Centre forcing state to buy imported coal: Power engineers

Patiala, May 26

“The Central Government is encroaching upon the state authority and forcing it to buy imported coal to cover up its own inefficiencies in supplying domestic coal to thermal plants,” said All-India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta here today.

The Ministry of Power has issued directions to generating companies under Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003 to import coal to increase blending to supplement domestic coal to offset the short supply of Indian coal by Coal India Limited (CIL). It has also asked all imported coal-based power units to run at full capacity and the upward revision of tariff will be issued by a committee.

The AIPEF has written to Union Power Minister RK Singh that the government must now take up the responsibility to import coal on the government-to-government basis and ensure that the imported coal was made available to state generating companies at the prevailing CIL rates.

“The additional cost to overcome coal shortage due to the Central Government’s policy lapses should not burden the state,” says the AIPEF.

Gupta cautioned that another power crisis may be coming soon, in

case coal stocks in India’s thermal power plants are not ramped up before the monsoon.

The coal supply for June has already been reduced by 10 to 12 per cent by the ministry.

“In the case of Punjab and Haryana, power demand will rise sharply with the irrigation load going up along with the paddy plantation from the middle of June. Domestic and industrial demand will also increase due to the coming hot and humid weather. Besides, production in coal mines decreases during the monsoon season,” said Gupta.