New Delhi, March 18: Dr. Ngozi N. Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, The World Bank, along with Praful C. Patel, Vice President; Ms. Isabel M. Guerrero, Country Director, India and other officials of The World Bank visited the office of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) at Gurgaon recently.

The purpose of their visit was to get a first hand account of the achievements of POWERGRID in the field of growth of transmission system along with Grid Management and the benefits accruing to society at large and the company's experience in addressing Right Of Ways and social issues, system availability & reliability etc.

POWERGRID shared their growth profile, future perspective and the role played by The World Bank in its achievement. The World Bank appreciated the pivotal role being played by POWERGRID in Indian Power Sector, especially their efforts in conservation of Right of Way, well defined policy & procedures, technology initiatives, impeccable performance in Grid Management etc.

Appreciating the excellent performance of POWERGRID and the role being played as Consultant nationally and internationally, the Bank assured its support to POWERGRID in pursuing this endeavor on a larger scale and in the context of South-South cooperation.

The Bank also enquired about the fund requirement of POWERGRID to meet its ambitious future plans. Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), POWERGRID explained that they are tapping various domestic and international funding sources including multilateral funding, international bilateral funding, domestic loan & bonds and internal resources etc.

The Bank also showed keen interest in R&D initiatives of the Company, particularly in development of 1200 kV UHVAC Transmission technology by pooling international expertise and agreed to explore monetary assistance as it will pave the way in reducing the transmission cost and mitigating the much desired concern of Right of Way.