Based on the lower rates offered by private power companies recently in the second and third round of bids under the new tariff-based policy, the government of Gujarat has managed to renegotiate the rate offered in the first round.

Adani group which had submitted a rate of about Rs 3.25 per unit for supply of 1,000 MW power to the state under the Bid-1 process has revised it downward to Rs 2.89 per unit. In the Bid-1 round in September, four private sector companies had offered to supply a total of over 1,500 MW of power with a per unit rate in excess of Rs 3.2 per unit to the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

This rate was much higher than the Rs 2.4 per unit that GUVNL got from Essar Power in the Bid-3 category recently. Tata Power’s rate of Rs 2.26 per unit for the Mundra ultra-mega power plant was also much lower. The Adani group, which had offered a per unit price of over Rs 3.2 for supplying 1,000 MW of power to the Gujarat government in the Bid-1 opened in September 2006.

In the Bid-2 round which was opened recently, the Adani group in consortium with the Vishal group offered a much lower Rs 2.35 per unit for the supply of another 1,000 MW of power to the state government. Gujarat’s energy minister, Saurabhai Patel, told ET that it is not right to compare the three categories of bids put out by the government as the terms and conditions are different for all of them.

But, based on the highly-competitive rates received in the second and third categories, the state government has begun discussions with all the four players shortlisted in the first category to reduce their rates. While Adani group has already reduced its rates, the other three JSW Energy, Jindal Power and Chitrapur Coal and Power are yet to do so.

Mr Patel claimed that Gujarat is the first state in India to have implemented the new tariff-based policy introduced by the Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC). Gujarat has completed the process of tying up power supply to the tune of over 3,000 mega watt (MW) from private companies through this new policy.