Sparks fly over stalled BHEL projects in Tamil Nadu

Mining and power generating company Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) recently declared it had been unable to add around 1,500 mega watt (Mw) of power to the grid in Tamil Nadu which would have been crucial to easing the crisis in the electricity-starved state. The culprit? NLC points its finger at Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which is both a boiler supplier and an engineering, procurement and construction contractor. NLC Chairman and Managing Director A R Ansari says BHEL’s delay in delivering equipment for a power plant is as much as 45 to 50 months. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) Chairman Rajeev Ranjan cites this as one of the reasons why his firm has bled at least Rs 5,000 crore in power revenues. NLC is one of the major suppliers of electricity to Tamil Nadu, which procures 1,170 Mw of the company’s total output of 2,490 Mw, generated from three of its thermal power stations in the state. NLC is not alone. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and many state governments, such as Rajasthan, have also come down heavily on BHEL over project delays. A recent report quoted the Central Electricity Authority as saying: “BHEL has failed to meet the deadline in nine of the 17 thermal projects that were to be commissioned last financial year”. The tragic irony for NLC is that it has to support its PSU cousin BHEL, and is forced to adhere to the lowest-bidder rule for equipment contracts instead of being allowed to factor in delivery schedules and other parameters in its selection process more at: http://www.business-standard.com/taketwo/news/sparks-fly-over-stalled-bhel-projects-in-tamil-nadu/475853/