Centre pulls up states over pending dues to gencos, coal producer | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Centre pulls up states over pending dues to gencos, coal producer

May 20, 2022 04:31 AM IST

Union power minster RK Singh also wrote separately to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Karnataka to lift the coal allotted to them on time or face cuts in allocation

Anticipating a demand-supply problem that could trigger a power crisis during the upcoming monsoon season when coal dispatches slow down, the power ministry on Thursday wrote to several states over pending dues to generation companies and the Coal India Limited (CIL), the country’s largest coal producer.

FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a truck being loaded with coal at a railway coal yard on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad November 25, 2013. REUTERS/Amit Dave (REUTERS)
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a truck being loaded with coal at a railway coal yard on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad November 25, 2013. REUTERS/Amit Dave (REUTERS)

Union power minster RK Singh also wrote separately to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Karnataka to lift the coal allotted to them on time or face cuts in allocation.

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“CIL has offered 0.53 MT [million tonnes] of coal through RCR (rail-cum-road) mode to UPRVUNL (Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited), against which, UPRVUNL has lifted only 0.18 MT so far and 0.36 MT is still un-lifted in RCR mode… I would request you to direct the concerned in UPRVUNL to take immediate steps to place order for import of coal for blending and also to lift entire coal offered under RCR mode in order to meet the coal requirement of UPRVUNL plants,” states Singh’s letter to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

A copy of the letter was seen by HT.

“If they fail on either account, it would not be possible to give additional domestic coal to make up the shortfall. If the RCR coal is not lifted, it will be taken back and allocated to other needy state gencos,” Singh wrote.

“If the present state of affairs continues, the state may face a shortage of coal in the monsoon season, leading to load shedding. You may like to caution your officers to take necessary action in time,” he added.

The letter sent to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar stated that the CIL allocated 0.20 MT coal to the state, but Haryana failed to lift the entire amount. Similarly, Singh informed Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai the state failed to lift 0.85MT coal allocated to it, while West Bengal did not lift 0.23MT coal.

The ministry’s letters asking them to settle dues with generating companies and CIL were written by Union power secretary Alok Kumar. He urged states to pay up to ensure smooth supply during the monsoon, a time when power demand too is expected to rise.

According to data from the Union ministry, Tamil Nadu owes the most among states to generating companies at 20,842.53 crore while Maharashtra’s dues to CIL are the highest at 2,573.19 crore. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are among the other states with the highest outstanding bills, either to generating companies, or CIL.

“The inability of the utilities to pay for legitimate dues against electricity dispatched and the coal received is increasing the electricity supply side concerns to unprecedented levels. The pending dues of gencos and CIL have been a matter of grave concern for quite some time. This is posing a threat to reliable power supply. The concern has been reiterated in separate letters written to UP, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Rajasthan,” said a power ministry official, asking not to be named.

In the letter, the secretary has highlighted that a lack of adherence to basic payment discipline by the utilities is not only causing supply-side problems in generation of electricity, but is also adversely affecting new investment in the sector.

Since April, temperatures across parts of the country have reached historic highs because of an earlier-than-expected heatwave, setting off a spike in demand for electricity. While a peak power demand of 200,570 MW recorded on July 7 in 2021, the demand already touched 207,111 MW in April this year.

Average temperatures in April in northern and central India were the highest in about 122 years.

The ministry has projected a peak power demand of 215,000-220,000 MW in 2022.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Sweta Goswami writes on politics, urban development, transportation, energy and social welfare. Based in Delhi, she tracks government policies and suggests corrections based on public feedback and on-ground implementation through her reports. She has also covered the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since its inception.

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