PSPCL-Centre stalemate continues over blending of imported coal

Aman Sood

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Patiala, November 25

A month after the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) opposed blending imported coal as per the guidelines of the Centre, stalemate continues over the issue.

The PSPCL opposed the move as it would have to bear an “additional burden of Rs 500 crore per annum despite owning a captive mine”.

Sources said the PSPCL had neither imported coal nor placed any order in the past one month. “We have enough coal stock from our captive mine. There is no reason to buy coal from outside,” said sources.

In October, the Union Ministry of Power issued a revised directive that all companies operating thermal power plants should import 6 per cent of coal instead of 4 per cent till March 2024 to meet any shortfall in the domestic coal supply. The ministry also directed imported coal-based units to run till June 24.

In a reply to the Union Secretary, PSPCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Baldev Singh Sran wrote, “At present, the coal requirement of the PSPCL’s plants is 50 lakh metric tonne per annum. The availability from the PSPCL’s Pachhwara captive coal mine is 70 lakh metric tonne annually.”

Sran highlighted that thermal plants in Punjab were located at an average distance of around 1,325 km from Mundra port, while the average distance of mines from where the thermal plants were getting coal was around 1,450 km.

Shailendra Dubey, Chairman, All India Power Engineers’ Federation, sought a probe headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the irregularities in the import of coal.