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NTPC, after taking baby steps into power transmission and distribution in 2002, is making efforts to enter the retail distribution segment in a more aggressive manner, both in the national and international market.
Sources in the know of the developments said that the company, through its subsidiary NTPC Electric Supply Company Ltd (NESCL), is looking at various business models, including forming joint ventures with the existing distribution companies as well as getting into franchise.
The company is also looking at the possibility of retail distribution of electricity to bulk industrial consumers in upcoming mega industrial areas and special economic zones.
Admitting that getting into distribution would mean competing with the existing Discoms, the official said, in India the power transmission and distribution system is a three-tier structure, comprising distribution networks, State grids and regional grids.
“To enjoy sustained success in the business, we need to take all the stakeholders, especially the investors and the people in the neighbourhood, along with us. Only then will we have truly inclusive growth,” the senior official said.
One of the reasons why NTPC is getting into distribution is that the company wants to give back to those who had contributed land to its projects. “The value of land cannot be measured only by money. Monetary compensation alone can never compensate their loss. It is important that they really benefit from the projects that we set up,” an official said.
Power infrastructure
A scheme of providing infrastructure for electricity within a radius of five km of the power projects/stations in which the company is actively participating will enable the stakeholders to have 24X7 power supply, leading to their economic growth, the official explained.
The total installed capacity of NTPC is 36,014 megawatt (MW). The company, at present, has 15 coal-based, seven gas-based and six joint venture power stations and plans to be a 128,000 MW company by 2032.
NESCL is working on turnkey projects under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) of the Government. It has a joint venture company named KINESCO Power & Utilities Pvt Ltd with the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation for retail distribution of power at various industrial parks developed by the State entity , SEZs and other industrial areas.
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