The Adani Group, CESC and Tata Power Company have evinced interest in three electricity distribution companies (discoms) being privatised by the Odisha government.
The discoms are the Western Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (WESCO), the North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha (NESCO) and the Southern Electricity Supply Company of Orissa (SESCO).
The privatisation drive of the three discoms is spearheaded by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC). CRISIL has the mandate for managing the sale of WESCO and SESCO, while Deloitte will handle NESCO.
The move to privatise the three discoms in Odisha comes after Tata Power won a 25-year licence in December 2019 for distribution and retail supply of power in five circles of the Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (CESU). Tata Power plans to make a capital expenditure of Rs 1,541 crore through FY25 in CESU.
Odisha has an average power demand of 4,000 MW. WESCO supplies power in the distribution circles of Rourkela, Burla, Balgarh, Bolangir and Bhawanipatna, while Southco caters to Behrampur, Aska, Bhanjanagar, Jeypore and Rayagada. NESCO supplies power to Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jajpur, and Bhadrak.