Madhyachal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (MVVNL) of Uttar Pradesh has cancelled Adani Group's bid for the delivery of around 7.5 million smart metres to the power distribution business (discom) valued nearly Rs 54 billion.

According to sources, Adani Group made the lowest bid, but the discom cancelled it due to "unforeseen circumstances."

UP discoms representing several regions, including Madhyanchal, Dakshinanchal, Purvanchal, and Paschimanchal, had announced tenders for the provision of more than 25 million smart metres. The total bid value was projected to be Rs 250 billion.

Other bidders for the project included GMR, L&T, and Intellismart Infra. Intellismart Infra is a collaboration between Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

Adani had given the lowest price of Rs 10,000 per smart metre. This was purportedly judged costlier, given the cost of Rs 6,000 per metre under the Rural Electrification Corporation's standing billing standard.

MVVNL had issued an e-tender to select an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service provider for smart prepayment metering in MVVNL. In a February 4 notification, MVVNL stated, "The offer has been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons."

The discom is now likely to conduct a new tendering process. Other UP distribution companies could follow in the footsteps of MVVNL.

Interestingly, none of the four private companies in the fray are manufacturers of smart meters. They would have probably sublet the manufacturing after winning the contract.

Meanwhile, UP power consumers’ forum had already challenged the bids before the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC). They alleged that steep prices were quoted for the smart meters.

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