Thermal projects left in the lurch

The 2X600-Mw Bara thermal power projects, and 3X660-Mw Karchana thermal projects, with a total installed capacity of 3,120 Mw are struck as the Uttar Pradesh government is unable to find a suitable investor.

Both the Bara and Karchana projects are to be awarded on tariff-based bidding. The International Competitive Bids (ICB), earlier floated twice for both the projects, have been cancelled by the government without assigning any technical or financial reason.

The earlier two bids for both the projects were invited together but in the third time bidding, the bids for both the projects have been separated.

On November 6, the bids for the Bara project were opened, while the last date for filing the reques-for-proposal (RFP) document for the Karchana project is November 20.

The state government’s bid to award Bara power projects to the private sector on the basis of tariff-based bidding received a setback after the lowest price quoted in the third time bidding for the 1,200-Mw Karchana thermal power project in Allahabad was found to be far higher then what was quoted in the first time bidding.

The first global tender for the Karchana project was floated in December 2007. Five bids were received for the project and Lanco emerged as the successful bidder with the lowest tariff of Rs 2.83 per unit. This round of the bidding was cancelled by the state government as the price was found to be too high by the state government.

The bids were floated for the second time in June this year, where Reliance Power emerged as the successful, bidder with tariff of Rs 2.60 per unit. The state government again scrapped the bidding process without assigning any reason.

The bids were floated for the third time in September. The financial bids of the Karchana project were opened on November 6.

The Jai Prakash Associates emerged as the front runner to grab the 600-Mw Kanchana thermal power project in Allahabad.

The levellised tariff of JP for 25 years was found to be the lowest by the consultant Feedback ventures Pvt Ltd at Rs 2.970 per unit, followed by the Adani enterprise at Rs 2.981, Lanco Infratech Ltd — Rs 3.188 per unit and Reliance power Ltd price was found to be the highest at Rs 3.984 per unit.

Avneesh Awasthi, MD of UP Power Corporation Ltd, said that the consultant would soon submit its report to the bid evaluation commit. Later, the committee would submit its report to the state government for further action. In the ICB floated for the first time and opened on April 11 last, Lanco, had won both coal based thermal power, Rs 9,000 crore Bara thermal power project of 1980 mw( 660X3) and Rs 6,500 crore,Karchana thermal power project(660X2)s on levelised tariff based International Competitive Bidding (ICB). In the second bid opened in June last, Reliance Power outbid the Lanco Kundapalli, in the rebidding for the Bara and Karchana thermal power projects by quoting the lowest tariff per unit for both the projects.

The Reliance quoted Rs 2.64 per unit for the 660X3 Bara thermal project and Rs 2.60 per unit for the 2X660 Karchana project. The fresh bids were invited by the UP Power Corporation Limited with the approval of the power regulator UP State Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPSERC).