Facing problems with Chinese power equipment, state-owned Durgapur Projects Ltd (DPL) is believed to have approached BHEL for carrying out repair and recommission of a 300-Mw thermal power plant in West Bengal.
Chinese firm Dong Fang had supplied a turbine to DPL, which has become inoperable due to some technical snag since about three months, sources in the know said.
When contacted, Li Qi, CEO of Dong Fang (India) said, “Two months ago, we were informed by DPL that some snag has developed in the equipment... We completed this project one year ago and transferred it to DPL.”
Meanwhile, BHEL sources confirmed DPL had contacted them to put the unit back on stream. In view of Chinese technology, BHEL will have to resort to reverse engineering to gauge the extent of the problem before offering solutions.
DPL’s maintenance contract with Dong Fang has also lapsed and the Chinese firm is believed to have said that turbine may have to be taken back to their factory in China for carrying out necessary repair, which may take a long time, besides additional cost.
Keeping in mind such incidents, Central Electricity Authority has recently issued guidelines saying power equipment suppliers must have a manufacturing facility in India, so that any technical snag could be repaired without losing any time.
This is significant in view of rising demand for super-critical power equipment being deployed in India in the coming years.
About 40 super-critical units are already under construction and slated for completion within the next two years and over 60 per cent of the capacity addition in the 12th plan period (2012-17) will be of such units.
There are several global manufacturers who have already established joint ventures in India. L&T with Mitsubishi, Jindal with Toshiba, and Areva and Siemens with BHEL, joint ventures or technology collaborations, are already in place.
