BHEL causes delay in MP power projects

Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd's (BHEL's) tardiness in responding to work orders on two thermal power projects in Madhya Pradesh has delayed the projects by almost one year.

Madhya Pradesh Power Generation Company Ltd, an arm of the MP State Electricity Board, had awarded the 500 Mw Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station (Birsinghpur) and the 210 MW Amarkantak Thermal Power Project for expansion on a turnkey basis in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

The delay has put the project out of concession under the Accelerated Generation and Supply Programme (AGS), offered by Union government, for power projects to be completed within the Tenth Five-Year Plan.

"The Amarkantak project cannot be completed in the Tenth Five-Year Plan. The Birsinghpur plant is already out of the ambit of the concessions," an official source said.

Sub-contractors of BHEL have delayed civil works, including steel works, in plant building, water-cooling and coal transfer. BHEL had also delayed in supplying important materials of various units, Minister for Power Kailash Vijayavergiya told the assembly in a written reply.

The minister said BHEL also started the Amarkantak project late. The company delayed the supply of materials, did not issue orders of "balance of plant" packages, and did not make the drawings of "balance of plant" packages for the project, the minister said.

The Sanjay Gandhi project, which was slated to be operational in September this year, would now be operational in December and would start power production in February, the minister said, and added the Amarkantak thermal power project would be operational by June 30, 2007, against the scheduled date of February 28, 2007.

Three-fourths of the Amarkantak project have been financed by Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and the Madhya Pradesh government is an equity partner in the project.

Speaking to Business Standard, BHEL Chairman and Managing Director AK Puri, who was in the town to participate in the golden jubilee function of the company, said, "There are a number of factors involved in the delay. If the government takes decisions late, work gets affected. The Sanjay Gandhi power stations will be operational by January next and the Amarkantak one by June."

BHEL has supplied turbines to other power projects in Madhya Pradesh including the 1,000 Mw Indira Sagar project.

The thermal power stations of the state have recorded lower generation in the past three years. During 2004-05, thermal power generation was down by 1,019 million units, compared to the power generation of 2002-03.

They developed technical snags for most of them are time-worn. They have a combined production capacity of 1,500 Mw.