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THDC India Ltd, the state-owned power generator, is planning to invest around Rs 580 crore next financial year (2013-14) in capacity expansion. The company, a joint venture between the centre and the UP government, has a current power generation capacity of 10,290 Megawatt (Mw) and plans to ramp it up by another 5,490 Mw soon.
The company plans to meet expenditure of Rs 446 crore through internal resource generation, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and commercial loans. Also, Rs 134 crore will be provided as the government’s support, according to a power ministry source.
THDC currently operates 15 hydro projects in UP, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Bhutan. Under the expansion mode, the company plans to set up projects in Chhattisgarh and Odisha too. THDC has recently diversified into thermal power generation with the allotment of the 1,320 Mw Khurja super thermal power plant in UP.
THDC was originally set up in 1988 to develop and operate the 2,400 Mw Tehri Hydro Power Complex. The complex comprised 1,000 Mw Tehri Dam and Hydro Project, 1,000 Mw Tehri Pump Storage Plant and 400 Mw Koteshwar hydro project. The Tehri complex currently supplies power to nine beneficiary states. Overall, THDCIL generated 4.5 Billion Units (BUs) of electricity last financial year. Generation in the current financial year has been 19.4 BUs till November end.
