Rs 67,286 cr allocated for power sector, marking 14% increase

New Delhi: The government in the Budget presented on Tuesday retained nearly 14 per cent rise in capital investment of Rs 67,286.01 crore proposed in the interim document by eight state-owned power companies for this fiscal.

The government had provided for Rs 67,286.01 crore investment by the eight power sector firms in the interim budget presented on February 1, 2024, compared to Rs 59,119.55 crore for 2023-24 under the revised estimate.

The annual investment by these eight power sector firms for the 2023-24 fiscal was budgeted at Rs 60,805.22 crore. According to the budget document presented in Parliament on Tuesday, Power Grid Corporation -- a central public sector enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power -- witnessed the highest increase in proposed investment at Rs 12,250 crore for this fiscal from Rs 8,800 crore budgeted and revised estimate of investment for 2023-24.

Investment by hydro power giant SJVN Ltd has been hiked to Rs 12,000 crore for 2024-25, from the revised and budgeted amount of Rs 10,000 crore for 2023-24. Another hydro power giant NHPC Ltd will increase its investment to Rs 11,761.87 crore in 2024-25, compared to the revised estimated investment of Rs 9,006.31 crore for 2023-24.

NHPC’s initial investment was budgeted at Rs 10,857.22 crore for 2023-24. The NHPC’s investment for this fiscal also includes Rs 568.68 crore capex of its joint venture firm Chenab Valley Power Projects Ltd, mentioned separately in the budget document.

In the case of NTPC Ltd, the investments have been slightly increased to Rs 22,700 crore for this fiscal compared to the revised as well as budgeted estimates of Rs 22,454 crore for 2023-24. Damodar Valley Corporation’s investment has been pegged at Rs 3,262 crore for 2024-25, higher than the revised as well as budgeted estimates of Rs 2,708 crore for 2023-24.