Shinde calls on US Energy Secretary Bodman in Washington DC

New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde called on his American counterpart Samuel Bodman in Washington discuss the possible participation of the US companies in the Indian power sector as part of the India-US Energy Dialogue.

Issues relating to clean coal technology, energy efficiency and conservation, and energy security also came up for discussion yesteday.

India and the US recently signed an agreement for Indian participation in the FutureGen project to develop zero emission coal-based power plants.

Mr Shinde is leading a high-powered delegation of the Indian power sector to the United States, an official release here said.

The delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Power, Chairman and Managing Director of the Power Finance Corporation of India, which is the largest financial institution in the power sector, representatives of private power producers in India, is conducting a road show to inform potential investors in the US about the opportunities present in the Indian power sector.

The minister also held a meeting with US industry at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC on April 25. A large number of US power sector companies, including GE, ABB, Caterpillar, and AES participated in the meeting.

Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen and Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the US Chairman Robert Mosbacher Jr were also present at the meeting.

The US companies evinced keen interest in participation in the Ultra Mega Power Projects which the ministry is in the process of setting up in India. Two of these projects will be coal pithead based plants and three would be coastal plants based on imported coal. The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is establishing shell companies to set up these projects and obtain all necessary regulatory clearances and fuel linkages.

The Power Ministry is inviting private investment, including from the US in these shell companies. The whole process of selection of private investors in these companies is to be completed by January 2007.

PFC, International Finance Corporation and National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association of the US also signed an MoU in the presence of Mr Shinde.

The organisations will cooperate in implementation of rural electrification projects with the ultimate goal of electrifying every village by the year 2009 and every household by 2012 as envisaged under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidhyutikaran Yojana.

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