TANGEDCO cancels Adani-related tender for smart power meters
Not only the one related to Adani, TANGEDCO cancelled the other three packages of the tender as well citing “administrative reasons”
Weeks after claiming that it has had no “business relationship” with the Adani Group, the Tamil Nadu power distribution company TANGEDCO has cancelled a global tender in which the conglomerate had emerged as the lowest bidder.
Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL) had reportedly emerged as the lowest bidder for one of the four packages for the installation of smart electricity meters planned by The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO).
All four packages cancelled
As part of that package, 82 lakh smart meters were reportedly to be installed in eight districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu. But TANGEDCO apparently felt that the price quoted by the company was too “high”. It reportedly tried to negotiate with the company to reduce the price but cancelled the tender after it didn’t work out.
Also read: TN: CM Stalin says he has no ties with Adani, asks if BJP-PMK is ready for JPC probe
Not only the one related to Adani, TANGEDCO cancelled the other three packages of the tender as well. All of them were floated in August 2023 to install 3 crore smart meters under the Centre’s Rs 19,000-crore Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The company cited “administrative reasons” in a corrigendum issued on December 28.
DMK’s bid to distance itself from Adani?
However, the move is being seen as the Tamil Nadu government’s bid to distance itself from the beleaguered Adani Group in the wake of its head Gautam Adani’s indictment by a US court. Soon after, Tamil Nadu Energy Minister V Senthil Balaji had said in November that TANGEDCO did not have any “business relationship” with the group and that the government’s agreement was only with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to buy solar power at a cheap price.
Even Chief Minister MK Stalin had to clarify on the Assembly floor that he had never met Adani.
Also read: Adani, SEBI rows rewrote corporate narratives amid declining governance standards in 2024
At the same time, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption is investigating an alleged coal import scam involving the Adani Group. The complaint was filed by Jayaram Venkatesan of NGO Arappor Iyakkam claiming that TANGEDCO suffered a loss of Rs 3,000 crore between 2013 and 2016 because of inferior-quality coal supplied by the Adani Group.
