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Centre to set up a national grid: Suresh Prabhu

The Centre will soon set up a national grid with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) as its notified transmission utility, Union Minister for Power Suresh Prabhu said on Saturday.

"The exact amount of investment is yet to be finalised but it could run upto some Rs 800 billion. We plan to raise the money through joint ventures and floating bonds in domestic and international market," Prabhu said in his keynote address at a function organised by PGCIL.

He said the power ministry was in talks with three international companies to participate in the JV with PGCIL.

PGCIL chairman and managing director R P Singh said the company has already got a credit of $250 million from the Asian Development Bank and Rs 120 million as additional commercial loans from financial institutions.

The National Grid would make it possible to set up power stations as per the availability of the fuel feedstock in the particular region and also chalk out an efficient plan for distribution of power to other states, Prabhu said.

"Our country has ample natural resources like coal in plenty in the Eastern India. Hence in that region we will give preference to coal-based generating units," he explained.

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