Powergrid Infrastructure Investment Trust

Powergrid Infrastructure Investment Trust was registered with SEBI on January 7, 2021 as an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) under the Securities and Exchange Board of India, ) Regulations, 2014 in the Republic of India . The Sponsor, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) settled the Trust on September 14, 2020 as an irrevocable trust, pursuant to the Trust Deed, under the provisions of Indian Trusts Act, 1882 for an initial sum of Rs. 10,000. Further, Powergrid Unchahar Transmission Limited ( PUTL) has been appointed as the Investment Manager, and Powergrid has been appointed as the Project Manager to the Trust. Power Grid is a CPSE under the Ministry of Power, GoI and is listed on BSE and NSE. The Sponsor, Powergrid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) is engaged in project planning, designing, financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining power transmission projects across India and undertakes operations in the Indian telecom infrastructure sector. The Sponsor provides transmission and distribution consultancy services in India and other jurisdictions, with footprints in 21 countries (including India). The Sponsor, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is setting up, implementing and operating transmission projects at various locations in India where the right to provide transmission services is procured under the TBCB (Tariff Based Competitive Bidding) mechanism. As of September 30, 2020, eight of these ISTS SPVs had commenced commercial operations, comprising 39 transmission lines (6,398 ckm), with a total power transformation capacity of 9,630 MVA. The remaining Sponsor TBCB Projects are at different stages of development. The Initial Portfolio Assets comprise five power transmission projects located across five states of India. The projects comprise 11 transmission lines, including six 765 kV transmission lines and five 400 kV transmission lines, with a total circuit length of approximately 3,698.59 ckm, and three substations with 6,630 MVA of an aggregate transformation capacity and 1,955.66 km of optical ground wire. The Initial Portfolio Assets were awarded to Sponsor under the TBCB mechanism on a build-own-operate-maintain (BOOM) basis. Investment Manager, Powergrid Unchahar Transmission Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sponsor, is responsible for managing the Trust and the Initial Portfolio Assets as well as undertaking investment decisions relating to its assets. The Investment Manager has been engaged in the power transmission business since Fiscal 2014 and has relevant infrastructure sub-sector experience owing to its involvement in the construction and operation of a transmission system. The Investment Manager meets the prerequisite experience as required under the InvIT Regulations. Investment Manager has overall responsibility for setting strategic direction, including in relation to its future acquisitions, divestment, or enhancement of assets. Sponsor has been awarded various transmission projects under the TBCB mechanism adopted by the Central and the State Governments and as of September 30, 2020, had the highest market share, on the basis of number of projects awarded among the ISTS projects awarded under the TBCB mechanism (Source: CEA Monthly Progress Report of Transmission Projects awarded Through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) Route (Completed Projects), September 2020; CEA Monthly Progress Report of Transmission Projects awarded Through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) Route (Under Construction Projects), September 2020). During the period October 6, 2008 and September 30, 2020, Sponsor was declared as the successful bidder for 16 out of 52 ISTS projects awarded under the TBCB mechanism. In addition, Sponsor was awarded four intrastate projects through the TBCB mechanism. As of September 30, 2020, Sponsor operated, on a standalone basis, 1,237 transmission lines aggregating to 161,742 ckm (circuit km), 248 substations (including HVDC substations and GIS substations) with 410,185 MVA of transformation capacity. Further, as of September 30, 2020, Sponsor's total transmission assets, including its wholly owned subsidiaries, consisted of 1,276 transmission lines aggregating to 168,140 ckm, 252 substations with an aggregate transformation capacity of 419,815 MVA. Apart from this, the Sponsor also has a diverse set of equity investors, including foreign portfolio and institutional investors, mutual funds and insurance companies, and access to a wide range of project finance and debt instruments from Indian and international markets and investors. Read More