JSW Energy seeks over Rs8,000 crore from market for new projects

Power producer JSW Energy, part of the Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Group, has begun the process to borrow over Rs8,000 crore to finance its upcoming power projects in Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.

The company plans to build a 1,320 megawatt coal-fired power project in Chhattisgarh and a 240 MW hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh.

JSW Energy currently has an average borrowing cost of about 11.4 per cent. ''We will raise debt for the two projects within six months,'' JSW Energy chief financial officer Pramod Menon told newspersons in Mumbai on Friday after a board meeting called to approve its first quarter results. The company has appointed IDBI Bank as a lead manger for the fund-raising.

The recently-listed subsidiary of the JSW Group, sells 70 per cent of the power it generates in the open market, and earns 60 per cent of its revenue through selling power at short-term rates. It is currently grappling with environmental issues in Ratnagiri and Chhattisgarh. A public hearing with the local populace in Chhattisgarh is scheduled for 7 August.

The company said it is on track to add another 1,200 MW at Ratnagiri, where the first of four units will be commissioned in the first week of August. Also on the cards this fiscal is a 1,080 MW plant at Barmer in Rajasthan.

JSW Energy vice-chairman N K Jain said a robust business outlook has led to higher merchant power rates, which has improved the company's profitability. The company's net profit rose more than threefold to Rs299 crore. ''The profit grew mainly due to increase in merchant power sales from new capacities,'' Jain added. The company sold 1.8 billion units of electricity for a net sales of around Rs964 crore, compared to Rs297 crore in the previous year's June quarter.