Power equipment maker Bhel may have to pay Punjab a penalty of up to five per cent of the total cost of the 500 Mw Lehra Mohabbat stage-4 thermal project, whose commissioning has been delayed by over a year.
Punjab State Electricity Board sources said the power utility may slap a fine on the PSU power equipment provider for missing the deadline of the Rs 1,789 crore project twice.
Only yesterday, Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh had admonished Bhel, saying delays on various projects "are inexcusable and reflect poorly on Bhel as an EPC contractor. The delay has contributed to substantial power shortages."
The stage-4 project was to have been commissioned by June 7, but the deadline was postponed till October that year.
The PSU once again failed to bring the project on stream, causing PSEB a loss of about Rs 250 crore.
Earlier, Bhel had delayed commissioning stage three of the Lehra Mohabbat project, which was to have been completed by March 2007. It was finally done in April this year.
This track record of the power equipment supplier has made the PSEB Board suspect Bhel's ability to stick to any new completion schedule for stage-4, considering the slow pace of work.
PSEB officials expect the project to be delayed by at least another six months, which means a power crunch in the state for as many months.
PSEB purchases power from other states to meet Punjab's power requirement.