Neepco gets Rs 3,000 crore loan at 6.5%

Public sector power generator, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco), has signed up a Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) loan of Rs 3,000 crore at 6.50 per cent.

"We have finalised a deal with REC recently under which it has agreed to lend us Rs 3,000 crore. The amount would be used for financing the expansion plans we have lined up," said S C Sharma, chairman and managing director, Neepco.

Neepco's targeted expansion for the 11th Five-Year Plan was around 2690 MW capacity and its total requirement was around Rs 10,000 crore.

With 30 per cent budgetary support from the government, Neepco was looking to raise Rs 6,000 crore from external sources.

"Neepco has also roped in SBI Caps for a Rs 800 crore loan at 6.3 per cent interest recently," he said. Neepco was also planning to raise funds through bonds.

The chairman said, "We will go for bonds only towards the end of the year if required because the bonds are costly compared to the rates we have been able to strike with SBI Caps and REC."

"We managed to report a net profit of Rs 123 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal year against a net loss of Rs 408 crore last year. This year, we expect to post a profit of Rs 160 crore," Sharma said.

Neepco has also lined up seven hydro power generation projects. Six of these would be located in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Assam. The total capacity will be 11,700 MW.

The largest project would be the one at the Luhit Basin in Arunachal Pradesh with a total installed capacity of 7,265 MW, followed by a 3,945 MW hydro power project at the Kameng Basin. The one at Lower Kopili in Assam is expected to have a capacity of 150 MW.

Neepco has begun talks with Tata Power and Reliance Energy for setting up a 2,920 MW joint venture power generating company in Arunachal Pradesh at a coast of Rs 8,400 crore.