Power Grid to invest in national high power testing lab

26 Apr 2024 CW Team

The State-owned Power Grid Corporation announced that it had signed an agreement to inject funds and acquire a 50 percent stake in the troubled National High Power Test Laboratory (NHPTL). It was disclosed in a regulatory filing that a supplementary joint venture agreement regarding this matter had been signed on April 23, 2024, by NHPTL's shareholders.

NHPTL, collaboration among NTPC, NHPC, POWERGRID, DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation), and CPRI (Central Power Research Institute), has been grappling with financial difficulties.

The injection of funds is contingent upon the approval of the management of the joint venture parties, namely NTPC, NHPC, DVC, and CPRI.

The filing also mentioned that during a meeting convened on September 15, 2022, a revival plan was formulated in collaboration with the Ministry of Power. The plan aimed to address NHPTL's financial crisis and ensure the long-term viability of the country's crucial high-voltage transformer testing facility.

As part of the revival plan, there will be equity transactions among the shareholders. Consequently, POWERGRID's equity holding in NHPTL will increase to 50 percent, while the remaining 50 percent will be equally divided among the other four joint venture partners, with each holding 12.5 percent.

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