U p power utility scraps tender in which adani entity bid lowest

U p power utility scraps tender in which adani entity bid lowest

State-owned Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited abruptly cancelled the tender that included Adani Transmission Limited’s bid for the supply of around 7.5 million smart meters estimated at ₹5,400 crore.

In what is possibly a major jolt to the Adani Group following the scathing Hindenburg Research report of January 24 accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, a State utility in BJP-ruled Uttar has scrapped a tender worth ₹5,400 crore for the supply of smart meters in which a group entity was the lowest bidder.

The State-owned Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (MVVNL) abruptly scotched the Adani Transmission Limited’s bid for the supply of around 7.5 million smart meters to the power distribution company or discom.

According to sources, the Adani Group company had submitted the lowest bid, but the discom cancelled the tender citing “unavoidable reasons”.

The MVVNL had invited the e-tender for the appointment of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service provider for smart prepaid metering in the areas under its jurisdiction.

Adani Transmission Ltd. Had quoted a price of ₹10,000 per smart meter, which was the lowest compared with other bidders, including Larsen & Toubro and GMR. However, the price quoted by the lowest bidder was still considered steep because a cost of ₹6,000 per meter has been fixed under the standing billing guidelines of the REC (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation), which is under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Power.

‘Mysterious decision’

In a notification dated February 4, MVVNL said: “The tender has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons.” No further statement has been forthcoming from the State authorities on the scrapping of the tender.

“It’s a mystery who took the call and what prompted it. There’s no clarity on whether it’s a political decision or simply a technical one taken at the bureaucratic level,” a source from Lucknow said, adding the decision has been announced just a few days before a mega investment summit the Yogi Adityanath government is organising from February 10-12 in Lucknow to attract investments to Uttar Pradesh.

The ambitious event is modelled on the Vibrant Gujarat Summits launched during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, and in the midst of a Parliament session in which Opposition parties are demanding the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe allegations against the Adani Group in the Hindenburg report.

Meetings in Gujarat

In the run-up to the investment summit, the U.P. government held a road show and conference in Ahmedabad in which U.P. Minister of Energy and Urban Development A.K. Sharma, a former Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat and trusted aide of Mr. Modi, had one-to-one meetings with heads of corporate houses from Gujarat. These included one with Gautam Adani, the industrialist at the centre of the storm, in Ahmedabad on January 19. The delegation, which also met Sudhir Mehta of the Torrent Group and Parimal Nathwani of the Reliance Group, included Mr. Adityanath’s trusted bureaucrats Navneet Sehgal and Awanish Awasthi. The latter continues serving as an adviser after his superannuation in 2022.

Others may follow suit

Besides MVVNL, other discoms such as Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited, Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited and Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited, representing different regions in the State, had also floated tenders for the supply of more than 25 million smart meters with a combined bid value estimated at ₹25,000 crore. It is likely that the other discoms will also follow suit and cancel their tenders, sources said.