Tata Power lines up Rs 70,000 cr investment

Tata Power will invest Rs 70,000 crore to raise its generation capacity eight times from about 3,000 MW to 25,000 MW by 2017, Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, told shareholders at the AGM here on Wednesday.Mr Tata said the 114 MW Dagachhu hydro project in Bhutan would be commissioned in three years and the 1,050 MW Maithon project in Jharkhand would begin generating by March 2011. Sixty per cent of work at the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project at Mundra was complete, he said.

He said the company was looking for opportunities in civil nuclear power generation. Tata Power has made investments in thorium power generation in the last few years.

Responding to a shareholder's observation that the company's growth had been insignificant for the 91 years of existence, he said it should be understood that it was only over the last few years that the power sector had been liberalised before which it was firmly under government control. Tata Power has an exclusive partnership agreement with SN Power, Norway, to set up joint ventures for developing hydropower projects in India and Nepal.The two companies are looking to tap opportunities based on the vast reserves of renewable energy in the Himalayan region.

Recently, Tata Power in consortium with Origin Energy and PT Supraco Indonesia was declared the successful bidder for the Sorik Marapi geothermal project in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Sorik Marapi project is estimated to support development of about 240 MW. The project is expected to begin commercial operations in 2015.