Private cos may get to bid for MahaVitaran contracts

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s state-owned power utility MahaVitaran may soon opt for private companies instead of public sector enterprise Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) for supplying electrical equipment. The company would go for international competitive bidding to purchase equipment for several capacity expansion plans, officials in the energy department told ET.

The option has been tried before too, but Bhel has almost always won the bid on the basis of lowest price, coupled with benefits of superior and indigenously-developed technologies, sources added. But this time, MahaVitaran is more serious about trying international competitive bidding for two reasons.

First is the delay by Bhel in servicing the orders and the second, the requirement of higher technological compatibility for future generation projects, officials said.

The expertise held by foreign companies in manufacturing equipment for plants which have units generating over 800 MW each is being cited as a reason for a more competitive bidding process. “Bhel has the expertise in equipment for units generating less than 800 MW. Technological upgradation in future may prefer bigger capacity units for which state-of-the art equipment would be needed,” an official said.

A nine-month delay in servicing orders placed by MahaVitaran to supply equipment for Paras and Parali expansion has forced the utility to look for alternatives, officials said. “The delay does not mean that Bhel is unable to service the order. It’s just that Bhel has too many contracts to conclude and time is running short for us,” said an energy department official.

But MahaVitaran officials are not so generous and are actually contemplating punitive action against Bhel. “The delay in supplying equipment has upset the entire expansion programme. We are thinking of imposing a penalty on Bhel,” a MahaVitaran official said.

A contract with Bhel is key to Maharashtra’s power generation expansion plan. MahaVitaran plans to expand the capacity of Paras and Parali plants by 250 MW each. It has also lined up expansion and replacement of equipment projects for Koradi, Chandrapur, and Bhusawal plants which, together with Paras and Parali, envisage an increase of 3,300 MW to the supply side, officials said.