Tata Power is planning a pilot project in green hydrogen before making a full-fledged foray into the segment, while it is actively exploring investing in battery energy storage for which the Central government announced support in the Budget.

In a media interaction, after announcing the company’s third-quarter results for this fiscal year, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Praveer Singh said the cost of green power was high and it would do a pilot project initially as a test case. In India, Reliance Industries, Adani Group and JSW Energy have announced big investments in the production of green hydrogen.

Q3 numbers

For the quarter ended December, Tata Power reported a net profit of ₹945 crore, up 122 per cent year-on-year, while revenue from operations rose about 30 per cent to ₹14,129 crore. Sequentially, the net profit was up 15.4 percent while the revenue was flat.

The operating profit, as calculated by businessline, was ₹2,334.8 crore, up from ₹1,633.8 crore a year ago. The operating profit margin expanded 155 basis points to 16.52 per cent.

Renewables sector

Sinha said all the segments had performed well, but some solar projects had been delayed and could not be implemented due to high cost of solar modules and other commodities. These projects are likely to be executed next financial year.

In the renewables segment, the company is executing 4 giga watt capacity, of which 2.5 GW is for own generation and the remainder for third parties.

Its order pipeline for the solar arm was at ₹15,440 crore at the end of the quarter, while for rooftop solar the orderbook was at over ₹1,300 crore.

During the quarter, the company had also committed to investing ₹6,000 crore in the distribution business in Odisha.

Earlier this month, the CERC passed an order allowing the ultra mega power plant at Mundra full compensation of coal cost and thus making it more cost-effective.

One unit at the plant has started and tariff discussions are being worked out, Sinha said

On the tariff front, Sinha said the company suggested tariff hikes to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission as costs have risen in the last two years.

According to reports, Tata Power has sought a 10-30 per cent hike in tariffs for low-end consumers and 6-7 per cent drop for high-end ones. Sinha said this was to bring better parity among all classes of consumers.

On Friday, Tata Power shares ended 0.5 per cent lower at ₹205.30 on the NSE.

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