Faster power transmission projects likely

The government is planning to bring changes in the international bidding procedure for big power transmission projects to put them on the fast track and help companies utilise resources better. An official committee has proposed that companies can be pre-qualified for bidding without reference to any specific project. Only the empanelled companies will be eligible to participate in bidding for projects on the block. Companies that have participated in bidding of transmission projects said the move would lead to competitive tariffs as they will be able to utilise their resources in implementation of projects rather than competing for them.

A senior official in the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) said the proposal aimed to speed up execution of power transmission projects. If the proposal is brought into force, at least six months spent on bidding can be saved. Indian transmission sector has so far been slow in catching up with power generation projects, he said.

An empowered committee that deals with tariff-based competitive bidding for transmission projects at interstate level has made the recommendation, the official said. Projects are proposed to be classified as small, medium and large, and a separate list of pre-qualified companies is planned.

A power ministry official said the proposal is being considered. If approved, changes would be made in bidding documents for transmission projects.

“As active players in infrastructure public private partnership space we welcome the idea of blanket pre-qualification. We find that the process of pre-qualification is virtually identical for all infrastructure projects and yet for each project the cumbersome job has to be repeated involving multiple auditors and lawyers. If this new idea is implemented then valuable resources can be diverted towards actual bidding and implementation rather than qualification, thus leading to more competitive bids. This is a win-win situation for all,” said Keith D'Silva, corporate communications head of Sterlite Technologies.

Jindal Power’s deputy managing director Sushil Maroo said, “It is a good proposal for quick bidding of transmission projects. We are pretty late on the sector. However, the government should open the empanelment lists at least twice a year to accommodate fresh bidders and review existing ones.”

State-owned Power Grid Corporation of India -- the central transmission utility -- alone transmits 45 per cent of the total electricity generated in the country.

According to estimates, India needs about Rs 2,72,000 crore for implementation of transmission and distribution schemes, of which only around Rs 72,000 crore is expected to be mobilised by states, banks and financial institutions. PFC and REC have recently conducted bidding for three ultra mega transmission lines. REC has awarded two big power transmission projects to Reliance Infrastructure, while Sterlite Technologies has emerged as the winner of the PFC project.

Companies like CESC, JSW Energy, Reliance Power, Lanco Deepak Consortium, L&T Transco, Jindal Power, GMR Energy and Essar Power have evinced interest in transmission projects that have been put on the block.