Power Minister rules out mega consolidation of power sector PSUs

Power Minister R K Singh Thursday ruled out consolidating all state-owned power sector firms like NTPC, NHPC, SJVNL and PFC into a single entity, saying it would be the biggest company of the world but will not be manageable.

However, the minister said discussions are on regarding merger of some companies under the Power Ministry.

The issue of consolidation in the power sector gained prominence after the government recently approved REC's takeover by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

"If it (consolidation of all power sector PSUs) does happen, (then) it will be the biggest company of the world.

"But we have to think about whether it will manageable in the sense that you need managerial focus also and if it become too big and too diverse, it is matter of management control," Singh said at a press conference.

He was replying to a question on whether such a consolidation can happen in the power sector to improve efficiency.

When asked about mergers of some power sector PSUs, he said, "Discussions are happening of and on."