Mumbai: An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on large power projects has awarded the 4000 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) to private utility Reliance Power Ltd (RPL), which submitted a winning bid of Rs1.19616 per KWH.

The EGoM, which last week declared the bid of the previous lead developer Lanco-Globleq consortium invalid, asked Sasan Power Ltd to award RPL the letter of intent (LoI) for the Rs20,000 crore project in Madhya Pradesh to Reliance Power.

RPL (formerly Reliance Energy) quoted the lowest price at Rs1.19616 per kWh, power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said.

While RPL quoted a price lower than that of the Lanco-Globleq consortium, NTPC and Jayprakash Associates, however, did not change the prices.

Sasan Power had asked three other bidders, RPL, NTPC and Jayprakash Associates, to submit fresh bids following disqualification of the Lanco-Globleq consortium.

The Singapore-based Lanco-Globeleq consortium had outbid REL with a tariff bid of Rs1.196 per unit, but the consortium later dissolved after Globeleq Ltd sold its entire stake in Globeleq Singapore Pte Ltd to Lanco and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.

Globeleq thus moved out of this consortium, and as a result, "Lanco''s bid was considered void,'''' said V K Garg, chairman of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) which managed the bids.

PFC had received 16 bids from companies, including NTPC Ltd., Tata Power Co., Reliance Energy Ltd., Essar Power Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., Sterlite Industries Ltd. and the Adani Group. PFC expects the government to decide on the Sasan project before 5 August.