Vedanta Power Q1 update: Sales rise 38% on Meenakshi boost, Sakti shutdown weighs

Vedanta Power reported a 38% year-on-year rise in power sales for the first quarter ended June 30, helped by a sharp increase in generation from Meenakshi Energy and stable output from Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant.

The company’s total power sales rose to 5,225 million units in the June quarter of FY27, compared with 3,784 million units in the same period last year, according to its production release filed with the exchanges. On a sequential basis, however, sales were down 6% from 5,530 million units in the March quarter. The company said the numbers should be read in the context that Vedanta Power was demerged from Vedanta Ltd. during the first quarter of FY27.

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The strongest growth came from Meenakshi Energy, where power sales rose 245% year-on-year to 1,350 million units from 391 million units. Sales were also 16% higher than the March quarter’s 1,161 million units. The company said the year-ago period reflected operations of only one 300 MW unit at Meenakshi, while the latest quarter reflects the expanded 1,000 MW capacity base.

Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant remained the largest contributor, with power sales of 2,723 million units. This was almost flat compared with 2,715 million units a year earlier, but 14% higher than 2,386 million units in the March quarter. The plant availability factor for Talwandi Sabo stood at 86% in the June quarter, compared with 77% in the previous quarter. The company said its power purchase agreement with the Punjab government compensates the plant based on normative availability of 80%, and the plant remained above that level during the quarter.

Jharsuguda Thermal Plant reported sales of 687 million units, up 1% from 678 million units a year earlier. However, sales fell 23% from 896 million units in the March quarter. Its plant availability factor stood at 93%, compared with 66% a year ago and 94% in the previous quarter.

The weak spot was Sakti Thermal Plant, formerly known as Athena Power Plant. Sales stood at 465 million units in the quarter, compared with 1,087 million units in the March quarter. The company said the plant has been temporarily shut since April 14 after a boiler blast in Unit I, which reduced availability and affected operations during the quarter.

Vedanta Power said it has an installed capacity of 4.2 GW, with an additional 0.6 GW Shakti Unit II under project phase. Its portfolio includes the 1,980 MW Talwandi Sabo plant in Punjab, 1,000 MW Meenakshi facility in Andhra Pradesh, 1,200 MW Sakti plant in Chhattisgarh and 600 MW Jharsuguda unit in Odisha.

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