Power Grid Corporation Of India: Turbo Charged
India’s booming transmission industry, which is not much affected by short term or cyclical fluctuations in electricity demand, needs long term investment as it is capital intensive and has a long gestation period. As a result, state-owned electric utilities company Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is witnessing phenomenal growth over the last few fiscals. The company has achieved a turnover of Rs. 30,766 crore during FY 2017-18 and Rs. 17,118 crore (+15 per cent YOY) in the first half of this financial year. It had projectsof about Rs 80,000 crore in hand, which are scheduled for completion during the next 2-3 years. Until December-end, its vast transmission network comprises approx. 148,300 circuit km of transmission lines, 237 EHVAC & HVDC substations with transformation capacity of about 344,790 MVA, spread across the country. This network has been consistently maintained at an average availability of less than 99.5 per cent.
“It is a matter of pride for the company that the robust and reliable inter-state transmission infrastructure has led to the development of a vibrant electricity market in India and the average rates in the power exchanges have fallen from about Rs 8 per unit in 2010 to about Rs 2-3 now, leading to substantial savings for all the sector participants,” says CMD I.S. Jha. “We are well geared to maintain our leadership position in the sector and would continue to bid for transmission projects in both inter-state and intra-state sector, creating value for our stakeholders,” he adds.
A Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Power, GoI and Central Transmission Utility (CTU) of India, PGCIL is India’s principal power transmission company and is the third largest transmission utility in the world. The company achieved capitalisation of transmission projects (including transmission both under tariff-based competitive bidding or the TBCB projects) worth about Rs 27,928 crore and transmission assets consisting of 9,072 Ckm of extra high voltage (EHV) transmission lines 41,620 MVA transformation capacity with 15 new substations have been added during the last fiscal.
“During the last financial year, Powergrid has capitalised assets worth about Rs 28,000 crore. Like the previous three years, the capitalisation in FY18-19, too is expected to be more than the capex during the year, which is planned at about Rs 25,000 crore. Till September 18, we have already incurred a capex of Rs 12,200 crore in this financial year. This capex inter-alia includes lines related to green energy corridors and inter-regional projects. The country’s inter-regional power transfer capacity is envisaged to increase from 86,450 MW currently to 118,050 MW, progressively by 2022,” adds Jha.
Leveraging its power transmission infrastructure, PGCIL is also providing telecom services in the country through its robust countrywide telecom network of approx. 47,700 km and nearly 700 points of presence. The company, utilising its experience and expertise in power transmission, also provides consultancy services both within India as well as in international arena and has footprints in 20 countries of Africa, Asia and Asia Pacific.
“Your company continued to make significant progress in the consultancy and telecom business segments as well. Your company has registered consultancy revenue of Rs 662 crore and telecom revenue of Rs 607 crore a growth of about 14 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively over the previous year,” Jha said in an FY 2017-18 annual report while addressing shareholders.
“PGCIL continues to do exceptionally well-because it transmits quality- power at reasonable price to electricity distributors and consumers through the length and breadth of the country from Leh to Kanyakumari and Kutch to Bay of Bengal. The company is spreading its wings abroad through consultancy, joint ventures and EPC contracts,” says V.K. Garg, Former CMD, Power Finance Corporation and Chairman, Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC).
