The country’s largest integrated power utility, Tata Power on Thursday announced the takeover of the management and operations of Odisha-based power distribution utilities WESCO and SOUTHCO upon completion of the sale process.
WESCO and SOUTHCO will now operate under the company name as TP Western Odisha Distribution Limited (TPWODL) and TP Southern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPSODL), respectively. As per an order issued by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC), Tata Power holds 51 per cent of equity with management control and the state-government owned GRIDCO will have the remaining 49 per cent stake in the company.
TP Western Odisha Distribution Ltd (TPWODL) shall now be responsible for the distribution and retail supply of electricity in five circles of WESCO covering 2 million consumers with annual input energy of 7520 million units (MUs) in areas of Rourkela, Burla, Bhawanipatna, Bolangir, Bargargh, while TP Southern Odisha Distribution Ltd (TPSODL) will be responsible for the distribution covering 2.3 million consumers with an average energy input of 3470 MUs and retail supply of electricity in six circles of SOUTHCO in areas of Ganjam City, Berhampur, Aksa, Bhanjannagar, Jeypore and Rayagada.
Commenting on the development, Praveer Sinha, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Power said, “It is a proud moment for us as we have ushered in the new year by commencing operations in WESCO and SOUTHCO in the state of Odisha. We are committed to providing reliable, affordable and quality power supply along with superior customer service.”
With this takeover, the company’s distribution circles will expand to the western (TPWODL) and southern part (TPSODL) of Odisha with a geographical spread of more than 47,000 sq. km each. It will manage a network of more than 100,000 CKT. KMs. each for a license period of 25 years.
With the inclusion of two additional distribution utilities, Tata Power expands its consumer base to 9.5 million from the present base of 5.2 million across Mumbai, New Delhi, Central part of Odisha and Ajmer.