Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (MVVNL), Uttar Pradesh's power utility cancelled Adani Group's bid for the supply of 7.5 million smart metres to the power distribution company (discom) worth about Rs 5,400 crore.
The Adani Group had submitted a bid of Rs 10,000 per metre, reportedly a low bid. But, it was deemed high by MVVNL. Under the standing billing guideline of the Rural Electrification Corporation, the price of the metres had been fixed at Rs 6,000 per unit.
The combined bid value for over 25 million smart metres was estimated at Rs 25,000 crore. MVVNL, in a notification on February 4 said, “The tender has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons.”
Reportedly, GMR, L&T and Intellismart Infra were also in the play to be part of the project. If any of the four companies had won the contract, they would have sublet the manufacturing as none of them is manufacturers of smart metres. Now, MVVNL is likely to opt for a fresh tendering process. Other UP discoms could follow suit.
