Spared by Cong, Kota units now set to close to pave way for 3200MW tender

Jaipur: Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RUVNL) this week convened a board meeting to consider retiring four units of the Kota Thermal Power Plant, reviving a plan linked to the proposed procurement of 3,200 MW of new thermal capacity under a new tender.The move reverses a July 2021 directive issued under the Congress govt, which had halted an earlier proposal to retire two Kota units. In that letter, the state govt's joint secretary told the RUVNL chairman to keep in abeyance the decision to phase out units one and two.The board meeting comes as the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) examines Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Ltd's (RUVITL) case for procuring 3,200 MW of thermal power. RERC has directed the petitioner to submit clarifications on capacity already planned and on the retirement of existing units to justify the proposal.After hearing public stakeholders Tuesday, RERC reserved its order but allowed additional submissions.In its record of proceedings, RERC noted that the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), one of the stakeholders, argued that retiring thermal plants does not automatically justify adding equivalent new capacity and called for detailed modelling and cost analysis.Another stakeholder, Prayas Energy Group, said state-owned plants such as Kota and Suratgarh continue to generate power at lower cost.Consumer groups and power producers also warned that a new 25-year thermal contract could raise costs for consumers, saying older plants remain cheaper and are operating efficiently.RUVNL's latest move is at odds with its own position in recent years. The utility has repeatedly written to the Central Electricity Authority, stressing the Kota plant's economic and efficient performance.RERC also flagged RUVITL's failure to disclose its consent to buy 1,400 MW from the new 2,800 MW nuclear plant at Banswara, which is cheaper by Rs 3-4 a unit.Questions have also been raised over why this information was not shared with the CEA during planning of the state's power requirements. RUVITL has also been asked to clarify how much power it expects to receive from storage and distributed renewable sources.