The Hindu Business Line : REC to fund majority of power projects, says Shinde

The Union Power Minister, Mr Sushil Kumar Shinde, said on Friday that the opportunities for financing power infrastructure projects in the coming years are colossal and the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will have a sizable share in funding them.

Informing the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament for Power, the Minister said that as a nodal agency for monitoring and channelising funds under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), REC would continue to take up the socio-economic responsibility of village electrification and contribute to the mission of ‘Power for all by 2012'.

The Government estimates for investments in the power sector, in order to meet the targets for the Eleventh Plan, stand at Rs 10,31,600 crore. This includes funds for adding power generation capacity, repair & maintenance of existing power plants, expansion and upgrading of transmission and distribution infrastructure.

For its part, REC had sanctioned Rs 2,21,099 crore cumulatively and disbursed Rs 92,401 crore up to March 31, 2009, said Mr Shinde. He added that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the proposal for further public offer (FPO) of REC on October 29, 2009 and the company hopes to tap the market for more funds by January-February 2010.

REC, which initially went public in the 2007-08 fiscal, paid a total dividend of Rs 4.50 per share of Rs 10 each for the 2008-09 fiscal.

While several members of the committee appreciated the role of REC as a funding agency, some expressed apprehension over the delay in the completion of rural electrification programme, stated an official release.

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