With little movement on independent power projects, the reliance of EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) companies such as BGR Energy on the State electricity boards and NTPC is high, despite receivables from the government utilities continuing to remain “an issue.”
Work on the IPPs had stopped and equipment worth thousands of crore rupees meant for such projects were lying at the ports, BGR Energy Systems Chairman and Managing Director B. G. Raghupathy said here on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference, he said all [independent power] projects had come to a standstill and cited the delay in payments by the government to the power producers as the key reason.
On the receivables for the company, he said they were Rs.2,100 crore. Of which, Rs.800 crore was retention money, which would be paid only after the project achieved certain milestones.
In the meanwhile, Swarnamugi Karthik, daughter of Mr. Raghupathy, has become Director-Corporate Strategy. She would play an important role in identifying new business opportunities. Apart from ensuring timely completion of projects, she will be involved in implementation of the ISO for the power project division. She is with the company since 2005, and the present elevation comes at a time when the company is embarking on large capital expenditure. The order book of the company is over Rs.14,000 crore.
