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Adani, Tata Among Eight Firms Eyeing Majority Stake in Two UP Discoms

India’s largest discom privatization process is underway, with major players like Adani Group, Tata Power, Greenko, Torrent Power, ReNew Energy, CESC, Serentica Renewables (Sterlite Power), and a GMR-EDF consortium expressing interest in acquiring 51% stakes in two Uttar Pradesh distribution companies—Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (PUVVNL) and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVNL).

The transaction, managed by Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, involves discoms with a combined annual revenue of Rs50,000 crore. The Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected by July, with completion targeted around Deepawali 2025. This move signals a significant push by the UP government to privatize loss-making utilities, following the central government's earlier drive to privatize discoms in Union Territories.

AT&C (Aggregate Technical and Commercial) losses across India’s 67 power distributors rose from 15.37% in FY23 to 16.87% in FY24. However, PUVVNL and DVVNL showed improvements of over 5% in FY24. Private discoms, in contrast, managed to reduce AT&C losses to 12.12%.

Experts emphasize that the success of this privatization depends on fair tariff baselines and practical efficiency targets for bidders. With Rs50,000 crore in revenue and significant operational complexity, this could be the largest and most consequential discom privatization in the country to date.