Jaipur: The energy department managed a record peak electricity demand of 20,600 MW without resorting to load shedding during the Rabi crop season, marking a significant turnaround from 2022-23, when the peak demand was 17,840 MW and power cuts were frequent, said energy minister Heeralal Nagar during a discussion in the Assembly Tuesday.The energy minister said the state successfully managed the recent Rabi crop season, avoiding the law-and-order issues witnessed in previous years due to power shortages. He reiterated the govt’s commitment to providing electricity to all farmers in 2 daytime blocks by 2027. At present, more than 4,100 rural 33 kV substations are already supplying power in 2 blocks, with system strengthening underway in remaining areas.The minister said over 2.09 lakh new agriculture connections were released in the past 2 years, addressing long-pending applications.Nagar said a major financial boost came from decentralised solar plants under the PM-KUSUM scheme. By procuring 2,682 million units at an average rate of Rs 3.21 per unit till Dec 2025, distribution companies saved nearly Rs 440 crore compared to market exchange rates.The govt also scrapped the previous Congress govt’s “banking” arrangement, under which electricity was borrowed during Rabi and repaid during summer at significantly higher rates.The minister said the power could have been purchased at around Rs 5 per unit; instead, the department borrowed it from other states at that rate under the banking system and returned the power by buying it at Rs 8–10 per unit, causing huge losses and supply disruptions.On the infrastructure front, the current govt cancelled 2 turnkey work orders of the previous Congress govt worth Rs 569 crore for construction of 42 grid substations under the build-own-operate-transfer model. The estimated project cost was Rs 164 crore, but contracts were allegedly awarded at 246% above estimated rates, the minister alleged. He said serious violations of RTPP rules were found, including changes in tender conditions favouring a single bidder.The orders were revoked after a high-level probe, disciplinary action was initiated against officials, and prior approval was granted to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act for investigation, he added.The minister said the department also reduced technical and commercial losses. Distribution losses declined from 17.10% in 2023-24 to 14.30% in 2024-25, while AT&C losses fell from 21.81% to 15.27%. The ACS-ARR gap, which earlier reflected losses of 20–31 paise per unit, now turned into a marginal profit of 4 paise per unit.
