Jaipur: The power sector announcements align with the broader infrastructure thrust of the Budget, with emphasis on generation expansion, grid strengthening, and distributed solar for achieving growth, welfare goals, and sustainability.The Budget targets 10 GW of energy production through private sector participation, as the govt hopes to accelerate capacity creation without straining public finances. Industry stakeholders said the success of achieving the target depends on timely land allocation, grid connectivity, and stable policy support.
To match power generation growth with grid capacity, the Budget provided for strengthening transmission infrastructure. During her Budget speech, Finance Minister Diya Kumari said the state will construct 1,765 KV grid sub-station (GSS), 5 400 KV GSS, 13 220 KV GSS, 28 132 KV GSS, and 103 33/11 KV GSS.Anil Saboo, ex-chairman of CII-Rajasthan, said, “Without parallel transmission upgrades, additional generation capacity can lead to bottlenecks and curtailment, particularly in renewable-heavy states.” Saboo said, “The planned GSS expansion is therefore seen as critical to improving voltage stability, reducing transmission losses, and enabling efficient evacuation of solar and other power.” The govt also committed to providing 50,000 new agriculture electricity connections and 5 lakh new domestic connections. For farmers, the new connections are expected to help them bring agricultural land under irrigation, leading to higher productivity, especially in water-stressed regions reliant on groundwater pumping. However, stakeholders said timely release of connections and quality supply will be key to delivering the benefits.In a strategy shift, the Budget also announced the end of the high-rate power banking system with other states. Power banking arrangements allowed surplus electricity to be exchanged across states, but high banking charges were often criticised as financially burdensome. By discontinuing expensive arrangements, the govt aims to optimise procurement costs and reduce fiscal stress within the power sector.
