UPPCL to open bids for 2 power plants on Apr 11

The financial bids submitted by six companies to set up two ultra mega power projects (UMPP) at Bara and Karchhana in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh with a combined generation capacity of 3,300 megawatt (Mw) will be opened on April 11.

The state government is setting up 1,980-Mw and 1,320-Mw thermal power plants at Bara and Karchhana, respectively, based on supercritical technology.

Earlier, the financial bids were to be opened on April 5. However, it was postponed since some bid bonds were found to be incomplete. The technical and financial bids would together form the criteria for the award of the critical thermal power projects.

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) Managing Director Avnish Awasthi told Business Standard that some of the bid bonds did not carry the authorised signatures and number. "Such bidders were asked to rectify the same and submit their replies by April 8. We have received their replies and we are now satisfied. The financial bids would be opened on Friday," he informed.

The two mega power plants would be established through public-private partnership. The state government is working towards ramping up its total power generation capacity by over 10,000 Mw in the current 11th Five-Year plan.

Four companies "" Jindal Steel and Power, NTPC, Lanco Infratech and Reliance Power "" had submitted bids for the Bara project.

The state has to import power from the central sector and other states to fill the demand-supply chasm, which widens during summers every year. The power sector in UP has long been a laggard with no capacity addition in the last several years, while the demand has grown by leaps and bounds.

The corporation resorts to power rostering to bridge the supply gap, even as the state government has directed the department to increase the power supply hours in the rural areas.