Stocks of power generation and transmission companies advanced further on Wednesday on sustained buying support, following hopes of passage of the Electricity Bill soon.

Gujarat Industries Power (up 3.23% to Rs 19.20), CESC (up 3.86% to Rs 17.50), Surat Electricity (up 1.45% to Rs 70) Tata Power (up 0.64% to Rs 117.65) Ahmedabad Electricity (up 1.36% to Rs 52) and BSES (up 0.05% to Rs 221.80) ruled firm in afternoon trades on the BSE.

Since the last one month, these six companies gained Rs 138.66 crore (Rs 1.38 billion), or 2.33%, in market capitalisation to Rs 6,080.64 crore (Rs 60.8 billion) from Rs 5,941.98 crore (Rs 59.4 billion).

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was at 3,249.70, up by 28.43 points.

The stocks of power generation and transmission companies have advanced on hopes that the Electricity Bill will be passed in Parliament soon.

Analysts said the Electricity Bill seeks to abolish the current restrictions on power generators and aims at reforming the sector. It will also improve the health of State Electricity Boards, they added.

There were also rumours that sops will be provided for the power sector in the Union Budget for 2003-04.

In December 2002, a parliamentary panel had cleared the Electricity Bill that proposes to rationalise electricity tariff. The passage of the Bill in Parliament, in fact, will give power companies access to transmission and distribution and they may even be made eligible to supply power directly to consumers.

Apart from the emphasis on private participation in the Bill, competition and efficiency; introduction of anti-theft laws at the state level, open access to the transmission and distribution network and time-bound restructuring of the SEBs is also given a serious thought.