Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd is 'overburdened' and more equipment manufacturing companies are needed to achieve the 11th Plan target of adding 66,000 MW of fresh generation capacity, a top government official said on Monday.
"BHEL is overburdened as it is the only PSU on which we depend for the supply of mechanical equipment for all our projects. This often results in delayed supply of material, which causes a shortfall in targeted production," Union Power Secretary R V Shahi said in Gangtok.
Shahi, who was in Gangtok to review the progress of power projects in Sikkim, said during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2002-07) only 75 per cent of the targeted capacity addition of 41,000 MW would be achieved.
This shortfall was largely because of delays by BHEL in supplying equipment such as turbines and boilers, he said.
The state-run company has an order book of about Rs 45,000 crore (Rs 450 billion) and has said in the past it was expanding capacity to manufacture up to 10,000 MW of power generating equipment every year from 6,000 MW at present.
Shahi's comments endorse the move by public sector generation major National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd to foray into manufacture of transformers and lighting parts such as diodes.
"If we want this scenario to improve, our exclusive dependence on BHEL for the supply of mechanical equipment for projects must end," he said, adding more organisations like BHEL should be established to achieve 100 per cent of the country's power generation target for the 11th Five-Year Plan.
Shahi also said many projects could not come up on time due to delays in techno-economic, forest and environment clearances and opposition by the local population.
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