There seems to be no early end to the powder woes in Uttar Pradesh, as the last date for submitting financial bids for the Bara thermal power plant has been put off again for the third time.
The project, that is to be built on supercritical technology in Allahabad district, is expected to add 1,980 mw power to the state?s beleaguered power sector. The date for submission of financial bids has been rescheduled thrice from November 30 to December 15 and then again till January 5.
According to insiders in the state energy sector, the move comes in the wake of severe criticism that the UP Power Corporation is already facing over the high tariff quoted by the Jaypee group, the lowest bidder in the 1,320-mw Karchchana power project, which is also coming up in Allahabad.
?Unable to wriggle out of the uneasy situation arising out of the Jaypee group posting a higher tariff for the Karchchana project, the Power Corporation is finding itself in a tight spot. They are neither able to recommend that the project be handed over to Jaypee to the state cabinet, nor are they able to finalise bids for the Bara project, as they dread that the tariff for that too, would be higher. The decision to go in for revised bids for these two projects in the hope that they will fetch lower rates has boomeranged on the government,? an official of the UPPCL said.
Another reason for the deferment, feel experts, is that the state government is adopting a wait-and-watch attitude as it wants to see the response that the 4,000-mw Tilaiya ultra mega power plant in Jharkhand attracts.
With a downturn in the market, senior officials hope that the Tilaiya project, too, would attract high bids. ?And once that is confirmed, the UPPCL authorities would find a reason for clearing a higher bid for Bara, as expected, and also recommending the Karchchana project to the Jaypee,? said the source.
It may be mentioned that the energy task force (ETF) had been dithering in giving its stamp of approval for the higher rates quoted by the Jaypee for the Karchchana project since early November. The company had quoted Rs 2.97 per unit of power produced, which is 37 paise higher than the rate offered by Reliance in June last year.
In fact, officials of the power corporation had ?tried to convince? the Jaypee group to lower its bid for Karchchana, but sources claim that the developer refused to lower its rates as with ?the market scene turning choppy, coupled with the rate of the dollar fluctuating daily, it is difficult for the company to lower its rates?.
Interestingly, both the Bara and Karchchana projects have been delayed by over a year and a half, forcing the state government?s claims of capacity addition to the tune of 10,000 mw, a mere hogwash.