DVC to Undergo Corporatisation for Enhanced Operational Efficiency

The Damodar Valley Corporation, under India's Ministry of Power, will be corporatised into three entities to improve efficiency. The Union Power Minister urged speeding up the process and suggested exploring IPOs for expansion. Established in 1948, DVC plans to significantly increase its power generation capacity.

The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), India's pioneering multipurpose river valley project, is set to be corporatised. The restructuring will divide the entity into three segments for transmission, generation, and distribution, aiming for higher efficiency, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

The recommendation came from Union Power Minister Manohar Lal during a review meeting at the DVC headquarters. Lal urged the corporation to expedite this unbundling and explore Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to fund its ambitious expansion plans.

DVC, established in 1948 and operating under the Ministry of Power, covers 24,235 sq km across West Bengal and Jharkhand. Despite retaining existing shareholdings among the Centre, West Bengal, and Jharkhand governments, the corporatisation aims to modernize its operational framework. Currently, DVC's installed capacity is about 6700 MW, predominantly thermal. Future expansion plans include additional thermal and green energy projects to boost capacity to 16,700 MW, necessitating a capital expenditure of Rs 50,000-60,000 crore.

The minister emphasized increasing DVC's renewable energy portfolio and acknowledged the corporation's challenges related to coal supply and power tariffs. He assured that operational and financial issues would be addressed at government levels to facilitate DVC's smooth functioning and contribution to national sustainable development.

(With inputs from agencies.)