No DVC power for Commonwealth Games: Padamjit Singh
VINOD KUMAR GUPTA / PUNJAB NEWSLINE
Saturday, 27 March 2010
PATIALA: “Not a single megawatt from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) will come to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games though it was supposed to deliver 2,500 MW of power for the Commonwealth games” said Padamjit Singh Chairman All India power Engineers Federation. (AIPEF).

The DVC projects identified for the Games were 2x500 MW Mejia Stage 2, 2x500 MW Durgapur Steel thermal project and Koderma stage 1 project. All these DVC projects which were supposed to start generation before August this year now shall be commissioned only after commonwealth games due in October 2010," claims Padamjit Singh.

Information obtained under RTI Act shows that a power purchase agreement was signed between Delhi Transco Ltd and DVC on August 24 2006 to supply 100 MW from Mejia Stage 1 unit no. 6, 300 MW from Chandrapura unit no 7and 8 of 250 MW each, 600 MW from Mejia stage 2,975 MW from Koderma-1 and Durgapur-1, and 525 MW from Koderma-2 and Durgapur-2.

The power from Mejia 6, and Chandrapura 7, 8 was to have been supplied from 2007. Mejia 6 was commissioned in Sept 08, while Chandrapura 7, 8 with scheduled dates of Jan 07 and Mar 07 have still not been put on commercial run despite a delay of over 3 years.

500 MW units of Meja Expansion Project are scheduled to come up in May and August this year; However BHEL has revised the schedules to June 10 and August 10 this year. But DVC engineers feel that the coal handling plant can play spoilsport to the proposal. Power Secretary, H S Brahma, has asked DVC to, expeditiously; take up this issue with BHEL and CHP contractor Elecon, so that it does not turn to be the project’s Achilles heel.

According to sources even the stage 1 units has not been able to run on full load and are running below 60 percent plant load factor. . Even from Mejia 6 DVC will not be able to supply power to Delhi as DVC is itself facing serious power shortage and is heavily overdrawing power from Eastern Grid

The supply of key machinery to its Koderma power project, which is also schedule to supply power to Delhi for the games has also been delayed. BHEL has still not finalized the erection contractors for the Transformer and C&I equipment for the first unit, .Any delay in appointing contractors means increasing danger of project missing its commissioning schedule of September 2010.DVC engineers say that the second unit is unlikely to be commissioned before March 2011.

According to sources DVC have no hope of commissioning its 1000 MW Durgapur power project before the Commonwealth Games mainly due to the laxity on part of BHEL. The firm has expressed its inability to complete the first unit by September 2010. The second unit has now been scheduled for commissioning after February 2011.

DVC authorities blame the BHEL for the delay of all the three projects. DVC engineers blame the authorities and power ministry for the delay. It was Power Ministry which picked up the DVC top management and allowed them to run the corporation without any rules.

Central Vigilance Commission has already pointed to the Power Ministry that hardly any contract awarded by the DVC was free from corruption. All the 2,000 contracts have been awarded on a single-tender basis, and all government guidelines are being flouted on a daily basis.

It may be mentioned that despite CVC mandatory clearance present DVC chairman was appointed by Union Power Minister for a five year term. In a recent interview in a national television channel he said that he had no idea of pending corruption cases against Biswas, present DVC chairman. He ordered the removal of Biswas in December last year on receipt from a letter from CVC but file has now been stuck up in Prime Minister Office for the last three months.