Coal India has cancelled preliminary supply pacts with as many as 60 captive power plants and independent producers, including Tatas, Essars and Bhushans, saying they did not comply with the stipulated norms.
"Authorisation of LoAs (Letter of Assurances) have been cancelled/withdrawn for non-submission of CG (commitment guarantee) within the stipulated period," Coal India (CIL) has said in a notice.
CG is an amount, equivalent to 10% of the notified price of the annual coal requirement of the power firms, which the power companies have to deposit with the coal firms.
"The...Two power utilities...Whose authorisation of LoAs have been cancelled" are Tata Power's 120 MW Unit V at Jojobera, Jharkhand and Durgapur Project's 300 MW Unit - 7A at Burdwan in West Bengal where coal was to supplied by CIL subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields and Eastern Coalfields, respectively.
As per the notice 60 CPPs whose assurances have been withdrawn include units of Bokaro Power Supply, a JV of SAIL and DVC, Bhushan Power and Steel, Essar Power, Grasim Industries, JSW Aluminium, J K Tyre and Industries and Maharashtra Energy Development Agency.
An inter-ministerial Committee -- SLC comprising representatives from Ministries of Coal, Power, Shipping and Railways among others besides the Planning Commission -- had earlier agreed on the withdrawal of the authorisations granted for suppl of coal.
"...The SLC (standing linkage committee-long term) agreed for withdrawal of authorisations granted to them," the notice said.
Coal India subsidiaries, till January this year, based on recommendations of SLC-LT for power have issued 172 LoAs for a total capacity of 1,08,878 MW.
"This capacity excludes the power utilities already linked to CIL/SCCL, which were commissioned as on March 31, 2009 for which CEA (Central Electricity Authority)/CIL has agreed for annual contracted quantity of 304.84 million tonnes (MT) per annum.