SHILLONG : Meghalaya’s distribution-transformer procurement has run into another setback after the company selected for a ₹2.90-crore contract sought to withdraw from the deal, while information obtained through RTI has raised questions over how the tender was handled.
The contract involved the supply of 225 distribution transformers. H-Bus Equipment Manufacturing Company, the L-1 bidder, sought to withdraw about 10 days after receiving the Letter of Award on May 1, 2026.
Advocate Napoleon S Mawphniang, who obtained the records through RTI, said the company cited geopolitical conflicts and the expiry of the price-validity period. He has argued that the department’s own delay in completing the procurement process contributed to the problem. The tender was floated in September 2025, with the department citing urgency. Technical bids were opened the following month, but the price-bid evaluation was not taken up until March 2026. The Letter of Award was issued nearly two months later.
Mawphniang has questioned why a procurement described as urgent took several months to move from technical evaluation to financial evaluation. The RTI records also raise a question about the tender’s technical requirements. Mawphniang said a BEE Star Label certificate, initially described as mandatory, was relaxed after the bids had been opened. He has sought an independent review of the decision.
Another issue concerns the manufacturing capacity declared by H-Bus. According to the RTI information cited by Mawphniang, the Tender Committee was aware before the award that the company’s declared capacity covered only 125 transformers against a requirement of 145.
The procurement dispute has also involved another bidder. Mawphniang said Vijay Electric Infra Private Limited had sought a price revision but was not given similar flexibility and was instead directed to accept the award or face cancellation.
The department has issued a show-cause notice to H-Bus over its attempt to withdraw from the contract.
The procurement record becomes more significant against the longer gap identified in the RTI response. Mawphniang said that between January 2019 and February 2026, the Power department did not initiate competitive bidding for distribution-transformer repair work.
During that period, he said, only one tender for new distribution transformers was floated.
The RTI response itself took 168 days to reach him, despite the normal statutory response period under the RTI framework being 30 days, subject to exceptions. The issue has a direct supply implication. Distribution transformers are required when damaged units have to be replaced across the network, and any delay in procurement can leave the distribution utility dependent on existing stocks and alternative arrangements.
MeECL’s own records show that transformer procurement remains active.
The corporation published a notice in August 2026 for the supply of distribution transformers from OEM-empanelled vendors, suggesting that procurement has not ended with the disputed contract.
The state had also projected continued expansion of its electricity network. Its 2025-26 budget speech said 2,676 new distribution transformers had been installed as part of power-infrastructure expansion, alongside new substations and distribution lines.
Mawphniang has asked the state government, MeECL and MePDCL to explain how the transformer requirement will be met, particularly ahead of winter. He has also sought a time-bound procurement plan covering the districts and an examination of the decisions taken during the tender process.
