REC Limited, formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, is an Indian

public sector company In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

that finances and promotes power projects across India. It

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

s to Central/State Sector Power Utilities, State Electricity Boards, Rural Electric Cooperatives, NGOs and Private Power Developers. It is a subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and is under administrative control of the Ministry of Power,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. On 20 March 2019, PFC agreed to acquire a 52.63% controlling stake in REC for . On 28 March, PFC announced it had paid for the acquisition and intended to merge with REC in 2020. However, REC has maintained that merging PFC-REC is no longer an option. From 1 September 2023, REC has been included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Global Standard Index. REC has diversified into non-power infrastructure and logistics, now covering airports, metro, railways, ports, and bridges. REC has 22 regional offices..

Business operations

REC is the 12th Maharatna Company functioning under the purview of the Ministry of Power. The company is listed on both the National Stock Exchange and the

Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange based in Mumbai. It is the 6th largest stock exchange in the world by total market capitalization, exceeding $5 trillion in May 2024. Established with t ...

. Business operations in India are supported by 22 regional offices, with corporate headquarters at Gurugram and a registered office in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Services

The company primarily provides finance for rural electrification projects across India, loaning to Central/ State Sector Power Utilities, State Electricity Boards, Rural Electric Cooperatives, NGOs and Private Power Developers. The company may be a non-primary financier of loans. It provides consultancy, project monitoring, and financial/technical appraisal, acting as a nodal agency for public schemes or projects. It audits financial requirements of transmission and distribution (T&D) utilities, and appraises T&D scheme financing. REC has financed system improvement, intensive electrification, pump-set energisation and APDRP Programme. The company also physically and financially monitors T&D schemes. REC offers loans for renewable energy projects. The company has allocated a €100M (approximately 6000M) credit line with KfW under Indo-German Development Cooperation to finance

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

projects at concessional interest rates. Eligible projects include solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, and cogeneration/hybrid projects GARV (Grameen Vidyutikaran) APP is a mobile application developed by REC, to aid the Grameen Vidyutikaran Mission. The app provides real-time updates on electrification status of eighteen thousand UE villages, and launched on 14 October 2015.

Finances

The company was listed on the National Stock Exchange and the

on 12 March 2008. REC went for Initial Public Offer of 156,120,000 equity shares in February 2008 which was oversubscribed by about 27 times, raising a total amount of 819 crore. 171,732,000 more equity shares were released in February 2010. The issue was oversubscribed by 3.14 times, raising a total of 26.47 billion The company is currently among the top 500 Global Financial Services brands by UK-based plc Brand Finance. The company is also among the

Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by: sales, profit, assets and market value. The list has been published annually since 2003. By country Forbes Global 2000 as of 2023: ...

companies for 2010. Domestic debt instruments of REC have been assigned "AAA" by credit rating agencies

CRISIL CRISIL Limited, formerly Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited, is an Indian analytical company providing ratings, research, and risk and policy advisory services and is a subsidiary of American company S&P Global S&P Global ...

, Fitch and ICRA. Moody’s and Fitch rated its international credit at par with India’s sovereign rating. International collaborations include tie-ups for External Commercial Borrowings with

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...

(London), DEPFA Investment Bank Limited (Cyprus) etc. as well as current tie-ups with KfW (Germany) and

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

(Japan) under Official Development Assistance. As an IFC, REC may issue infrastructure bonds and raise up to US$500M through External Commercial Borrowing in a year.

History

Early years

REC was established in July 1969, amidst a critical drought situation in the late sixties. The company’s initial mandate was helping State Electricity Boards energise pump-sets across the country to boost agriculture and mitigate the impact of three successive years of deficient monsoons. The company also financed rural electrification, supporting planned programmes for increased agricultural production. Besides finance, REC also offered appraising, consultancy, technical support and monitoring of projects, to assist State Electricity Boards/Power Utilities, Rural Electric Cooperatives and other such institutions.

Post-Liberalised India (1990s)

Liberalisation by the

(GoI) in 1991 saw amendment to existing laws and reform measures enabling the private sector to participate in large-scale manufacturing, services and infrastructure. Sectors like power, airports, seaports, roadways, projects were identified for private participation, and nodal agencies were set up for initial spade work, later handing over projects to private players through competitive bidding. In April 2006, GoI identified 14 transmission projects worth 200 billion for development by 2012. REC was identified as one of the two GoI-appointed nodal agencies for transferring identified projects to private developers. REC also started extending loans to manufacturers of transmission and distribution equipment.

2000–Current

Till 2000, REC focused on the transmission and distribution, with projects for household electrification in rural and semi-urban areas, area electrification in tribal/dalit areas, intensive electrification, and system improvement. REC’s portfolio constituted mainly Mini/Micro generation projects up to 25MW capacity till 2000. In June 2002, the REC' s mandate was expanded to financing all generation projects without limit on size or location. Today, financing of generation projects has become a growing focus for REC, also attracting its private sector borrowers. Since 2005, REC has been appointed nodal agency by Ministry of Powerbr>
for Government of India scheme Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. The scheme built rural electricity infrastructure and electrified households, supporting the

National Common Minimum Programme The common minimum programme (CMP) is a document outlining the shared agenda, policy, and priorities of a coalition government in India and Nepal. It provides a framework for government operations, ensuring that all participating parties share a ...

goal of universal access to electricity. Under the scheme, a 90% capital subsidy is provided by Government of India for overall project cost. Cumulatively till FY10, works in 190,858 villages were completed with free connections to over 10 million impoverished households. The REC is the nodal agency under the SAUBHAGYA Yojana.

REC Institute of Power Management & Training (RECIPMT)

In 1979, REC established a national training institute in Hyderabad for techno-managerial skill and efficiency in power utilities, and programmes for REC’s employees. CIRE served as an association platform for institutions working towards rural electrification and rural energy development. Today, RECIPMT conducts regular programmes on transmission and distribution for power sector executives, including seminars for private and public utilities. Programmes focus on adoption of new technologies, training in conventional and non-conventional energy areas and practical demonstrations via an in-house Energy Park.

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)

EESL is a joint venture (JV) with 4 power PSUs – REC, Powergrid, NTPC, and PFC for implementing energy efficiency projects, promoting usage of energy efficient appliances, promoting the concept of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) etc.

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX)

REC is an equity partner in Indian Energy Exchange (IE

India’s first nationwide, automated, and online electricity trading platform (power exchange/

electricity market An electricity market is a system that enables the exchange of electrical energy, through an electrical grid. Historically, electricity has been primarily sold by companies that operate electric generators, and purchased by consumers or electr ...

), among other reputed investors like IDFC, Adani, Reliance Energy, Lanco and Tata Power.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Electric power companies of India Rural electrification Rural development organisations in India Financial services companies of India Government-owned companies of India Companies based in New Delhi Indian companies established in 1969 Energy companies established in 1969 Ministry of Power (India) 1969 establishments in Delhi Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange