Madhya Pradesh government has decided to import coal worth Rs 574 crore for its power plants. This decision comes at a time when the state has not been able to utilize its quota of coal allocated by the Centre.
Coal import would burden the power sector as import price would be much higher than the rates at which coal is supplied by Coal India Limited (CIL). Move is set to worsen the already unviable power generation from state's thermal power plants, said sources.
Interestingly, tender document floated by Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited has called for coal of import of coal with calorific value between 5,800 and 6,500. Coal with calorific value below 5,800 is likely to be rejected stated the tender document. Contrary to this, almost all thermal power plants of state are designed to work with coal of lower calorific (G11 and G 12 grade coal whose CV lies between 3,700 to 4,300) value which comes cheaper.
MPPGCL had requested the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory commission (MPSERC order dated January 21, 2013) to issue necessary directives to SECL to minimize coal supply of A&B (5,600 to 6,200 CV and above) grade coal to SGTPS, as Genco states it increased the cost of power production.
Again on September 10, this year state's power minister, Rajendra Shukla said at power ministers meeting in New Delhi, 'Union Ministry of Coal should advice SECL to restrict supply of coal of 5,800 kcal/kg to SGTPS to a reasonable level of 20%, or below', but in a seemingly opposite move the MP Genco has invited the same coal for SGTPS also.
"We have invited tenders for 7 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of foreign origin coal for our power plants, the tenders will be opened in November," executive director (fuel management) of MP Genco, A K Sakule told TOI.
"We have to import because we are not getting the coal which is allotted to us from SECL," he said.
However contrary to this, union coal minister Piyush Goyal on September 7, said, "Madhya Pradesh received its total share of coal and not a single thermal plant was starved of fuel".
Records available with TOI show that barring Amarkantak thermal power plant, coal allocated to none of the other three power plants could be transported to the state. Thus, mismanagement led to shortage of coal rather than non-availability.
As per norms, coal is released in percentages based on quarterly requirements of thermal plants. Of total allocation, 28% of coal is provided to thermal plants in first quarter of the year, 25% in second, 22% in third as there is low demand and 25% in last quarter.
Thus, one third of the 22% of total allocation of coal was meant to be received by state in August which is around 15.12 lakh metric tonne. But only around 10.55 lakh metric tonne was made available to power plants, leaving a gap of around 4.5 lakh metric tonne.
Similar conditions prevailed in September also, said sources adding as per agreement of MPPGCL and SECL of 2009, the SECL is bound to supply a minimum of 90% of the coal which has been allocated to SGTPS and Amarkantak thermal power plants else it will be penalised, hence there is no question of non-supply.
ED Fuel management, of MPPGCL, A K Sankule admitted, "It is going to cost us dear but it is being done to meet need. As of now we are just looking for 7 LMT if need be in future we will think of importing more".
Source: The Times of India
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