BANGALORE: If the state owned Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) is to go ahead with power generation projects, it needs investments worth Rs 45,731 crore, which in turn will involve a massive private spending and borrowing of Rs 36,585 crore.
Meeting this expense, and the completion of projects within time will be one of the biggest challenges ahead of KPCL in the coming years.
According to KPCL data, to complete the projects, KPCL will invest Rs 4,705 crore (equity) and the rest will be in the form of debt. The projects in progress -- including a 250 MW unit in Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), 500 MW second unit of Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS), and Solar PV power project -- are expected to deliver a total of 804 MW at a cost of Rs 3426 crore, of which Rs 685 crore will be equity.
The projects in pipeline including Yeramarus Thermal Power Station of 1600 MW, Edlapur Thermal Power Station of 800 MW, Godhna Thermal Power Station of 1600 MW, Bellary Thermal Power Station Unit 3 of 500 MW, Gundia Hydro Electric Project of 400 MW and Munirabad project of 10 MW are expected to generate a total of 4910 MW at the cost of Rs 25,755 crore of which Rs 2332 crore will be equity and remaining Rs 20604 crore will be debt.
The new projects planned are 600 MW Pumped Storage Generating station on Kali river, 800 MW Pumped storage Generating Station on Sharavathi, 1400 Bidadi combined cycle power plant, and 1500 MW Kuditini Thermal Power Station. These projects are expected to deliver a total of 4300 MW at the cost of Rs 16,550 crore.
In the past, from 1976 to 1996, the funds were sourced from the government of Karnataka. However, after 1996 until now, KPCL has been sourcing funds from commercial borrowing.
The future projects, however, will be financed through joint ventures with the State government’s support and borrowings, said KPCL officials.
To meet the deadlines of the projects, according to KPCL data, it will need Rs 671 crore during 2009-10, Rs 888 Crore in 2010-11, Rs 1255 crore in 2012-13, Rs 1294 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 344 crore in 2014-15. jayadevan@epmltd.com