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Journalism of Courage
The hype around the country’s shortest-duration power plant has now become its nemesis. While power-starved Haryana Government says it has imposed penalty worth Rs 6 crore on Reliance Energy Limited (REL) for its failure to meet the deadline in making operational both the 300 MW units of Yamunanagar thermal power plant, which according to the Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGC) will go up from quarter per cent to a maximum of 10 per cent each passing week, Reliance says it has not received any communication in this regard.
The company, according to sources, has, in fact, represented to the HPGC for grant of extension and has held the Government responsible for delay in review and approval of drawings and documents, clearance for construction, finalisation of layout and appointment of fresh engineers with no experience in operations and management (O&M) at the time of commencement of pre-commissioning of the project.
“We have already represented to HPGC for extension of time, citing reasons beyond our control. Hence ,no penalty can be levied,” an REL spokesperson said.
Reliance is learnt to have said in the representation that the involvement of three agencies — two Government ones and a foreign collaborator, China’s Shanghai Electric Company — resulted in the Government taking extra time in reviewing and granting approval for drawings and documents. It has attributed the delay to court case, obstruction by villagers, and floods in Gujarat and Rajasthan which affected the transportation of material imported from China. Then there were other factors: delay in completion of railway link at Kalanaur, which impacted transportation of coal, and delay in completion of coal and ash handling plants which seriously impacted the readiness of these plants.
But HPGC officials said the project had a penalty clause for late completion and even BHEL, which executed the Panipat thermal plant, had to pay a penalty of Rs 29 crore in 2004-05 for late completion.
They, however, said oil synchronisation of the plant was achieved in a record time, but stabilisation is a project-specific process and a lot of improbables can crop up and delay the commissioning of the project.
Maintaining that units of similar ratings take a minimum of 40-45 months, Reliance has said the trial operations of the first unit (which was to start generation of 300 MW electricity by November 19 last year) will begin in March and commercial operations will start in the same month while the second unit (which was to start generation of 300 MW by February 15) will be operational in April.
