NTPC Limited and Andhra Pradesh power utilities signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for procurement of power to be generated from the 250 MW solar plant, first phase of the 1,000 MW ultra solar power project being set up by NTPC in the economically backward Anantapur district. The state discoms have fixed the procurement price of Rs 6.14 per unit for a 25-year PPA period. This price is substantially lower compared with the Rs 6.40 per unit determined during the recently concluded bidding for the 619 MW installed capacity involving several small and medium size developers in the state. The power generation cost may further come down regarding the remaining 750 MW capacity as that portion would be undertaken through the global bidding unlike in the first phase where only domestic vendors were involved, according to IJ Kapoor, Director of NTPC. The land required for the project was already made available to the company by the State Government.