New Delhi, July 12 -- India's power utilities are entering a "different current" of aggressive capacity buildout, said Equirus, in a research report and initiated coverage on the sector, calling for a multi-year capex cycle led by renewables, storage and thermal additions. The brokerage expects balance sheet leverage across private players to rise sharply through FY30 before easing as new assets stabilise.

"Going forward, the capex cycle spanning renewables, Nabha, Raigad PSP and the MP thermal project is expected to materially increase leverage," Equirus noted on Torrent Power. It forecasts net debt to rise from Rs 129 billion in FY26 to Rs 637 billion by FY30, while gross block expands to Rs 954 billion. Consequently, net debt/EBITDA i...