NTPC to invest Rs 2,25,000 cr to become 75k Mw firm

India's largest power company NTPC plans to invest a massive Rs 2,25,000 crore in the next seven years in capacity expansion to become a 75,000-Mw entity, company's Chairman and Managing Director R S Sharma said today.

NTPC, which has a production capacity of a little over 30,000 Mw annually, constitutes 19 per cent of the country's total installed capacity of 1,55,000 Mw.

For the additional capacity generation, NTPC is planning about 9,000 Mw through hydroelectric sources, 2,000 Mw through nuclear and 1,000 Mw through renewable energy resources by 2017. This would make NTPC one of most diversified companies in the country in terms of fuel usage.

Asked about the source of funding, Sharma said all projects would be funded in debt-equity ratio of 70:30. For the equity portion the PSU has comfortable cash flows.

"If required we may tap the domestic as well global debt market," Sharma said.

To increase its capacity, the company has prepared a multi-pronged strategy which envisages additional power generation through green field projects, brown field expansions, joint ventures and acquisitions.

NTPC will hit the capital market with its follow-on public offer on February 3 to raise up to Rs 11,000 crore as part of the government's disinvestment plan in leading PSU companies.

The government is offloading five per cent of its stake in NTPC through a follow-on public offer of 412,273,220 equity shares of Rs 10 at prices to be determined through an alternative book building process.

The FPO will be open between February 3 and February 5.

NTPC has filed the prospectus with the market regulator Sebi to this effect.

After the five per cent stake dilution, the government's holding in the power utility will come down to 84.5 per cent from the current 89.5 per cent.

In 2009, NTPC was adjudged a top Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Asia, and ranked second in the world, on the basis of asset worth, revenues, profits and return on invested capital, according to a study conducted by Platts, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies.

The company is pursuing a basket of projects for about 33,000 MW of capacity which are in various stages, including projects for which tenders have been invited, a feasibility report (FR) prepared, or an FR is under preparation and approval, in order to achieve stated goal of 75,000 MW capacity by fiscal 2017, ministry sources said.