The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) has approved Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam’s (JdVVNL) tariffs ranging from ₹2.68 (~$0.030)/kWh to ₹3.66 (~$0.041)/kWh for solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 488 MW to be set up across Rajasthan under Component – C of the Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) program.

Background

The petitioner, JdVVNL, issued a tender for 234 solar projects with a cumulative capacity of 513.5 MW under PM KUSUM for solarizing agriculture pumps.

The projects’ details, including the location, capacity, and consumer numbers, are as follows:

Following the bidding process, the petitioner issued 53 letters of intent (LoIs) and 23 counteroffers, which were accepted. Eventually, it issued 228 LoIs, out of which 222 were accepted for a total capacity of 488 MW. The discovered tariffs for the tendered projects ranged from ₹2.68 (~$0.030)/kWh to ₹3.66 (~$0.041)/kWh. The selected bidders were required to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 25 years.

The petitioner approached RERC to accept the discovered tariffs for the PPA term.

It submitted that the tender process was competitive, transparent, fair, and adhered to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) guidelines. It also contended that the discovered tariffs were reasonable and market-aligned.

Additionally, the petitioner referred to earlier similar requests that the Commission had approved. JdVVNL also stated that it had structured the tender for bidders to demonstrate compliance with the domestic content requirement (DCR) mandated under Component – C of the PM KUSUM program.

Commission’s Analysis

RERC acknowledged that the petitioner’s bidding process was fair, transparent, and adhered to the established MNRE guidelines. It also noted that the discovered tariffs were reasonable and market-aligned and observed that the DCR compliance mandate influenced the tariff discovery.

The Commission approved the discovered tariffs for the PPA term of 25 years.

It instructed the petitioner to ensure that solar developers make the land lease payments directly to farmers and that JdVVNL deducts these amounts from the developers’ payables to ensure timely payments.

The petitioner was also directed to maintain a remote monitoring system for 25 years for all commissioned projects. RERC condoned the 53 LoIs and the 23 counteroffers that were sent before its approval. However, it directed the petitioner to take such actions in the future only after the Commission’s approval.

In August this year, RERC approved Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services’ request to extend its PPAs for 2.5 MW and 1.25 MW wind projects in Jaisalmer district for five years.

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