Sterlite Grid bags Rs 400-cr Maheshwaram Transmission Project

The company outbid state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India and Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited

Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Limited has bagged the Maheshwaram power transmission project in Telangana by quoting the lowest levellised annual tariff among three qualified bidders. The company outbid state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited (KPTL). Sterlite’s bid for an annual tariff of Rs 55 crore for the project was 17 per cent lower than the second-best bid quoted by PGCIL, said sources.

Sterlite Grid is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pune-based Sterlite Technologies and the largest private operator of independent transmission systems in India. PGCIL is a state-owned power transmission giant with around 95 per cent of market share. Of the six qualified bidders for this project, Essel Infra, China Light & Power and a consortium of Tata group companies had pulled out from the bidding.
 

The Maheshwaram project, with an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore, is one of the four projects tendered by the power ministry as a major investment call after bidding for ultra mega power projects failed last year. The bid was called by REC Transmission Projects Company Ltd (RECTPCL), a subsidiary of Rural Electrification Corporation.

The Maheswaram transmission line is one of the corridors planned to connect the energy deficit southern grid with the rest of the country. RECTPCL said this connecting line would facilitate drawal of power from the inter-state transmission system to the beneficiary states of the southern region which are facing a massive congestion due to lack of a proper power transmission network.

The bids called by Power Finance Corporation for the other three projects will open in the coming week.