CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) has invited applications to appoint a Transaction Advisor (consultant) for executing the Rs 4,000-crore, 765/400 kV substation project in Coimbatore region, along with a power transmission line extending up to Ariyalur.
This will be the first project to be implemented under the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) process under which the state government will hand over maintenance and operation of power transmission projects to private players.
Once operational, the successful private bidder will have the sole authority to sell power from the substation through a power purchase agreement to any entity, with Tantransco holding the ‘first right of refusal’, officials told TNIE.
The TNERC approved the TBCB system in February. Till now, Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (Tantransco), established in 1957, has been the sole authority to manage power transmission facilities. Tantransco will act as the bid process coordinator for the project, sources said.
The TNIDB’s ‘Request for Proposal’ document accessed by TNIE said, “Coimbatore, being a major load center, will receive power from the North Chennai Pooling Station via Ariyalur 765 kV substation in Villupuram region.”
The substation will be set up in Uthukuli village in Tiruppur district, and 68 of the required 100 acres have already been acquired. The remaining land is under acquisition, the RFP said.
A senior Tantransco official told TNIE, “The consultant appointed by TNIDB will prepare a detailed project report covering financial and technical aspects, which will be submitted to the state government. After getting approval, a qualified private player will be selected to construct the 765/400 kV substation, a project that may take up to three years.”
Explaining the decision to involve private companies, another Tantransco official said, “The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board is struggling with a debt of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for years, and Rs 15,000 crore is being spent on interest every year.”
“To reduce this financial burden, we decided to introduce Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding for transmission projects worth Rs 200 crore and above. Private companies will manage everything from setting up power lines to supply and infrastructure. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 4,000 crore, which is too high for Tantransco to handle alone,” he explained.
Bids for the project will be accepted from November 19 to 29, with the bid opening scheduled for 6 pm on November 29.
Cut interest rates for power loans: Balaji to union min
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