Shinde Invites U.S. Cos to Invest in Indian Power Sector
Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 17:26 IST
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Bangalore: Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde invited the U.S. companies to invest in India's power sector which offers varied opportunities for the private sector. "An independent regulatory framework in India now provides business confidence to power companies and a fairly lucrative rate of return on equity of 15.5% per annum," he said at the U.S.-India Economic Opportunities and Synergies Summit in Chicago. He said, "While the present installed generation capacity in India is more than 1,81,000 MW, over 80,000 MW of new power capacity is under construction". During 2007-2012, the funding requirement in Indian power sector has been estimated at $230 Billion, he said. Stating that the 12th Plan aims at capacity addition of nearly 1,00,000 MW with the similar investment requirement, he said that that such a gigantic task can be successful only with the strong support from the private sector. "The share of the private sector in capacity expansion has gone up substantially in the 11th Plan, with 33% of the total incremental capacity expected to come from the private sector," he said. In the 12th Plan, this share is expected to further increase to about 50%. He said 100% FDI is permitted to facilitate private investment on automatic route for the projects of power generation, transmission and distribution. Regarding Hydro power Shinde said that estimated potential in hydro sector in India is 1,50,000 MW, of which only 30,000 MW has been harnessed. "The remaining capacity needs to be developed which provides the investors an opportunity. He said the new Hydro Policy 2008 goes a long way in balancing the developers concerns and the need of the people," he added.
Source: PTI
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