E-Paper
Power generation:UP not to import coal despite Centre’s directions
UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd, a government-owned entity owning several thermal plants in the state, has already written to the state government, briefing it on the sufficient availability of domestic coal
LUCKNOW The Centre’s fresh directions notwithstanding, Uttar Pradesh has decided not to import expensive foreign coal for power generation, pleading that its thermal plants have adequate stock of domestic coal to remain operational in the months to come, said officials aware of the issue.
The UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (Uprvunl), a government-owned entity owning several thermal plants in the state, has already written to the state government, briefing it on the sufficient availability of domestic coal with no further requirement for coal imports.
“In the light of the Union power ministry’s latest directions for import of coal, we have informed the state government that the Utpadan Nigam’s thermal plants have coal reserves to the tune of 14 lakh tonnes while another 10 lakh tonnes of domestic coal will be transported to the plants through RCR mode by June,” a senior official said.
“Now, the state government will take the final call and intimate the decision to the Centre accordingly,” he added.
Last week, the Union power ministry had issued fresh directions asking generation companies (GENCos), including private independent power producers (IPPs), to import foreign coal for the purpose of blending the same with the domestic coal in view of the domestic coal not matching the fuel requirement arising from an increasing power demand in the country.
The ministry also warned that the supply of domestic coal supply would be curtailed to those GENCos that did not follow directions. It directed all GENCOs to import coal for blending 6% (by weight) for the remaining period of the current financial year as well as up to September, 2023.
“The Centre, state, GENCOs and IPPs are directed to take necessary action and immediately plan to import coal through a transparent competitive procurement for blending at the rate of 6% by weight so as to have coal stocks at their power plants for smooth operations till September 2023,” said the ministry in the fresh directions.
“The domestic coal supply of those GENCOs that did not follow these instructions will be restricted to pro-rata-basis,” it warned.
A senior energy department official also said that UP did not have any shortage of domestic coal and hence the question to import coal did not arise as of now.
The Centre issued similar directions to states earlier too, but UP has been avoiding importing coal, which is said to be too expensive vis-a-vis domestic coal, pleading that buying such coal would make electricity costlier for end consumers.
“Buying the exorbitantly expensive coal will lead to further increase in the retail power tariff for consumers, more so when there is no crunch of domestic coal in the state,” the official pointed out. According to him, even the coal secretary, who recently met the chief secretary here, revealed that both production and supply of domestic coal to thermal plants increased in December 2022 vis-a-vis December 2021.
