Powergrid to separate telecom biz; gears up for data centre foray

NEW DELHI: Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is in the process of carving out its telecom vertical to a new fully-owned subsidiary, Powergrid Teleservices Ltd, in a bid to have a “focused approach” and to move up the value chain, senior company officials said.

The move by the state-run power transmission major comes close on the heels when the telecom sector is ramping up its 5G service across the country. The state-owned power transmission major has also got approval from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to operate data centres.

“The telecom division of Powergrid will be transferred to the new subsidiary Powergrid Teleservices after receiving all regulatory approvals to provide greater impetus to the business and move up the value chain by entering into the data centre business. The process for regulatory clearance is in progress,” Powergrid executive director (telecom) B Vamsi Rama Mohan said on the sidelines of ABP Group-organised INFOCOM 2022.

“With the focus on high-speed data networks across the country, the telecom business holds immense potential going forward,” he said.

Telecom companies have announced plans to have a national 5G footprint in the next two years and Powergrid is “well positioned” to help telcos to deploy their 4G or 5G base stations on the high voltage power transmission towers as PGCIL has “one of the largest optical fibre ground network in the country providing communication services”.