NTPC targeting nearly Rs1 trillion revenue this fiscal

NEW DELHI: State-run NTPC Ltd is targeting a revenue of ₹98,000 crore for financial year 2020-21, India’ largest power generation utility said on Wednesday.

“NTPC Ltd, India's largest power producer, will aim for a revenue of ₹98,000 crore from operations and 340 BU of electricity generation as part of its ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) with Ministry of Power for financial year 2020-21,” the company said in a statement.

This comes in the backdrop of the state-run conventional power generation firm rewriting its playbook, given that India’s energy landscape is rapidly evolving. A case in point being NTPC not setting up new greenfield coal-fueled power projects as part of its pivot towards green energy. With an installed capacity of 62.91 gigawatts (GW), the NTPC group has 70 power stations across the country.

India’s electricity demand that had dipped on account of the coronavirus pandemic, is nearly comparable to the last year’s levels. Also, the government has projected around 6% compound annual growth rate of electricity demand, and is working on reforms such as implementing the direct benefit transfer scheme in the electricity sector for better targeting of subsidies, promoting retail competition and instilling financial discipline at state-owned electricity discoms.

“NTPC will aim to achieve capex of Rs. 21,000 crore and coal production of 15 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) for the current fiscal as per the MoU,” the statement said and added that, Further, the group has over 20 GW of capacity under construction, including 5 GW of renewable energy projects.”

NTPC plans to make total capital expenditure of Rs1 trillion between 2019 and 2024 to become a 130 GW power producer by 2032. It has around 4GW of renewable capacity, mostly solar, and plans to add at least 5GW solar capacity in two years. It will acquire at least 1GW of operational solar projects as part of its strategy to have a 32GW clean energy portfolio by 2032.

India has been trying to rejig its energy mix in favour of green energy sources and has become one of the top renewable energy producers globally, with a plan to achieve 175GW by 2022 and 500GW by 2030 as part of its climate commitments.