Bengal govt to initiate process of listing West Bengal Power Development Corporation on stock exchanges

The West Bengal government will initiate the process of listing the West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) on stock exchanges, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Wednesday.

Addressing the Assembly, Adhikari said listing of WBPDCL would strengthen it financially, improve its transparency, generate employment and enhance spending under corporate social responsibility.

WBPDCL, formed in 1985, is a com­pany owned by the West Ben­gal government with the goal to carry on the busi­ness of elec­tric power gen­er­a­tion and sup­ply in the State. The company currently has a paid-up capital of around ₹8500 crore and authorised capital of ₹20,000 crore.

The ther­mal power plants under it are in Kolaghat, Bakreswar, Sagardighi, Santaldih,and Bandel.

The Chief Minister, who is also in charge of the Power Department, announced the proposed listing of West Bengal Power Development Corporation in the Assembly while replying to the debate on the department’s Rs 5341-crore demand for grants for the current financial year.

In a major consumer-focused reform, he said power discom West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) would switch to monthly electricity billing from January next year, replacing the existing three-month billing cycle.

West Bengal would implement the PM-KUSUM scheme which aims to encourage renewable energy use in the agriculture sector with an additional subsidy of ₹2 per unit from the State from August 1, Adhikari said.