The recent success of private sector in bagging hydroelectric projects has prompted NHPC Ltd to strike joint ventures with independent power producers.

NHPC, which has lost projects to private players, on Wednesday invited expression of interest from independent power producers “having allocated hydroelectric projects’’ in various States for the formation of joint venture for the implementation of the projects.

The last date for submitting expressions of interest and opening of technical proposal is October 14.

Most of the hydroelectric projects allocated by States have been bagged by private players such as Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates, Jaypee Infrastructure and GMR Infrastructure. Besides, several of NHPC projects in the North-East, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are facing protests from locals and regulatory clearance are not in place, preventing the company to go ahead with them.

This leaves NHPC with no greenfield projects for its capacity addition. Currently, the company has an installation base of 5,295 MW from 14 hydropower stations on ownership basis including projects taken up on joint venture.

>siddhartha.s@thehindu.co.in