12 Nov 2024
Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has imposed a three-year ban on Reliance Power Limited and Reliance NU BESS Limited for submitting fake documents, including bank guarantees from a foreign bank. The case pertains to the Request for Selection (RfS) issued by SECI on June 26, 2024, for development of a 1000 MW/2000 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) project under tariff-based competitive bidding.
The company, which operates under the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said in a release, "Based on scrutiny of documents submitted under Request for Selection (RFS) by Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited (bidder), now known as Reliance NU BESS Limited, it was found that as per the tender requirements, the bank guarantee supported by the bidder against the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) (issued by a foreign bank) was fake. Since the above discrepancy was detected after the e-reverse auction, SECI was constrained to cancel the tender process."
"In accordance with the tender conditions, the submission of a fake document in response to the RfS rendered the bidder eligible to be debarred from participating in future tenders issued by SECI. The bidder, being a subsidiary of Reliance Power, had fulfilled the financial eligibility criteria by leveraging the financial strength of its parent company. Upon a thorough review of the matter, it was determined that all commercial and strategic decisions made by the bidder were essentially driven by the parent company. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to debar the parent company, i.e., Reliance Power, from participating in any future tenders issued by SECI," it added.
However, in a regulatory filing, Reliance Power has said it has been a victim of fraud, forgery, and a cheating conspiracy. "A criminal complaint has already been filed with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police on October 16, 2024, against third parties in this regard. The legal process will be followed," it noted.
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