Adani Power Bihar project: Bihar government has awarded the contract of 2,400 MW Bhagalpur (Peerpainti) thermal power plant to Adani Power Limited after a competitive tender process. This company had bid the lowest electricity rate compared to three other contenders. Sources have given this information.
Sources associated with the tender process said that Adani Power had bid Rs 6.075 per unit for this project. Which is lowest compared to the bids of Torrent Power, JSW Energy and Lalitpur Power Generation. This rate includes fixed charge of Rs 4.165 per unit and fuel charge of Rs 1.91 per unit.
Bihar government told competitive rate
Describing this as a ‘very competitive rate’, the Bihar government said that in a recent bid for a similar project in Madhya Pradesh, the fixed tariff was Rs 4.222 to Rs 4.298 per unit. The state government had issued this open tender to meet the increasing electricity demand of the state. It is estimated that by 2034-35 the state’s electricity demand will double to more than 17,000 MW. Torrent Power had bid Rs 6.145 per unit, Lalitpur Power had bid Rs 6.165 per unit and JSW Energy had bid Rs 6.205 per unit.
Sources said that all the proposals were evaluated through e-bidding system so that the entire process remains transparent. This project is likely to involve an investment of approximately Rs 30,000 crore, which will lead to a significant increase in industrial activity and employment in the state. However, the allocation of this power project to this Adani Group company has become a matter of political controversy amid the ongoing assembly election process in the state.
Former Union Power Minister R. Of. Singh has made allegations of ‘scam in power purchase’ in Bihar. Opposition Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said in a post on social media platform ‘X’, “Adani Group is being given special concessions in Bihar.
The proposal to buy electricity at the rate of Rs 6 per unit is like putting the money of the poor and middle class into the pockets of industrialists close to Modi.” However, sources rejected the allegations made in the project allocation, saying that the rate of Rs 6.075 per unit is competitive despite the recent increase in generation cost and no concession was given to Adani Power.
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