 2013 report of the Central Electricity Authority, construction had slipped significantly, with estimated completion of Phase I expected expected during 2014 and 2015. As for Phase II, the report no longer lists the project as under construction.

In November 2014, it was reported that the full phase I of the Nashik plant was ready for commissioning but had not done so due to want of coal. Phase II was on hold.

According to the February 2015 report of the Central Electricity Authority, Unit 1 was commissioned in 2014. Unit 2 is planned for June 2016. Units 3-5 are planned for 2017. Phase II is "on hold" since May 2012.

According to a progress report in March 2015 by RattanIndia, a long term PPA for 650 MW of the power station was signed with MSEDCL in 2012, and another PPA for 300 MW had been finalized with BEST, Mumbai, and was expected to be signed shortly. On rail, the report says "The coal for Nashik TPP is to be transported from the coal mines through Railway rakes up to Odha Railway Station near Nashik on Mumbai-Howrah section and thereafter to the Project site by 29 km long dedicated Railway Siding. The land for Railway Siding is being acquired by MIDC. Order for land acquisition has been done. Land acquisition is in progress. 240 Acres (55%) land has been acquired so far."

In May 2015, RattanIndia asked for an extension of its environmental clearance (EC) for phase I, saying the project had been held up due to problems around securing land for rail, water, and transmission, and difficulties securing a PPA. A new EC was granted in February 2016.

According to the July 2016 broad status report, synchronization of unit 2 was achieved in March 2016, and full operation was expected by June.

Unit 2 was commissioned in February 2017, Unit 3 was commissioned in April 2017, and Units 4-5 were commissioned in May 2017.

In January 2022, RattanIndia Power said it expected to become debt-free in nearly two years. However, according to October 2022 reports, the state-owned Power Finance Corp. (PFC) planned bankruptcy court action over the power station. One official stated that the debt of the project was about ₹6 crore per MW. The PFC was in discussions with the Maharashtra government to take over the project, but they were uninterested.

The November 2022 Broad Status Report provided the following update: "Admitted in NCLT on 19-09-2022 against application of operational creditor. NCLAT stayed proceeding vide order dated 26-09-2022."

Financing for Phase I

In June 2010, a financing agreement for Phase I was closed. US$1,095.48 million in loans was provided by Axis Bank, Bank of India, Power Finance Corporation, Syndicate Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Rural Electrification Corporation, and United Bank of India. Axis Bank acted as the financial adviser to the sponsor.

Phase II

With work on Phase II on hold since May 2012, it appeared it would not proceed.

In 2021 government documents, the following were listed as reasons for the cancellation of Phase II:

• "No new Bids for Long Term PPAs have been coming up in the Market since the last 5 years."
• "The revised emission norms under the Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2015 revising, inter alia, emission norms for thermal power plants., drastic changes in the design and equipment of Phase II was required to be carried out."
• "Central Electricity Authority has stated in the National Electricity Plan that 'No coal based capacity addition is required under any scenario irrespective of RE capacity addition'. Due to aforesaid reasons and non-availability of New PPAs, Lenders were reluctant to release funds for further construction of Phase II; hence, construction of Phase II had been stalled indefinitely."
• "As per CEA small capacity plants are only for captive purpose and new capacity addition will be through super critical units only. Accordingly the entire contact awarded needs to be changed to super critical based technology of 660 MW and above and scrap the present capacity of 270 MW sub critical."

PPA challenges & mothballing

According to a 2020 brief, the plant reportedly had a letter of intent from MSEDCL for the supply of 507 MW power under a long-term PPA for a period of 25 years. The project had an FSA for 5.226 mtpa of coal from South Eastern Coalfields Limited and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. The company was in the process of arranging a bank guarantee for signing the PPA and expected to start supplying power after securing working capital. The project originally had approval for selling 950 MW to the Maharashtra government, subject to permission from the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC). Although the MERC approved the PPA, it could not be implemented owing to certain litigation issues. Subsequently, the Supreme Court passed an order allowing RattanIndia Power to enter into a PPA with MSEDCL, but BEST Undertaking backed out from purchasing 300 MW power due to the prolonged delay in the adjudication of the dispute.

During a May 2022 heatwave, energy minister RK Singh held conferences with companies, banks, and state officials to discuss restarting commissioned but “non-operational” units. The plants considered appeared to include Salaya power plant, Butibori Power Project, Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project, Simhapuri Thamminapatnam power station, Meenakshi Energy Thermal Power Project, Mutiara Coastal Energen Thermal Power Plant, and Cuddalore IL&FS power station. News noted that resolution regarding two units at the RattanIndia plant were currently under admission in NCLT, and that they could be "started with the intervention of lenders and developers."

As of July 2022, there were no known updates regarding the units, and it was unclear if the plant was operating based on Daily Coal Reports.

In November 2023, the India Ministry of Power said they were planning to increase coal generation capacity in the country by about 12 GW by the end of March 2024 to keep up with an alleged rapid increase in electricity demand. The Ministry wrote a letter to state-owned utilities encouraging them to participate in National Company Law Tribunal proceedings to rescue stressed power plants, and identified the 5 x 270 MW Thermal Power Project by Rattan India as a project that was "ready for takeover."

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.