Power Grid Shares Gain On Plan To Infuse Fresh Equity In Joint Venture

Shares of the Gurugram-based state-owned electricity utility company, Power Grid Corporation of India, rose as much as 3.3 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 181.90 after the company post market hours on Wednesday said that its board has approved a proposal to infuse fresh equity in a joint venture with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC).

Power Grid will infuse Rs 425 crore in its joint venture Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). Energy Efficiency Services Limited is a joint venture between Power Grid, NTPC, PFC and REC.

EESL is a super Energy Service Company (ESCO), which enables consumers, industries and governments to effectively manage their energy needs through energy efficient technologies. EESL is implementing the world's largest energy efficiency portfolio across sectors like lighting, buildings, electric mobility, smart metering, agriculture, etc. at a scale which no organization has been able to achieve, the company said.

Meanwhile, Power Grid also reported its June quarter earnings. Its consolidated net profit in June quarter surged nearly three times to Rs 5,998 crore compared with profit of Rs 2,948 crore in the same period last year. Power Grid's revenue from operations rose 6 per cent to Rs 10,337 crore.

During the quarter, the group monetised five of its subsidiaries, namely Powergrid Vizag Transmission Limited, Powergrid Kala Amb Transmission Limited, Powergrid Jabalpur Transmission Limited, Powergrid Warora Transmission Limited and Powergrid Parli Transmission Limited through Power Grid Infrastructure Investment Trust, the company said in an exchange filing.

As of 11:20 am, Power Grid shares traded 2.8 per cent higher at Rs 181, outperforming the Nifty which was up 0.33 per cent.