The Modi government is discussing a plan to sell its stake in the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Bloomberg has reported.
NTPC is the biggest producer of electricity in the country by capacity. The government currently has 73.67 per cent stake in NHPC, worth $2.6 billion. The discussions however, are unlikely to be concluded this fiscal year.
The government is planning to sell the stake to NTPC to consolidate state-run energy companies to give them global size and scale. The move, according to the report, will also help in revenue collection. The consolidation will give NTPC a globally significant scale and size apart from helping the government to stick to its budget gaps. The sale will also boost NTPC's green portfolio as it is currently a coal burning energy company.
This will be the second such consolidation. Earlier, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation had acquired government’s 51.11 per cent stake in oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum, which was worth more than $3.5 billion.