PTC India Ltd, the country's only licensed cross-border power trading entity which is in various stages of facilitating power trading with Nepal and Bhutan, is open to buying power from Pakistan. The neighbouring country reportedly has been working towards selling its surplus power.

The corporation, which is looking at picking up stakes in power generation projects within the country, has made its debut in this business by picking up a stake in Lanco Amarkantak Power Private, a part of the Lanco Group, which is setting up with 300 mw power station at Chhattisgarh.

"While we expect to start power trading with Bhutan with the commissioning of its Tala Hydro power plant due in December, 2005, PTC is also open for power trading with Pakistan as connectivity will not be an issue in case of buying power from that country because of close proximity of the last sub-station of Pakistan with the Indian sub-station," Tantra Narayan Thakur, chairman and managing director of PTC India, erstwhile Power Trading Corporation Limited, told Business Standard on Friday.

"The sub-stations of the two countries are located within 50-60 kilometres range, while for power trading with most of the other neighbouring countries, except Bhutan, we will require to set up a transmission line, longer than that required for trading with Pakistan," he added.

He also said that once Pakistan government expresses its interest in selling power to India, PTC would go ahead with its plans to start trading with Pakistan.

Saying that PTC has been looking for power trading opportunities also with Bangaldesh, Thakur said, "In the absence of a submarine cable connecting India with Sri Lanka, we can not think of starting power trading with that country while in Pakistan, there is no such issue."

"We also hope to start trading with Australian power generation major, SMEC even as it is setting up its power plant in Nepal. But because of delays on the part of SMEC, our plan to start trading with the company also got delayed," Thakur said.