NTPC eyes govt stake in SJVN worth Rs 8,720 cr: Sources

NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest electricity producer, is seeking to buy the central government’s stake in hydro-power producer SJVN Ltd to boost its share of non-fossil fuel generation capacity, according to people with knowledge of the development.

New Delhi-based NTPC has written to the finance ministry’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management proposing to buy the central government’s stake in SJVN, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter isn’t public. The central government’s 64.5 per cent share in the hydro-power generator is valued at Rs 8,720 crore ($1.3 billion), according to Bloomberg 

calculations.

The purchase will aid state-run NTPC meet its goal of reducing the share of its generation capacity that relies on fossil fuels to 70 per cent by 2032 from 97 per cent now. It will also help the central government raise funds and narrow its budget deficit. Press officials from NTPC and central finance ministry declined to comment. SJVN chairman R N Misra was unable to immediately comment, a company official said. SJVN shares jumped as much as 6.4 per cent to Rs 34.7, the biggest intraday increase in more than two months. SJVN, based in Shimla, operates two hydro-power plants with a combined capacity of 1.9 gigawatts, according to the company’s site.  

The company also operates a 47.6 megawatt wind-power plant in Maharashtra and plans to build a 900 megawatt hydro-power project in Nepal.

NTPC’s only hydro-power plant has a capacity of 800 megawatts. It has set up 545 megawatts of solar-power projects and is considering building more, including one at a site that was originally planned for a coal-based power station.