REC removes Chinese firm from J&K Smart Meter project over Ladakh impasse
Government agency REC Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (RECPDCL) has removed a Chinese firm from the smart meter project in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
This comes amidst heightened tension between the two countries post the clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. Last week, the government had restricted Chinese companies from participating in bids for government procurement without approval from relevant authorities on the ground of defence and national security.
The project costing Rs 125-crore was awarded by RECPDCL, an arm of Rural Electrification Corporation under the ministry of power, in September 2019. The project entails setting up 100,000 smart meters each in Jammu and Srinagar city in two phases. It will also include allied communication and back-end infrastructure.
Divided in three parts – the main EPC contractor was Techno Electric and sub-contract of meter supply was with Allied Engineering Works (AEW), and Radio Frequency (RF) Communication by Dongfang Electronics pvt ltd (DFE) – a Chinese state owned company. RF is a remote communication system for power equipment such as smart meters.
The Jammu power department had asked for an enquiry and scrutiny of the tender by RECPDCL – the tendering authority for the smart meters project. The letter dated July 9 is in response to several complaints made by other bidders which said Techno changed its sub-contractors to hire a Chinese company which hurts ‘national security’.
In a statement dated July 29, RECPDCL said the Chinese sub-contractor has been removed following the directives of the ministry of power regarding vulnerabilities in the power supply system and network which may arise due to possible cyber-attacks through malware/ trojans etc. embedded in the imported equipment. The statement did not mention when the decision was taken.
“The Order mandates prior permission of Govt. of India for any import of equipment/ components/ parts from “prior reference” countries along with testing of the same in certified and designated laboratories. After this order was issued, all new/ongoing contracts are being reviewed and as part of that review one of the sub-contractors of the above project, which though a company registered in India and having manufacturing facilities in India, was found to be a subsidiary of a Chinese company,” said the statement.
RECPDCL further said it has directed the sub-contractor to be removed from the project since the continuation of the subcontractor “would have led to the requirements of taking prior permission and testing of every equipment supplied thus leading to unacceptable delays in execution.”
The principal contractor (Techno Electric) has informed RECPDCL that they have removed that sub-contractor, said the company.
In an interview with this paper, P P Gupta, managing director of Techno Electric said, “sub-contract for supply of remote communication technology is signed with the Indian unit of Chinese equipment major Dongfang Electronics pvt ltd (DFE), so as alleged, we are not importing any Chinese equipment.”
