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PGCIL may offer share in projects to staff

BS Economy Bureau

The Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is toying with the idea of leveraging equity of employees for developing projects.

As per the plan, employees can form societies and take up a 51 per cent stake in transmission projects on a case-to-case basis, while PGCIL would take up the remaining equity and develop the project leveraging the employees equity, PGCIL chairman and managing director R P Singh said.

"The concept is in the blue-print stage. We are in discussion with the ministry for proceeding with the scheme," Singh said.

If the scheme turns out to be successful, PGCIL is planning to involve employees of other government departments and public sector undertakings for developing transmission projects, he said.

PGCIL is in the process of finalising the funding pattern for executing the national grid project.

"We have envisaged an investment of around Rs 760 billion over the next decade. Out of this, Rs 560 billion has been proposed to be mobilised by PGCIL and the rest would come from the private sector," Singh said.

Funds would be raised from multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, Singh said.

"ADB has given us an open offer but for the next three years we have tied up our finances and therefore the situation can be reviewed after that," he said.

As per the plan, cumulative capacity of the inter-regional power transfer capacity would be enhanced to a level of 30,000 mw by 2012.

The company has reported a marginal increase of 2.4 per cent in net profit at Rs 7.60 billion during 2001-02 against a net profit of Rs 7.42 billion in 2000-01.

PGCIL recorded a turnover of Rs 28.60 billion during the last year against Rs 26.83 billion in 2000-01.

For the current financial year, the corporation has fixed a target of Rs 10 billion net profit on an increased turnover to the tune of Rs 35 billion.

For the purpose of completion of national grid, Singh said the corporation had initiated participation from the private sector by way of either joint venture route or by creating independent power transmission company.

PGCIL has already signed a shareholders agreement with Tata Power for developing 400 kv high capacity transmission lines associated with the Tata HEP project - a part of the national grid, Singh said.

While for the IPTC route, Singh said four parties have been shortlisted for Bina-Nagda-Dehgam 400 kv d/c line project and final selection would be made soon.

During the Tenth Plan, PGCIL has planned to invest Rs 210 billion of which Rs 10 billion would be coming as the government support and Rs 40 billion would be from internal accruals, Singh said, adding rest of the money would be raised from the market.

In the current fiscal, the corporation would be raising up to Rs 16 billion from the market mainly from the bond market and would be hitting the market for the first tranch of Rs 2.50 billion by July this year.

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