PATIALA: Punjab will save over 10000 crores in 25 years if  Larsen & Toubro Power will bag the Rs 6,000-crore Rajpura thermal power project in Punjab as it has turned out to be the lowest bidder among others during the price bid opening at Chandigarh on Monday.

Notably, the State Electricity Board, when it invited bids for the first time last year, managed to receive only a single financial bid from Lanco Infratech with a levelised tariff of Rs 3.38 per unit despite eight other companies including Reliance Power, Tata Power, Essar Power, were adjudged qualified bidders.

However, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) this year declined to give approval to the lone bid of Lanco Infratech, leading to reinvite of bids.

It is learnt that PSEB Engineers Association had alredy explained a variation of one paisa per unit costs the state Rs. 10 crore every year and Rs. 300 crore during plants life time.  The re-bidding has save Punjab for the burden of over RS. 10000 crores L&T on Monday has quoted lowest price bid for the 1,320-MW Rajpura thermal power project. L&T quoted Rs 2.89 per unit as levelised tariff for the project.

400 crore x epc contrctor  Welspun Urja India Ltd remained second as it quoted a price bid of Rs 2.94 per unit as levelised tariff, which is little higher than L&T's price.

The letter of intent will be given to L&T next week after getting approval from the board of the PSEB.

This will be first power project for L& T as it was working as EPC contractor for power companies earlier, said sources.