GERC Issues Call for Consultancy Bids to Oversee Capital Investment Plans Under 2024 MYT Framework

Regulatory move aims to benchmark Capex, scrutinize TBCB projects, and prevent project-splitting ahead of the August 2026 deadline.

Announcement Overview and Bidding Deadline

The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has formally invited consultancy bids to assist in the scrutiny, review, and monitoring of Capital Investment Plans under the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) Regulations, 2024. While the current control period for utilities such as MPSEZ Utilities Limited (MUL) commenced on April 1, 2025, the Commission has set a bid submission deadline of August 3, 2026. This timeline is structured to secure expert consultancy for the ongoing oversight and mandated mid-term review of the five-year control period spanning FY 2025-26 to FY 2029-30. The selection process ensures that the Commission maintains high-level technical and financial verification of utility expenditures as required by the latest regulatory framework.

Quick Facts

• Bid Submission Deadline: August 3, 2026
• Governing MYT Regulation: GERC (Multi-Year Tariff) Regulations, 2024
• Consultant Selection Regulation: Notification No. 14 of 2005
• Advertisement Mandate: Public notice required for assignments exceeding Rs. 5 lakhs.
• Control Period under Review: FY 2025-26 to FY 2029-30

Defined Scope of Consultancy Services

The selected consultant will support the Commission in fulfilling its mandate to scrutinize the efficiency and necessity of capital expenditure (Capex), as outlined in Section 5.6 of the recent MUL Tariff Order. The scope of services is designed to integrate with the “Truing up” process—the regulatory mechanism for reconciling actual expenses against approved forecasts. Technical responsibilities include:

• Investment Plan Scrutiny: Comprehensive evaluation of capital investment proposals to verify alignment with the GERC (MYT) Regulations, 2024.
• Capex Benchmarking: Analyzing proposed expenditures against industry benchmarks to ensure cost-efficiency and to prevent the inclusion of unnecessary costs in the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR).
• Detection of Project-Splitting: Utilizing the Commission’s power of scrutiny to identify instances where utilities may have divided large projects into smaller components to bypass specific regulatory approval thresholds.
• TBCB Project Monitoring: Specialized review of transmission projects awarded via Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) to ensure transparency and adherence to bid-out costs during the capitalization process.

Regulatory Framework: The GERC Appointment Process

The appointment process is strictly governed by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (Appointment of Consultants) Regulations, 2005. According to Section 5, the Commission’s staff must prepare a formal Terms of Reference (TOR) for approval before issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP). The evaluation is conducted using a weighted score of technical competence and financial fees.

Technical Evaluation Criteria

In accordance with Section 9.2 of the 2005 Regulations, the evaluation of key staff is highly granular. Experts are judged on general qualifications, including their length of experience and positions held within their firms. The Commission also prioritizes “Adequacy for the assignment,” which weighs specific experience in the power sector, and “Regional Experience,” which evaluates the consultant’s knowledge of local administrative systems, organizational culture, and the Gujarat-specific regulatory environment.

Eligibility and Selection Standards

Prospective consultants must qualify under Regulation 2(1)(c) as individuals or firms possessing specialized knowledge or skills not readily available within the Commission’s permanent staff.

• Conflict of Interest: Per Section 15, consultants are barred from any assignment that conflicts with prior or current obligations to other clients. They must provide an undertaking to remain objective and impartial.
• Technical Qualifying Marks: The Commission typically mandates a minimum technical score between 40 and 60.
• Financial Proposal Integrity: A critical “insider” procedural safeguard found in Section 9.3 stipulates that for bidders who fail to meet the technical threshold, their financial proposals must be returned unopened upon completion of the selection process.
• Duration of Engagement: Under Regulation 4, the maximum engagement period is two years. This may be extended by up to three months at a time, for a maximum of two such extensions, at the Commission’s discretion.

Procedural Guidelines for Bidders

The Commission requires all bids to be submitted in sealed covers. If the RFP specifies separate technical and financial submissions, they must be delivered in two distinct, sealed envelopes to ensure the evaluators of the technical bid do not have access to financial data until the technical scoring is finalized.

The RFP package contains the formal letter of invitation, the approved TOR, and a draft contract (Schedule 1) detailing standard terms and conditions. The Commission retains the right to reject all proposals if they are found to be non-responsive to the TOR or if the financial bids represent a cost significantly higher than the Commission’s original internal estimates. If no bidder meets the minimum technical requirements, the entire selection process must be restarted.

The official website for the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC), where formal tender documents and Request for Proposals (RFPs) are hosted, is: https://www.gercin.org

Official Sources & Regulatory References

For detailed information on the bidding process, eligibility, and the underlying regulatory framework, please refer to the official documents hosted by the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC):

• GERC Request for Proposal (RFP) for Consultancy Services – Official invitation for bids to assist the Commission in Truing up for FY 2023-24 and Tariff Determination for the Fourth Control Period,.
• GERC (Multi-Year Tariff) Regulations, 2024 – The primary regulatory framework governing the five-year control period from FY 2025-26 to FY 2029-30,.
• Explanatory Memorandum on Draft GERC (MYT) Regulations – Official rationale for the 2024 framework, including new mandates for capital investment monitoring and project benchmarking,.
• GERC (Appointment of Consultants) Regulations, 2005 – The standing regulations (Notification No. 14 of 2005) that define the legal requirements for engaging external consultancy firms,.
• GERC Multi-Year Tariff Order: MPSEZ Utilities Limited (Case No. 2430 of 2024) – Formal order detailing the application of the 2024 regulations to specific utility investment plans,.
• GERC Tariff Order: GIFT Power Company Limited (Case No. 2590 of 2025) – Official order regarding the scrutiny of revised Aggregate Revenue Requirements (ARR) and capital expenditure,.
• Forum of Regulators (FOR) – Minutes of the 87th Meeting – Official documentation regarding the notification of threshold limits for the award of transmission projects through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB),.

All documents can be accessed via the official GERC portal at www.gercin.org.