‘No magic solution’ to fix India’s power problems: GE’s Immelt

Jeffrey R Immelt, Chairman and CEO of US-based diversified conglomerate GE, would prefer to be seen as just any other CEO who is willing to invest only when he gets returns. He pitches for a free economy, less subsidisation of power tariff, and reforms that need to be executed better. But, he wants all this to be done without ruffling any feathers.

“You think I was born yesterday? Like I am an eighteen-year-old kid...,” says a politically correct Immelt, when asked to spell out the areas where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government could have gone wrong in attracting investments.

Calling himself the 33-year-old GE guy, Immelt, who was interacting with select mediapersons here on Monday, says the mood around Modi has been that he ‘will fix everything…which is positive, because there is so much promise. But it sets an expectation that is almost impossible to meet.”

Stating that there is no perfect environment anywhere, Immelt says: “I just would like to continue to see the reforms that Prime Minister Modi has started, which I think are absolutely in the right direction. I would like to see it continue to evolve and change.”

On his meeting with Modi earlier in the day, Immelt said, “When I go to the Prime Minister, my commentary is always about ‘here are the investments we are thinking about in India because we are a long-term player.’ But I get back to what are his views on public-private-partnerships, on reforming the energy sector… the prices paid for natural gas are too low to attract exploration. “It is a country that wants to have electricity for every home by 2022, but companies distributing electricity have a tough time earning money …there is no magic solution other than letting a more natural pricing that can justify the investment and begin building generating capability.”

“From our side, we are already investing as a company. We are investing in wind plants and continue to put our money where our mouth is.

“But we just need to have better market mechanisms, just like we need in other parts of the world to get that kind of advancement,” he adds.

But, refer to civil nuclear investment, and pat comes the reply: “I would love to participate. I love my country, I love India. But I do not want to put my company at risk for anything. There is no project that is worth so much that would put GE at risk. None whatsoever…”

Reiterating that India is a significant market in GE’s global business perspective, Immelt said besides the areas in which it is already present in India, “The thrust on improving infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector, is extremely exciting for us. We think the whole rail monetisation programme is a symbol in many ways of the ability to invest in India and offer more opportunities for foreign direct investment and technology development as time goes on.”

“Sectors like renewable energy, which didn’t even exist four or five years ago, are now accelerating and offering us great promise for the future. India will see new opportunities in the oil and gas sector,” he added.

But what would make investments attractive for GE in oil and gas as well as power? “Market-based pricing,” he says, adding “…more market based pricing will allow us for more investment and more development.”

The aviation business, both on commercial and military bases, offers good potential for the company. Some of the development around indigenous military products is where GE is quite interested in.

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