The slowdown blues seem to have bypassed the country’s second largest electricity generator NHPC.

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Despite postponing its initial public offering (IPO), the company plans to go ahead with Rs 21,600-crore investment plan for a five-year period ending March 31, 2012.

The company that has registered a modest 4.6 per cent growth in net profit to

Rs 1,050 crore for the year ending March 31, 2009 as against a net profit of

Rs 1,004 crore the previous year, plans to take no fresh debt during 2009-10. The capital expenditure during the year would be through loans already tied up and internal accruals.

NHPC, that planned its IPO last year but deferred it due to volatile market conditions, is not dependent on funds raised through this route for its expansion plans, said its chairman and managing director SK Garg. “We were ready with out public offer in October last year but had to defer it due to sluggish market conditions. We are constantly reviewing the situation and the issue would hit the markets as soon as situation improves,” he added.

NHPC during 2008-09 made a capital investment of Rs 3,678 crore against Rs 2,568 crore in 2007-08. The expenditure was on projects in Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, which when commissioned would total to a capacity of over 4000 mw.

Out of Rs 21,600 crore, debt would comprise

Rs 16,391 crore and the rest would come through internal accruals and subordinate loans from the Union government. Garg said funds to the tune of

Rs 10,648 crore has already been tied up and rest would be tied up in due course from the domestic market and if the rates were competitive, the company might even tap the overseas markets.

NHPC reported the growth in profit without adding any new generation capacity during the year since new projects would start getting commissioned from 2010 onwards. “The sales turnover of the company during the period also grew to Rs 2,562 crore, a growth of 11.3 per cent over sales of Rs 2,301 crore in the previous fiscal year,” Garg told reporters on Thursday.

The company’s overseas projects include preparation of detailed feasibility report for three hydel projects in Bhutan with total capacity of 3,800 mw. It is also expected to go ahead with detailed project report (DPR) for two projects of 1800 mw in Myanmar and is scouting for projects in Nepal.

NHPC has also forayed into thermal power generation with its subsidiary Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) bagging a 1,000 mw project in Madhya Pradesh. The company plans to start the procedure for getting coal linkage from the Union government for the project. NHPC holds a 51 per cent equity in NHDC, while the rest is being held by the Madhya Pradesh government.