SJVN Ltd, a Central has planned to incur capital expenditure of Rs.5,000 crore in FY22, which would be nearly twice the level in FY21.
In a recent investor conference, SJVN CMD, N.L. Sharma, said that the company was planning to undertake capital expenditure of Rs.5,000 crore in FY22 as against Rs.2,560 crore in FY21.
Even in FY21, the capital expenditure incurred was more than twice the FY20 figure of Rs.1,221 crore.
Out of the Rs.5,000 crore capex planned this fiscal year, around Rs.1,500 crore will come from internal accruals and the remaining through debt, Sharma noted.
Much of the proposed capex will be directed towards developing hydropower generation capacity – both in India and overseas; the Buxar coal-fired power plant in Bihar; and renewable energy capacity, mainly solar. The overseas hydropower projects of SJVN are located in Bhutan and Nepal.
SJVN has the following projects, currently under physical construction:
- Buxar (1,320 mw): Coal-fired, Bihar
- Arun-III (900 mw): Hydropower, Nepal
- Naitwar Mori (60 mw): Hydropower, Uttarakhand
- Luhri (210 mw): Hydropower, Himachal Pradesh
- Dhaulasidh (66 mw): Hydropower, Himachal Pradesh
- Kholongchhu (600 mw): Hydropower, Bhutan
- Gujarat (170 mw): Solar, Gujarat
Besides hydropower, SJVN is planning aggressive solar power capacity addition. It has been participating in SECI-related tenders, and has even landed some mandates. By 2025. SJVN has targeted 5 GW of solar capacity, moving to 10 GW by 2030.
No thermal after Buxar
N.L. Sharma explained that SJVN’s 1,320-mw Buxar coal-fired power plant is the only thermal power project ever in the company’s portfolio. Once the Buxar project is commissioned, there will be no more thermal power plants by SJVN, in line with the Central government’s philosophy of moving away from coal-fired power generation. In fact, provision has been made for an additional power generation unit at the Buxar site. However, no such unit will be developed in keeping with the Centre’s aforementioned directive.
The Buxar coal-fired power project will have two supercritical power units of 660-mw each. The project is targeted for full commissioning by January 2024 with work currently in full swing under EPC contractor Larsen & Toubro.
The Buxar project is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle “SJVN Thermal Power Pvt Ltd” that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SJVN Ltd.
Also read: SJVN Completes Tunnel Excavation Work Of Naitwar Mori Project
Out of the total project cost of Rs.10,000 crore, around Rs.2,200 crore has been spent so far. A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed with Bihar government to procure 85 per cent generation from the Buxar plant, at around Rs.4.19 per kwh.
The Buxar project was originally supposed to be developed under the public-private partnership mode through a joint venture between the erstwhile Bihar State Electricity Board and IL&FS. The Buxar project was mandated to SJVN Ltd in early 2013 after the JV failed to record any project progress.
(Note: This story is based on a recent SJVN investor conference, the transcript of which was filed on stock exchanges. Featured photograph for illustration only)
