The Hindu Business Line : Reliance Energy emerges lowest bidder for PowerGrid projects

Project details
The projects will be the country's first fully independent private power transmission lines.
Reliance Energy Transmission's bid was 25 per cent lower than the benchmark cost plus tariff, CERC said.

New Delhi , Nov. 21

Reliance Energy Transmission Ltd, part of Reliance Energy Ltd, has emerged as the lowest bidder for two transmission packages invited by the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for setting up power lines linked with the `Western Region Strengthening Scheme' in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Reliance outbid eight others, including Tata Power Company, GMR, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Lanco-Deepak Cables and a consortium of Hong Kong-based CLP and Gammon India, for the two projects to build around 1,500 km of electricity lines in the Western region, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) said in a statement.

The projects will be the country's first fully independent private power transmission lines.

Reliance Energy Transmission's bid was 25 per cent lower than the benchmark cost plus tariff, CERC said. The company will now formally approach the commission to seek a licence to build, own and operate the transmission lines.

Project estimates

The two projects are estimated to be worth nearly Rs 2,000 crore. "Reliance Energy Transmission Ltd has emerged as the lowest bidder in each of the `Package B' and `Package C', for which separate price bids were invited (by PGCIL)," CERC said. While `Package B' is for building sub-stations and grid lines in southern Maharashtra at Rs 1,100-1,200 crore, `Package C' entails setting up of grid lines in Gujarat at an investment of about Rs 500-600 crore.

The projects are part of PowerGrid's Rs 5,000-crore `Western Region Strengthening Scheme', which ran into dispute last year when Reliance Energy approached CERC for a licence to set up the lines on its own. CERC, in July 2005, turned down Reliance Energy's petition and divided the entire scheme into four parts. PowerGrid was directed to execute Packages `A' and `D', involving the construction of 765 kV and 400 kV high-voltage transmission lines, either alone or in joint venture.

The other packages - `B' and `C' — were to be developed by 100 per cent equity participation of private firms, for which the regulator had asked PowerGrid PGCIL to conduct competitive bidding.

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