Patna, April 13: Eight power companies have submitted their bids to sell 1,050MW of electricity in response to the power-starved Bihar State Electricity Board’s (BSEB’s) wish to purchase electricity from the open market. But the twist in the tale is that the power would be available only after four years of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The eight companies that have submitted their bids include Anil Ambani promoted Reliance Power, Indiabulls Power Limited, PTC India Limited, Essar Power Limited, JP Power Ventures Limited, GMR Power Corporation Private Limited, Lanco Infratech Limited and Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Limited, a top BSEB official told The Telegraph.

All bids would be opened on April 19, sources said. The board expects to sign MoU for purchasing a few hundred megawatts of power if any bid matches its price, they added.

“We have received an enthusiastic response to our request for proposals and on the basis of it we are hopeful of signing agreements at least for few hundred megawatts if not for the entire 1,050MW,” a BSEB source said.

The bidding does not assure an immediate solution to the power problem, though. A source said: “The power generating companies have signed power purchasing agreements (PPAs) from their customers in advance for a long term and hence they do not have additional power to provide electricity instantly. Therefore, PPAs can be signed only for new projects, which would take at least four to five years to be completed.”

The power board decided to purchase 1,050MW power from the open market to meet the state’s energy requirement in a short span of time, as the commissioning of new power plants would take time because of their long gestation period. Thus, the board floated tenders to invite request for proposals from prospective bidders to purchase electricity from the open market on a long-term PPA for 25 years.

On April 4, even chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed his inability to find an immediate solution to the power crisis. He had said it would take about three to four years before a solution is arrived at.

“There is huge gap between the demand and supply of power in the state. We have to cope with the situation, as Bihar is dependent on others (central sector allocation) for its power supply. This situation (of power shortage) will prevail in the state for next three-four years till new plants are commissioned,” Nitish said while interacting with the media on the sidelines of his janata darbar.