NLC charts ₹23,600cr FY27 capex, lines up ₹4,620cr BESS projects

Chennai: NLC India (NLCIL), the lignite-cum-power major, is planning a capital expenditure (capex) of about Rs 23,600 crore, including its joint ventures, in FY27.

In FY26, the company’s capex spending stood at about Rs 9,131 crore, its highest-ever annual capex, representing an 18% increase over FY25. Over the past five years, the company has invested around Rs 27,000 crore in capex and has already announced an ambitious Rs 1.01 lakh crore investment plan through 2030, covering mining, thermal power, renewable energy, and diversification projects.

“In FY27, including JVs, our total capex plan is Rs 23,600 crore. Of this, Rs 19,722 crore is earmarked for power, Rs 1,490 crore for mining, and Rs 2,388 crore for renewable energy and diversification,” according to M Prasanna Kumar, CMD of NLC India.

Among other projects, about 3,300 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across three contracts, with a total value of around Rs 4,620 crore, are in the pipeline. The company has already signed a Rs 700-crore contract for a 500-MWh BESS project in Tamil Nadu. Two more BESS projects — a Rs 1,400-crore, 1,000-MWh project in Punjab and a Rs 2,520-crore, 1,800-MWh project by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) — are in the pipeline.

Of the total planned FY30 capex, 44% will be allocated to thermal power projects, while 33% is earmarked for renewable energy projects. Renewables are expected to account for 50% of the company’s own generation mix by 2030.

NLC, a Navratna Public Sector Enterprise, has also received approval from the Government of India for the listing of NLC India Renewables Ltd (NIRL), which will take over the renewable energy business of NLC. The proposed IPO will comprise a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale involving the dilution of up to 25% of NLCIL’s stake in NIRL in the domestic market. The IPO is expected to be launched during the current fiscal.