DVC energises electricity generation by 21% in FY17

Loss-making Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has outspaced the national average in electricity generation, registering a growth of 20.8 per cent in FY17'. "DVC has generated 33581 million units in FY17 from thermal and hydel capacities, growing at 20.8 per cent over 2015-16 with generation of 27,778 million units.

The national average generation growth is just 4.72 per cent, NTPC generation has expanded by 3.32 per cent while, eastern region growth is 7.34 per cent," a DVC official said. Revenue also jumped by 12.2 per cent to Rs 14,700 crore for the year under review compared to Rs 13,096 crore registered in 2015-16.

"Beside, overall better operational efficiency there had been high exchange power trading and more short term power sale were major factors for such performance," DVC chairman Andrew WK Langstieh said.

DVC's merchant power sale (through power exchange) had tripled to 582 million units in 2016-17 compared to 171 million units in 2015-16.

The long term debt had also got reduced to Rs 19,500 crore (as on March 31, 2017) from Rs 21,560 crore in FY16' with debt restructuring, DVC said.

The corporation will be at a loss at net level due to high interest burden due to unsustainable long term debt, they declined to share the details.

Sources said, once Raghunathpur thermal power plant is successfully hived-off in a joint venture soon after West Bengal's nod is received, the corporation will be back in black.

DVC during the year commissioned long-delayed thermal power projects totalling 1700 MW, one unit of 500 MW at Bokaro at Jharkhand and two units of 600 MW each at Raghunathpur TPS in Bengal.