Cabinet may okay PowerGrid FPO tomorrow

The Cabinet is likely to take up tomorrow the follow-on public offer from transmission utility PowerGrid Corporation to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore.

Sources said, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to approve the Rs 3,000-crore follow-on offer from the state-run transmission major tomorrow.

The company is planning to raise 10 per cent fresh equity, while the government is likely to offload 10 per cent of its 86.36 per cent stake in PowerGrid.

In an effort to raise Rs 40,000 crore from disinvestment during the current financial year, the government would sell stake in 10 more PSUs, including IndianOil, MMTC, Coal India, SAIL, RINL and Shipping Corporation.

PowerGrid would invest Rs 58,000 crore for setting up network to facilitate evacuation of electricity from power surplus states to others. It would execute nine high-capacity transmission corridors, which would transfer power from the hydel projects in the Northeast and thermal projects in the North to power-deficient states.

The company also targets to augment transmission capacity to 23,400mw in the current fiscal from 19,800mw at present.