PowerGrid has planned a capital expenditure of Rs 1 lakh crore for the 12th Five Year Plan. For FY13, it will be Rs 20,000 crore.
Mr R.N. Nayak, Chairman, Power Grid Corporation, said the capital expenditure will be for transmission jobs. The equity component will be at 30 per cent and the balance debt.
In FY 13, the company expects the central sector to add 6,200 MW, independent power producers 3,800 MW and ultra mega power plants 1,600 MW.
Apart from its core verticals of transmission, grid management, consultancy and telecom, the company will eye opportunities in inter-State transmission systems, smart grid, asset management and engineering, procurement and construction, besides avenues in backward integration, he said.
Mr Nayak expects short-term open access transaction prices to come down further from the present levels once the southern and western region inter-connectivity was established. The inter-connectivity is expected to be completed by March 2014.
On telecom, he said PowerGrid has a 25,000-km network providing backbone connectivity to all metros, major cities and towns, including remote areas in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states. The company had entered into infrastructure sharing agreement with a telecom infrastructure service provider for mounting telecom antennas on the power line towers in Punjab, J&K and Himachal Pradesh. The company has offered about 800 towers for installation of the antennas, but would wait to finalise the contract as there is a possibility of higher returns.
On Wednesday, the company scrip closed 1.95 per cent down at Rs 105.50 on the BSE.