PGCIL to invest Rs 55Kcr in 5 yrs

CHENNAI: Central Transmission utility PowerGrid Corp (PGCIL)on Friday said it plans to invest Rs 55,000 crore in the next five years to expand the national grid capacity to transmit 37,000 MW of electricity by 2012.

To part finance these projects, PGCIL is coming up with its Initial Public Offer which would open for subscription on from September 10-13. The price band for the issue has been fixed between Rs 44-52.

The company hopes to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore in the upper end and Rs 2500 crore in the lower end from its IPO, PGCIL Executive Director (Business Development) A R Agarwal said.

"The price band for the issue has been fixed between Rs 44 and Rs 52 per equity share," he said.

The proceeds would be used to part finance 15 projects that entail a total investment of Rs 12,280 crore.

PGCIL owns and operates 61,875 circuit kms of transmission lines. The proposed 15 projects would enhance its transmission system by 13,022 circuit km. The company currently has inter-regional electricity transfer capacity of around 14,000 MW and plans to scale it up to 37,000 MW.