Vodafone Idea (India telco), the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone, has entered into a six-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Aditya Birla Renewables SPV 3 to purchase power (as an obligor) made available by an Aditya Birla Renewables SPV 3 project (as the project company).
Besides, the company has also purchased a 26 percent stake in the SPV at INR 15.6 million ($178,000) on or before the six-months deadline period through one or more tranches.
Aditya Birla Renewables SPV 3 is a subsidiary of Aditya Birla renewables that is wholly owned. The SPV was established in last November with an intention to commission and operate the wind and solar projects in India. On its web site, a renewable developer reported 3.6GW generating capacity in operation or contracted and with a target of 4.5GW by the end of 2026.
The cash takeover will enable Vodafone Idea to adhere to captive power plant conditions under Indian Electricity Act of 2003 and Indian Electricity Rules of 2005, and, at the same time, enable the organization to access renewable energy without government consents.
In the past several years telco has taken more interest in renewable procurement. In its most recent sustainability report, it said that sourced above 40 million kWh of renewable energy in the 2024 financial year. The report proceeded to indicate that the telco possesses over 1,000 co-owned sites, which are powered through solar solutions with yet an additional 400 being put into use at co-owned tower sites by using solar solutions.
Vodafone Idea is a company that was established through a merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in the year 2018. It has suffered massive financial problems over the last several years and was recently bailed out by the Indian government three years back.
The bailout notwithstanding reports that have emerged recently stated that the telco is potentially once more on the precipice. In the previous month, DCD reported that the Indian government was weighing various options in order to bail out the telco which to date, is still failing to clear its liabilities to vendor partners.
The monetary issues of Vi have a critical effect on the 5G deployment of the company that was delayed by two and a half years and only started in March.
