PDC to go public soon
New Delhi has first time agreed to explore ways for transferring Uri-I, Dul Hasti to JK: Drabu
Presenting the power budget in State Assembly on Sunday, Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu said State Power Development Corporation (PDC) would soon float Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to tap capital market to expand its power generation program in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Government is considering offering some percentage of State Government share in JKSPDC to stakeholders and list the Corporation shares in the stock market,” Drabu said in his power budget speech. The budget dwells in detail the position of the power sector and government’s plans to push the energy generation in J&K having a hydropower potential of around 20000 MWs.
Drabu asserted that government would float the IPOs in next six to eight months.
“We will first divest 10 percent of shares and only people of Jammu and Kashmir will be given the right to invest in power sector,” he said.
If government sticks by its plan, the PDC would be only second company after J&K Bank to be listed on the Stock Exchange.
The Corporation which owns 21 hydro power projects in J&K had for the first time decided to go public in 2006, in its 44th meeting of the Board of Directors. But the decision did not witness any progress.
“We will definitely make progress in our plans by the end of this year,” Drabu said J&K is targeting to generate 9166 MW by 2022 in State sector and in joint venture with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, at a whooping cost of Rs 60000 crore.
To meet this target the PDC would require equity of at least Rs 18000 crore. “Floating the IPOs will address the equity problem,” Drabu said.
Drabu said for the first time New Delhi has agreed to explore ways for transferring two power projects- Uri-I and Dul Hasti to J&K.
“We are working in this direction,” Drabu told a press conference soon after presenting the budget. While Dulhasti having a capacity of 380-MW was inaugurated in 1985, Uri-I has a capacity of 480-MW and started generation in 1989.
Different committees and Working Groups which were set up by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for recommending on augmenting the economic scenario in J&K have also recommended that some of the power projects which are in the control of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation in the state should be transferred to J&K.
The budget document revealed that per capita power consumption has increased by around 50 percent in the state while there has been a decline of three percent in energy deficit.
“In 2013-14 the energy requirement was 17669.40 MUs and the restricted availability of energy was 12054 MUs causing deficit of 5611.90 MUs (31.22 percent). The energy deficit declined in 2013-14 as the 12666.00 MUs restricted energy was available against the requirement of 18022.38 MUs, resulting in decline in energy deficit by 5356.38 (29.72) percent,” the budget reads.
The data revealed in 2001-2002 per capita power consumption was 552.66 KW hr and in 2014-15 it touched 993.04 KW hr.
