New Delhi, June 30: The Power Grid Corporation today apprehended that private investment in transmission sector might fall short of the tenth plan target and could adversely affect the overall power situation. "We have planned to invest Rs 31,080 crore in the tenth plan in the power transmission sector, of which PGCIL's outlay stands at Rs 21,370 crore while the rest of Rs 9,710 has to come from private sector," PGCIL chief R P Singh said here. Singh's apprehension stems from the poor response from the private sector in its "Independent Power Transmission Company" (IPTC) route wherein the private sector would invest upto 100 per cent of the project cost but under the supervision of PGCIL.

In its Rs 450 crore project for setting up transmission line on Bina-Nagadha-Digha between Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, only one private company finally submitted the bid while as many as 15 companies procured the bid document. Kalpataru of Mumbai in association with a Malaysian company is the sole bidder for the project, Singh said, adding that "we are discussing the matter with central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)... I think we need some more time for IPTC route."

Asked about the reasons for poor response from the private sector, Singh said poor financial health of Sebs, law and order situation in some states and right of way conditions were some of the main reasons. He, however, said the successful commissioning of PGCIL and Tata power's joint venture would set the trend for getting more private investments in power transmission.

Bureau Report