Increased participation by private companies in electricity distribution will help ease supply bottlenecks and reinstate investor confidence in the sector, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.
The minister on Monday met top bankers including ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar and State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya and discussed hurdles affecting funding of power sector projects.
“The bankers’ concerns were fuel issues, power purchase and we also discussed the long-term road map for this sector which is viable and profitable,” Goyal told reporters after meeting the bankers here today.
“We have all resolved that we shall work as a team to bring about synergy and sort out the problems in the sector. We will look for more private participation in distribution and would require state support for this task,” he said.
At present, cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Surat and Ahmedabad, along with Odisha State, have privately owned power distribution companies.
Yes Bank Chairman Rana Kapoor, in his presentation to the Power Minister, said, “Investments to the tune of Rs 5.7 lakh crore are required in the sector by 2018, which means a debt requirement of Rs 4 lakh crore and equity requirement of Rs 1.7 lakh crore.” “I recommend that government considers a dedicated power sector equity fund “POWER-ing India Fund (PIF) to bridge the equity gap,” he said.