Tata Power plans to have over 25,000 EV charging stations by 2028

Tata Power further plans to double its Capex this financial year to ₹12,000 Cr, and is well positioned to lead the green energy transition in its 104th AGM.

Tata Power, one of India’s top integrated power businesses, recently had its 104th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders for the Fiscal Year 2022-23, virtually. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Power, shed light upon the Company’s financial performance, strategic ambitions, and commitment to renewable energy solutions in his address to the shareholders.

As quoted by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, “Tata Power, being one of the largest integrated power players, is well positioned to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the sector. To meet the growth targets, Tata Power plans to invest about ₹12,000 crore this financial year, which is double the Capex spent in FY23. Given the company’s successful track record in turning around Discoms, it will look to participate in privatisation opportunities as and when the policy reforms are undertaken,”

Tata Power is well on its way to being a 24-hour provider of green energy solutions. For its commercial and industrial customers, it is creating clean energy solutions such as battery storage and pumped hydro projects.

To secure a stable, reliable, and constant supply from renewable energy sources, the company is investigating new technologies such as offshore wind and green hydrogen. Tata Power has maintained its quest for excellence, growth, and technological advancement over the years. The Company continues to meet all of its stated commitments in financial, operational, and ESG criteria.

The Company has budgeted an additional capex of ₹12,000 crore this year, and the amount of capex allocation would increase in future years due to new project prospects in the Renewables and T&D industries. Over the last three years, the company has spent about ₹18,000 crore on capital expenditure.

Renewable capacity expansion and evolving into a consumer-oriented business continues to be a main focus of Tata Power, with its renewable portfolio currently standing at 7 GW with 3.9 GW operational and 2.7 GW under implementation. The company already has an open order book of more than 4 GW of large utility-scale projects, totaling more than ₹17,000 crores.

The non-carbon, green capacity of the company already stands at 37 percent currently and is expected to expand to 70 percent by 2030.

Tata Power is actively evolving into a consumer-centric corporation by expanding its power distribution network across the country and introducing cutting-edge energy solutions such as Solar Rooftops, EV Chargers, and Energy Management Solutions.

Tata Power is investing roughly ₹3,000 crore to construct up to 4 GW of greenfield solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in Tamil Nadu to tackle the supply chain constraints of Solar modules and Cells. The project is on target to be completed in the current fiscal year.

Tata Power is one of the largest solar rooftop providers in India, with almost 1,650 MW of installed capacity. The company’s network spans 275 districts and over 450 dealers throughout India. For commercial and industrial consumers, the company is driving new green power solutions such as Green Open Access, hybrid solutions, and round-the-clock power solutions. 

Tata Power is also concentrating on expanding its commercial footprint through developing technologies such as Pumped Hydro Storage, Offshore Wind, and Green Hydrogen. It is also looking into novel technologies, such as compact modular nuclear reactors. The Company will create Pumped Hydro Storage at its current hydro facilities in Lonavala/Pune, where the existing water reservoirs will be used.

Tata Power intends to increase the number of EV charging stations to more than 25,000 over the next five years. As the leading EV charging point operator in the country, with approximately 60 percent market share, the Company has deployed over 40,000 home chargers, over 4000 public and semi-public charging points, and 250 bus charging points. It is present in 550 cities and is growing rapidly.

Tata Power is leveraging group synergy to provide solar rooftop and group captive solutions not only to Tata Group firms such as Tata Motors, Tata Steel, IHCL, and Tata Chemicals but also to other large corporates and industries to assist them in shifting their energy requirements. Through developed offers, the company intends to increase its market share to 30 percent.

Over the next five years, Tata Power is focusing on prospects for transmission projects through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding for over 10,000 ckm.

Tata Power has grown to become the country’s largest private power distribution firm, servicing approximately 13 million customers in Delhi, Mumbai, Ajmer, and Odisha. Tata Power serves more customers than all of the country’s private distribution utilities combined. The four Odisha discoms have increased power reliability by upgrading networks, developing infrastructure, and deploying technologies like SCADA and GIS systems, ERP, and CRM. In addition, they have cut AT&C losses by approximately 10 percent.

This experience supplying power in both urban and rural areas will help the Company pursue comparable possibilities in other states when they become available for similar public-private partnerships. Tata Power intends to reach more than 40 million customers in the next five years.

By operating under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003, published by the Ministry of Power, where tariff cost is neutral, the Mudra plant has been able to sustain its operations while supplying power to its procurers.

Tata Power has focused on strengthening its balance sheet, cutting its debt to equity from 1.53 to 1.03, and improving its net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio from 3.92 to 2.66. These initiatives have increased the value created for stakeholders.

The return on equity improved from 9.5 percent in FY22 to 12.6 percent in FY23, while the return on capital employed increased from 7.8 percent to 9.3 percent during the same time.

Based on the strong performance in FY23, the Company recommends a 200 percent dividend of ₹2/- per equity share of ₹1/-, up from ₹1.75 per equity share in FY22.

Tata Power’s consolidated revenue increased by 32 percent to Rs 56,033 crore in FY23 from Rs 42,576 crore in FY22. This expansion can be ascribed to higher Mundra Thermal Plant availability, increasing sales across distribution companies, and solid additions to the Renewables portfolio.

In FY23, the Company’s consolidated EBITDA increased by 23 percent to Rs 10,068 crore, demonstrating continuous success in existing Generation, Transmission, and Distribution sectors as well as new capacity additions in Renewables. Consolidated reported PAT increased 77 percent to ₹ 3,810 crore in FY23, owing to better performance across all business areas.

Tata Power fully supports the Tata Group’s Project Aalingana, which defines the Group’s strategy for reducing emissions and being carbon-neutral by 2045. The company plans to be carbon neutral by 2045, 100 percent water neutral by 2030, have no net impact on biodiversity before 2030 and have zero waste to landfill by 2030. In addition, the company has undertaken several activities to protect biodiversity in and around its working locations.