India still worried about China power tools imports - China eyeing to capture a huge share of India's power sector business

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday on a trust-building visit made it clear that his country is eyeing to capture a huge share of India's power sector business to meet the rising demand.Yet, New Delhi remains concerned over the reliability and quality of Chinese-made power generation equipment. According to an estimate, Chinese power firms are eyeing 40 per cent market share in India. But the track record of Chinese power firms in India has been far from satisfactory.

Last September, Durgapur Projects Ltd (DPL) in West Bengal, that was facing problems with Chinese power equipment, is learnt to have approached BHEL for carrying out repair and re-commission of a 300-MW thermal power plant.Chinese firm Dongfang had supplied a turbine to DPL, which has developed technical snags. BHEL was planning to reverse-engineer the turbine to gauge the extent of the problem before offering solutions. The incident forced the Central Electricity Authority to issue guidelines saying power equipment suppliers must have a manufacturing facility in India, so that such issues could be addressed. This has emerged as the biggest headache with Chinese firms, a source said.The tenders for power generation tools were won by Chinese state-owned firms including Dongfang Electric Corp, Shanghai Electric, Harbin Power Equipment Co and Sepco.

West Bengal Power Development Corp's 300 MW Sagardighi project and Sterlite Industries-run BALCO's 540-MW captive plant using Chinese made equipment are among the projects that have faced operational difficulties, reports said. It has been learnt that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has ordered the power ministry to propose a back-up plan to guarantee a support mechanism for Chinese power generation tools sold to India.India plans to boost electricity production by 60 per cent during the current Five Year plan ending 2012. The attraction of Chinese power firms - Dongfang Electric, Shanghai Electric and Harbin Power Equipment Co - lies in its cost. Plants built by these firms cost 25 per cent less than those which use BHEL or L&T equipment.But Indian firms, Adani Group, Reliance Power Ltd and KSK Energy Ventures Ltd, have joined hands with Chinese firms. Chinese engineers have experience in building coal-fired plants, on which India relies.