The trepidation of developers is on account of the fact thatequipment majors ABB, Mitsubishi, Siemens and Alstom are under great pressure to mark up their costs across the world. They are currently facing a deluge of orders from the US. On account of the internet boom currently underway in the US, demand projections for power in the US have shot up dramatically. Power developers in the US are looking at the possibility of adding capacity of 78,000 mw of power over the next few years. Even Bill Gates is reported to have jumped into the power market in the US where he is personally investing in power technology development projects.

Core power plant equipment comprising turbines, boilers, transformers, coal mills and other such plant material is a closed market controlled by a handful of players across the world. It is not possible for Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd to keep the pressure off the Indian market as BHEL has a working relationship with Siemens which is one of the principal players in the international market. Siemens after taking over Westinghouse is not ina position to play a nimble price under-cutting game along with its associate in India.

According to preliminary estimates about the response received by NTPC for its projects, industry sources say the response is not likely to be overwhelming. Primarily on account of the fact that the closed club of equipment manufacturers has the US market on its radar screen and is not too keen about the Indian power market where business decisions have been historically slow.