Vedanta Power Limited announced a 26% YoY increase in power sales for the second quarter ended September 30, 2026, reaching 5,593 million units. This performance contributed to a record first-half sales volume of 10,817 million units, marking a 32% YoY expansion.

The growth was primarily driven by strong operational performance at the Meenakshi Energy Ltd and Jharsuguda Thermal Plant facilities. Meenakshi recorded a 111% YoY jump in Q2 sales to 1,470 million units, while Jharsuguda saw a 186% YoY surge to 873 million units. These gains helped offset the temporary shutdown impact at the Sakti Thermal Plant.

Plant-wise Performance Highlights

The company’s installed capacity of 4.2 GW is distributed across four key thermal plants. The following table details the power sales and availability metrics for the second quarter of FY27 compared to the same period in FY26.

Note: PAF refers to Plant Availability Factor. Sakti Thermal Plant was temporarily shut down following a boiler incident on April 14, 2026.

Operational Drivers and Challenges

The significant improvement in Jharsuguda’s output correlates with a sharp rise in its Plant Availability Factor (PAF), which climbed to 98% in Q2FY27 from 43% in Q2FY26. In contrast, the Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant saw its PAF dip to 79% from 90% in the corresponding prior-year quarter, despite a modest 6% YoY increase in sales.

Sales at the Sakti Thermal Plant fell 53% YoY to 305 million units. The company attributed this decline to reduced plant availability following a boiler blast in unit-I on April 14, 2026, which led to a temporary shutdown. Meanwhile, Meenakshi Energy’s strong performance reflects the full capacity utilization of its 1,000 MW facility, compared to the single 300 MW unit operational in the base year.

What the Numbers Show

A divergence exists between availability metrics and sales volume at the Talwandi Sabo plant. While the plant’s availability factor dropped from 90% to 79%, sales still rose 6% YoY. This suggests that despite lower uptime, the plant maintained higher generation efficiency or benefited from favorable grid dispatch instructions during the available hours. Conversely, Jharsuguda’s near-perfect availability (98%) directly translated into a massive 186% YoY sales jump, highlighting the critical dependency of thermal power revenues on consistent plant uptime.

Vedanta Power Limited has issued a postal ballot notice seeking shareholder approval for two new employee benefit schemes: the Employee Stock Option Plan 2026 (ESOP 2026) and the Employee Share Purchase Plan 2026 (ESPP 2026). The company proposes to implement these plans through an irrevocable employee welfare trust, utilizing secondary market acquisitions rather than issuing new shares.

The proposed ESOP 2026 involves a pool of not exceeding 16.62 crore employee stock options, representing 4.25% of the total paid-up share capital. Separately, the ESPP 2026 contemplates the transfer of up to 2.93 crore fully paid-up equity shares, representing 0.75% of the paid-up capital. Both plans are designed to align employee interests with long-term value creation without resulting in additional equity dilution for existing shareholders.

Plan Structure and Trust Mechanism

To comply with SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021, the company will establish an irrevocable trust named 'VEDPOWER ESOS Trust'. This trust will acquire shares from the secondary market for the implementation of both plans. The company seeks approval to provide an interest-free loan to the trust, capped at 5% of the aggregate paid-up share capital and free reserves, to facilitate these acquisitions.

The ESOP 2026 is strictly performance-linked, with vesting contingent on achieving business and individual performance metrics over a three-year period. Business performance carries a minimum weightage of 50%, while individual performance accounts for the remainder. For leadership roles, strategic objectives may also influence vesting. The exercise price for options will be the face value of the share, i.e., ₹10 per share.

ESPP Eligibility and Matching Shares

The ESPP 2026 targets employees in grades M5 and below, excluding senior management. Participation is voluntary, funded through payroll deductions up to 10% of monthly salary, with an annual cap of ₹7.5 lakh per employee. Employees must hold acquired shares for a minimum of 24 months to be eligible for "Matching Shares" from the trust. The number of matching shares shall not exceed 50% of the shares held by the employee.

Related Party Transactions Approval

In addition to the employee benefit schemes, the notice seeks approval for material related party transactions (RPTs) with Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited and Vedanta Limited. These transactions are essential for operational continuity following the recent demerger of the merchant power undertaking from Vedanta Limited.

The transactions with Vedanta Limited represent approximately 88% of the company's annual consolidated turnover for the immediately preceding financial year, while those with Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited account for roughly 17%. These values exceed the materiality thresholds prescribed under Regulation 23 of the Listing Regulations, necessitating shareholder approval.

Voting Timeline and Procedure

The remote e-voting period commences on September 24, 2026, at 9:00 am and concludes on October 23, 2026, at 5:00 pm. Shareholders as of the cut-off date, September 18, 2026, are eligible to vote. The scrutinizer appointed for the process is Mr. Shivaram Bhat, Practicing Company Secretary.

The company has sent the postal ballot notice electronically to members whose email addresses are registered with depositories or the registrar. Physical copies of the notice, postal ballot form, and pre-paid business reply envelope are not being sent. Members who have not received the notice due to non-registration of email addresses are requested to update their details with their respective depository participants or the company's registrar, KFin Technologies Limited.

What the Numbers Show

The structural choice to implement these plans via secondary acquisition through a trust highlights a deliberate strategy to preserve existing shareholder value. By sourcing shares from the open market rather than issuing new equity, Vedanta Power avoids immediate dilution of earnings per share. However, this approach requires significant liquidity support from the company, evidenced by the authorization to lend up to 5% of its paid-up capital and free reserves to the trust. This creates an internal financial obligation that must be managed alongside the operational dependencies revealed in the related party transaction approvals, where nearly 90% of proposed RPTs with Vedanta Limited relate to core operational flows like power purchase and expense recovery.