REL emerges top contender for Power Grid transmission lines
21 Nov 2006
Mumbai: Reliance Energy has outbid seven others, including Tata Power and GMR, to emerge as the top contender for building India's first fully independent private power transmission lines.
The two transmission lines costing about Rs1,800-2,000 crore, are part of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd's (PGCIL) Rs5,000 crore western grid scheme, which ran into dispute last year when REL approached CERC for a licence to set up the lines on its own.
Subsequently, state-run PGCIL invited tenders from private parties for constructing the grid lines linked with western region strengthening scheme in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Anil Ambani group firm was the lowest bidder for the two tenders.
Others in the race for the project include Tata Power, Larsen and Toubro, GMR group, China Light and Power-Gammon India, Lanco-Deepak Cables, and two Spanish consortia, including Inabensa-Abengoa.
"Reliance Energy Transmission Ltd has emerged as the lowest bidder in each of the Packages B and C, for which separate price bids were invited (by PGCIL)," the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a statement.
While Package B is for building sub-stations and grid lines in southern Maharashtra at a cost of Rs1,100-1,200 crore, Package C entails setting up grid lines in Gujarat at an investment of about Rs500-600 crore.
Once completed, these would be the country's first transmission lines built fully by private players. PGCIL currently operates a joint venture transmission line with Tata Power to evacuate power from Tala hydroelectric project in Bhutan.
