CESC is in the process of setting up a new solar-based power plant in Tamil Nadu.

The self-rotating solar panel project, with 10.6 MW capacity, will be commissioned by March 2014. The company is investing Rs 95 crore in the project.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to fuel fresh equity into its two coal-fired power generation projects at Chandrapur in Maharashtra, and at Haldia in West Bengal. The projects have seen cost over-runs of around Rs 800 crore. The cost escalation was primarily because of the rupee going down against the dollar during the past seven project execution years. The company plans to borrow more and chip in equity to maintain the debt-equity ratio at 1:3.

The Chandrapur power project, with 2 x 300 MW capacity, is being developed by Dhariwal Infrastructure, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, and the Haldia power project, with 2 x 300 MW capacity, is being implemented by Haldia Energy, another 100 per cent subsidiary of CESC.

Unit-I of Chandrapur power plant has already been commissioned by the company, while Unit-II of the project is in an advanced stage of commissioning. On the other hand, Unit-I of the Haldia power plant is expected to be commissioned by March 2014, two months ahead of schedule.