Tata Power found its counter attracting buyers today after it scored a swell 129% jump in profitability for Q4.

As a result, the scrip of the Tata group utility edged up 1.10% to Rs 133 by 10:00 IST. It registered volumes of 13,861 shares on BSE by then.

Following the recent reforms in the power sector and their being proposed earlier, Tata Power has been garnering some considerable interest. Between 1 October 2002 and 28 May 2003, in fact, the scrip plumped up 40% to Rs 131.55 from Rs 93.90.

After market hours Wednesday, Tata Power said Q4 ended 31 March 2003 net profit spiraled 129% to Rs 155.27 crore (Rs 67.86 crore) on a 9% increase in net sales to Rs 910.06 crore (Rs 835.68 crore).

For FY 2002-03, the company's net profit rose just 2.3% to Rs 519.92 crore (Rs 508.23 crore) on a 13% increase in net sales to Rs 4,300.50 crore (Rs 3,802.79 crore). On a consolidated basis things were none too inspiring, however, - a 33.4% fall in net profit to Rs 324.78 crore (Rs 487.72 crore) on 24% increase in net sales to Rs 4,808.15 crore (Rs 3,867.61 crore).

The company's board has proposed a 65% (Rs 6.5 per share of Rs 10) dividend for FY 2002-03.

From here on, the company can expect better fortunes though, going by the catalystic Electricity Bill passed in Parliament recently. The Bill pushes power sector reforms in three radical ways - it makes the continued existence of bundled SEBs conditional on occurrence of centre, mandates open access in distribution apart from allowing parallel distribution systems to be set up where required and extends the scope of captive generation to cooperative groups and associates.

The Electricity Bill is expected to engender an improvement in the health of State Electricity Boards (SEBs). The passage of the Electricity Bill will also give a big boost to the power sector as it is a comprehensive legislation putting together all the legislative measures required to push the power sector on to a trajectory of sound commercial growth.

It envisages a competitive scenario, where regulators, on the one hand, and private power utilities, on the other, play increasingly significant roles. The bill provides a comprehensive yet flexible legislative framework for power development.

The Union Budget 2003-04 has also provided cheer for the power sector following the thrust on infrastructure (deemed as one of the five key focus areas for future development), improvement in power distribution and attention on capacity addition. The government had , in 1999, notified 18 power projects as mega projects, conferring upon them various duty and licensing benefits.

The government now proposes to liberalise the mega power project policy further by extending all these benefits to any power project that fulfills the conditions already prescribed for mega power projects.

Given the importance of transmission in the power sector, customs duty on specific equipment for high voltage transmission projects has been reduced to 5% from 25% earlier.

To further research in solar energy, wind turbines and hydrogen fuel as alternatives to fossil fuels, the government is especially allocating Rs 20 crore to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, for launching incentive-driven research in these three fields.

Incorporated in 1919, Tata Power Company (TPC) was promoted by the Tatas. It has worked in tandem with its sister companies, the Tata Hydro Electric Power Company and the Andhra Valley Power Supply Company. A pioneer in the Indian power sector, Tata Power is rated as one of the country's largest private power utilities.

The fully-integrated energy company offers turnkey solutions to the industry and other hi-tech segments.

Tata Power installed and commissioned India's first 500 MW unit at its Trombay thermal generating station. The company has provided economical and reliable power for the last 80 years to the highly industrialised state of Maharashtra and its capital, Mumbai.

Tata Power's main line of business is the generation, transmission and distribution of power. Modern technology and computer-based systems management have helped the company to achieve high levels of operational efficiency.

Tata Power supplies 52% of its total generating capacity installed to the private sector as a licensee in India, with about 16% going to Maharashtra.

The company's hydro-generation plants are in Khopoli, Bhivpuri and Bhira, and the thermal power plants are located in Trombay in Maharashtra, Jojobera in Bihar, and Nadi and Belgaum in Karnataka. The pumped storage unit is also in Bhira.

Promoters currently hold 32.54% stake in Tata Power, while the public, institutions and foreign bodies hold 28.61%, 29.06% and 7.44%, respectively.