NTPC plans to add 27,000 MW power by 2011

Mumbai, Feb 15: NTPC Ltd has chalked out an ambitious plan as per which it would be going for capacity addition to the tune of 27,000 MW by 2011.

Addressing a conference on the 'Power sector financing' here last evening, the Executive Director of NTPC, A K Kundu, said ''We have our plans to go for 27,000 MW power addition by 2011.'' Out of it, while 3,000 MW will come from hydel projects, whereas it is our nuclear power unit which will be contributing 2,000 MW power, he added.

We've already started working on the 11,000 MW additional power generation, while 3,000 MW would be added to our capacity by March-end this year and another 21,000 MW within one year period, he said.

The two-day conference is jointly being held by Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry and India Energy Forum.

For all this, the company would require a capital outlay of Rs 1,60,000 crore for next five years. We have decided to go for debt-equity ratio of 70:30 for the arrangement of this fund, he said.

Thus we need a sum of Rs 1,00,000 crore as debt, he added. Hence the largest state-run power generation firm has approached foreign agencies for the funding of the projects which include USPP of the United States, Asian Development Bank and others. On the domestic front, NTPC has tied-up with Life Insurance Corporation of India and various banks in this connection.

However, Mr Kundu made it clear that ''For these forthcoming projects we will be going by balancing fund rather than adopting the route of project finance. He informed that since September 30, 2001, all the dues the NTPC was having with various state electricity boards, have been converted into bonds which would be paid by them at the rate of 8.5 per cent.'' He said ''The entire coal requirements to run our plants would be met by our own captive coal mines by 2013. In fact we'll also be in a position to sell a part of our coal production commercially by then.'' However, President of India Energy Forum, PS Bami, cautioned ''The country may require a sum of Rs 2,00,000 crore on the distribution side to achieve its target of ''Power to all by 2012.'' Also, he added that even though unbundling of power entities was going on in all the state of the country, there was no much progress on the front of unbundling of transmission wing except for states like Orissa and New Delhi.

UNI