Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited (RUVITL) has filed a petition before the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) for approval to procure 500 MW of round-the-clock (RTC) power for a period of five years starting from the financial year 2025-26. This procurement is based on guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power, Government of India, on January 29, 2019, and subsequently amended. It will follow the “Build, Own, and Operate” (BOO) model through a competitive bidding process using standard bidding documents such as Request for Qualification (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

The Energy Assessment Committee (EAC) conducted meetings in April 2023 and projected a cumulative power deficit for the state reaching 5,007 MW by 2029-30. The shortage for 2025-26 alone is estimated at 1,021 MW. The EAC’s assessment was based on CEA’s advisory restricting thermal unit retirements till 2030, the allocation of 281 MW from the Khuja Thermal Power Station, and the shutdown of RAPPS-B Unit-1 (62.5 MW) till May 2024.

To address these shortages, the Government of Rajasthan approved the procurement of 160 MW RTC power for FY 2023-24 and planned to scale up to 1,930 MW by 2026-27. RUVITL’s earlier petition (No. 2097/2023) received approval from RERC on March 31, 2023, to procure 160 MW under the same guidelines. A tender was issued on the DEEP Portal on May 24, 2023, but was later scrapped due to a high quoted tariff (₹5.30/unit).

Subsequently, CEA advised states to prepare Resource Adequacy Plans (RAPs), ensuring balanced long-term, medium-term, and short-term power procurement. As per CEA’s RAP for Rajasthan, the required thermal capacity by 2029-30 is estimated at 18,520 MW, whereas the current availability is 13,775 MW, indicating a gap of 4,745 MW, aligning with EAC’s projections. The proposed additions include 281 MW in 2023-24, 300 MW in 2025-26, 1,320 MW in 2027-28, and 925 MW in 2028-29.

EAC, in its 34th meeting on May 16, 2025, recommended procuring 500 MW RTC power for five years. RUVITL’s Board of Directors approved this in its 67th meeting on May 26, 2025, under a single composite tariff mechanism, subject to RERC’s final approval. This tariff will include a base variable charge (covering generation, transmission charges, and losses) and a fixed charge. The single composite tariff model is technology-neutral and allows participation from renewable energy sources as well.

RUVITL chose to proceed with a finance-independent, single composite tariff model incorporating all payment sources except options (b) and (c), allowing for broader bidder participation. The petition requests the Commission to approve the 500 MW procurement under Section 86(1)(b) of the Electricity Act, 2003, to ensure a reliable and affordable power supply in Rajasthan and mitigate financial stress on discoms and end consumers.

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