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Anil Sasi

New Delhi , Jan. 8

NATIONAL Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is planning to spread its wings across the entire value chain in the power sector by getting into the transmission business, the only major area in the sector where the company does not have a presence.

To start off, the company is looking at independently setting up transmission lines for power evacuation from its four hydroelectric projects.

"NTPC is looking at setting up lines for its hydro projects, at least till the pooling points. Studies have been commissioned and the company is awaiting techno-economic clearances for the venture," a Government official said.

NTPC has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary for its foray into hydroelectric power generation and work on 2,028 MW of hydel capacity is under way.

So far, the inter-State power transmission business has been a near monopoly for state-owned Power Grid Corporation Ltd (PGCIL), which lords over nearly the entire transmission infrastructure in the country, besides the lines set up by the State Electricity Boards (SEBs) for their respective States. The only other transmission project operational currently is a joint venture between PGCIL and Tata Power Ltd, which is executing the link to evacuate power from the Tala Project in Bhutan.

The move to enter the transmission business comes as the last cog in NTPC's efforts to have a presence in the entire value chain in the electricity sector. Besides the foray in hydroelectric generation, the company has entered into power trading through a wholly-owned subsidiary and has commissioned a study for setting up a nationwide power exchange. It has also set up a distribution subsidiary — the NTPC Electric Supply Company Ltd — which is conducting due diligence for a distribution circle in Karnataka and looking at bidding for distribution circles in Gujarat.

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