Better utilisation of coal urged

With imported coal expected to be available to power plants from next fiscal, the power ministry is moving into top gear to ensure that the fuel use is rationalised. Potential savings could be to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore a year, say officials in the power ministry.

The ministry is going to chalk out a plan on coal management, focussing on the fact that remote and inland plants should ideally get coal from domestic sources while imported coal should be available to coastal and pit head plants.

"Pit head plants need good quality, imported coal for blending purposes while coastal plants would be closer to ports and therefore transportation costs would be low," said power ministry officials.

The government has estimated that coal shortfall will be around 10 million tonnes a year over the next two years and the power ministry has asked state electricity boards (SEBs) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to expedite coal imports to keep their plants running.

"The aim of the exercise is to minimise the movement of coal in order to keep transportation costs to a minimum. Currently, the Railways is overcharging significantly for transporting coal," said power ministry officials.

The freight classification of the Indian Railways indicates that they charge a 40 per cent margin for transporting coal, which is one of the major revenue earners for the Railways.

Currently, in addition to coastal states, inland states like Punjab and Haryana are also importing coal for their power plants.

However, this is not a rational use of available resources, officials said. Other importing states include Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Here too, there is scope for better utilisation.

National Thermal Power Corporation and the Steel Authority of India are also importing coal.

National Thermal Power Corporation has asked MMTC to import about 2 million tonnes of coal, of which 1.25 lakh tonnes is meant for stations on the eastern coast.