Adani Energy Solutions is reportedly chasing a credit facility for as much as $600 million to fund smart meter projects for electricity supply.
The loan’s tenor could range from three to five years, with the pricing likely linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, a Bloomberg report said.
India plans to roll out 250 million smart meters across the country, and the proposal has also attracted investments from companies including Schneider Electric SE and Electricite de France SA. Adani Energy Solutions in December had agreed to form a venture with UAE-based Esyasoft to execute smart meter projects in India and overseas. The company secured smart meter installation orders worth $276 million in the quarter ended December, and added 302 circuit kilometers of transmission networks, according a filing earlier this year.
The development comes a day after Mukesh Ambani and Adani entered into an investment agreement, by which Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), controlled by Ambani, will pick up a minority stake in the latter’s Mahan Energen power project. RIL entered into an investment agreement on March 27 with Mahan Energen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Power, where 50 million equity shares are to be allotted to RIL.
The equity shares, Adani Power said, came to Rs 50 crore.
It is India’s Electricity Rules, 2005, that has prompted RIL to pick a stake in Adani Power’s unit. RIL has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Mahan for its captive use.