Jaipur: To tide over a severe power shortage, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) has allowed state discoms to procure up to 1,300MW of hydropower from Himachal Pradesh govt at Rs 16.62 per unit for four months from Nov 2026 to Feb 2027.
The approval allows Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Ltd to proceed with a negotiated bilateral arrangement, with the commission saying in its Oct 29 order that the decision was made due to exceptional circumstances, including acute power shortage, limited availability in the short-term market and the need to maintain grid discipline.
The commission clarified that the approval should not be treated as a precedent and that short-term procurement should ordinarily be through competitive bidding or power exchanges.
TOI had reported that govt has tapped Dholpur gas plant, which costs Rs 46 per unit, to meet peak demand.
The power supply position deteriorated in Sept, when average demand rose to 14,518MW against 12,340MW in the corresponding month last year. Peak demand touched 17,557MW.
At the same time, availability from RVUNL generating stations averaged 4,795MW against an expected 5,800MW, partly due to prolonged outages at Kalisindh Unit-1 and Kota Unit-6 and constraints in coal availability.
Source:TOI
