6 cos in fray for 2 transmission projects worth Rs 8K cr

As many as six companies including state-run Power Grid (PGCIL), Sterlite and Adani have qualified on technical grounds for submitting financial bids for Vemagiri II power transmission project worth around Rs 6,300 crore.
Besides, PGCIL, Sterlite Grid, Adani, Kalpataru and Essel Infra Projects have qualified on technical ground to submit financial bids for Alipurduar power transmission project estimated at around Rs 1,800 crore.
"The financial bids for the two projects will be submitted by tomorrow and they will be opened on October 16. The cumulative worth of these two projects would be highest on offer after the government decided to auction transmission projects worth Rs one lakh crore during this fiscal," a source said.

REC Transmission Projects Co Ltd (RECTPL) is conducting the auction these two transmission project. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of state-run Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd.
The source said that PGCIL, Sterlite Grid, Adani, Inabensa Bharat, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Consortium of Megha Engineering & Gayatri Projects have qualified for Vemagiri II project.
The Vemagiri II project will strengthen transmission system beyond Vemagiri and will be called Vemagiri II Transmission Ltd. It will traverse through Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Similarly, the Alipurduar project will strengthen transmission system in India for Transfer of Power from new hydro electric projects in Bhutan. It will traverse through Bihar and West Bengal.

"The participation of private developers will give right signals for increasing investments in the sector. They are discouraged due to allocation of green corridor projects to PGCIL," an executive of a private company said.
Private developers were hoping to bid for green corridors to provide power evacuation infrastructure to solar parks in different states.
The executive said, "Stakeholders feel that India is missing an opportunity to attract private and foreign investment by avoiding competitive bids for Green Corridor that is needed to be executed in tandem with solar projects."
Various government panels and authorities have been backing move to rope in private developers.

Power sector regulator CERC has stated its Tariff Adoption orders that tariffs discovered through competitive bidding are 30-45 per cent lower than cost-plus route.