Before the merger, JSW Energy's power stations had a capacity of 1, 730 megawatts with an additional 11, 390 MW due to be installed by 2015. The company then issued a tender for a five-year 1.8-million tonne per annum contract early in January.
The thermal coal sought will be used to power the company's power plants in Toranagallu and Jaigad in India. The merger with JSW Energy - which garnered the backing of 99.8 percent of CIC Energy's shareholders last Friday - means the Indian power firm is able to get a foot in the door of Mmamabula's estimated 2.6 billion coal resources.
The 1.8-million tonne per annum tender closes on January 31 and is due to be signed off to the winning supplier by March 7, 2011. On the other hand, CIC Energy and JSW Energy's merger is set to close on or about 28 February, ostensibly ruling out Mmamabula coal from the deal, unless the Indians use the contractual liberties embedded in the tender documents.
