Chennai, May 28 (IANS): Integrated mining-cum-power generation company Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) is facing production problem because of the hitch in the boiler provided by power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), complained a top NLC official.

"BHEL has failed in its delivery schedules. It is the monopoly India. As a public sector unit (PSU), we have to support BHEL (another PSU). Further we have to go by the lowest bidder in awarding equipment contracts and not by their adherence to delivery schedules and other parameters," chairman and managing director A.R. Ansari told reporters here Friday.

According to him, NLC's power units in Rajasthan are not generating power as there is a design failure in BHEL's boilers.

"We had told BHEL that their boiler should be capable of handling lignite with an ash content ranging between eight to 30 percent. BHEL initially agreed and later was not able to meet the expectation. There is a design failure in their boiler," Ansari claimed.

BHEL had supplied the 2x125 MW Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) boilers to NLC for its power project in Rajasthan.

Both the units were dedicated to the nation in June 2010. However, the boilers started facing problems and power generation had to be halted for nearly a year.

Similarly, at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu there has been an inordinate delay in the commissioning of 2x250 MW CFBC power unit.

According to Ansari, the first unit will be commissioned next month and the second unit in 2012.

It is not only CFBC power equipments, even normal boilers and other equipments which is BHEL's forte is getting delayed, NLC officials fume.

"There is six months' delay in delivery of equipments for our 1,000 MW thermal project in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, promoted in joint venture with Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB)," K.Sekar, NLC's director (Finance), said.

He said: "BHEL is biting much more than it can chew, putting others into problems. Contractual penalties for not sticking to delivery schedules do not work."

BHEL officials were not available for comments.