December 03, 2008

BHEL secures orders for two power plants in Chhattisgarh

IANS reported that Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board has issued an order to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited to install 2 thermal power plants in the state. Mr Vijay Mishra spokesman of CSEB said that "Mr Rajib Ranjan chairman of CSEB has issued an order to BHEL for construction of coal fired 500 MW Korba West power plants in Korba district and another 1,000 MW at Madwa in Janjgir district."

He added that the deal with BHEL was clinched after meetings with officials of the company after they agreed to charge the lowest ever construction rate of INR 19.6 million per MW. Mr Mishra said that CSEB has set a deadline of 42 months for BHEL to complete the construction at both plants. The plants will come up in state's northern region having almost 18% of India's coal deposits.

Mr Rajib Ranjan said that "The negotiation over the cost was completed in record 34 days no parley had been concluded in such a short time. The lowest rate for any power project in India could be achieved following the successful outcome of a series of meetings with the senior officials of BHEL and Central Electricity Authority."

It may be noted that Chhattisgarh power consumption was about 900 MW when the state came into existence in November 2000. It has now gone up to 2,400 MW during peak hours. The CSEB generates 1,923 MW. The rest is purchased from private players and drawn from the central pool. CSEB has recently awarded the letter of intent to Indiabulls Power Generation Limited to set up 1,600 MW Bhaiyathan thermal power project.