Installation of smart meters: TN cancels tender to Adani Group citing higher pricing

The Adani Group firm had emerged as the lowest bidder for one of the four packages of the tender, floated in August 2023, for installing 8.2 million smart meters in eight districts

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government’s power generation and distribution PSU, Tengedco, has cancelled the global tender for installation of smart meters after negotiations with the lowest bidder Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) to reduce price failed, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

The Adani Group firm had emerged as the lowest bidder for one of the four packages of the tender, floated in August 2023, for installing 8.2 million smart meters in eight districts. (HT PHOTO)

The Adani Group firm had emerged as the lowest bidder for one of the four packages of the tender, floated in August 2023, for installing 8.2 million smart meters in eight districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu, a Tamil Nadu generation and distribution company (Tangedco) official said.

“The price quoted by the company was high. So, we decided to cancel the tender process after negotiations with the company to reduce the price failed,” the official said, requesting anonymity. “The price quoted to Tangedco was higher than ₹120 per meter per month which has been offered to other states like Andhra Pradesh.”

On December 28, the PSU also cancelled the tenders for the other three packages floated in August 2023 citing “administrative reasons”. “The tenders will be floated again soon,” the official said.

The four tenders were floated for installation of 30 million smart meters, replacing the existing digital meters, across the southern state under the ₹19,000 crore Centre-funded Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

Commenting on the cancellation of the tender, a ruling DMK leader, requesting anonymity said: “We didn’t want to give room to any controversies.”

Adani Group did not respond to HT’s request for a comment on the development.

The development came close on the heels of a political uproar in Tamil Nadu over the Opposition’s allegation of a “secret meeting” between chief minister MK Stalin and Adani Group’s founder-chairman Gautam Adani in Chennai in July 2024. Stalin and his party, the DMK, dismissed the charge and denied any ties with the business conglomerate.

“Adani did not come to meet me. I have not met Adani either,” Stalin told the state assembly on December 10, while replying to the allegation levelled by GK Mani, a leader of the PMK, a BJP ally.

The allegations were made soon after the billionaire industrialist was indicted by a US court over bribery charge. The US Department of Justice indictment alleges that between 2020 and 2024, Adani executives collaborated with those from another company, Azure Power, to pay bribes to Indian government officials in five states to obtain solar energy supply contracts projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits over 20 years.

The Adani Group has strongly denied the allegations as “baseless” and vowed to “seek all possible legal recourse.”