The Dabhol power plant was once dubbed as the "largest foreign direct investment India has ever seen," but was plagued with problems from the outset. At one time, customers of the power plant refused to pay their bills claiming prices were twice as high as alternative sources. The debacle over non-payment even began to impact negatively on Indo-American relations.
Some of the companies thought to have submitted bids include Royal Dutch/Shell, TotalFinaElf and Gaz de France as well as local outfits such as Tata Power Company and The Gas Authority of India.
