Odisha seeks assured coal linkages for IPPs

Amid uncertainty in coal block allocations post the Supreme Court order cancelling all coal blocks allotted to private parties since 1993, the state government has pressed for assured fuel linkages for independent power producers (IPPs) that have made substantial progress on their proposed projects.

"I request your personal intervention for assured coal supply through linkages to the thermal power plants which have either commissioned or made significant investment and achieved considerable progress in development of power plants, which will help the state in meeting its growing demand of electricity", state energy minister Pranab Prakash Das wrote recently to Coal minister Piyush Goyal.

In its August 24 ruling, the Supreme Court had scrapped licenses of 204 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2010 by the NDA and UPA regimes saying, it was done in an illegal manner.

The state government has inked MoUs (memorandum of understanding) with 28 IPPs, of which two have commenced commercial production- Vedanta Group firm Sesa Sterlite (2400 Mw) at Bhurkamunda near Jharsuguda and GMR Kamalanga (1050 Mw) in Dhenkanal district.

Others like Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd (JITPL), Ind-Barath Energy and Monnet Power were in the advanced stage of commissioning their projects.

Odisha is currently facing an unprecedented rise in demand for power fuelled by rural, industrial and economic development. Capacity addition of about 50,000 Mw is coming up in Odisha through state initiatives, Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs), NTPC and private IPPs.While Odisha is making all out efforts to expedite and provide necessary fill-up to meet the surging energy demand in the country, the most hindering factor for implementation of these projects is fuel security which is at stake due to recent development arising out of the pronouncement by the Supreme Court, the minister said.

The 18th Electric Power Survey of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has forecast the peak demand of 5322 Mw and annual energy requirement of 33113 million units (MU) for Odisha for 2015-16. The peak power demand is expected to rise to 6749 Mw and annual energy requirement to 52566 MU for 2021-22 for the state.

"Few developers in the state have already commissioned their thermal projects and supplying power to the grid to supplement the present power demand of the state while some of the developers have made significant investments and achieved considerable progress in development of their power plants. The construction activities of these power plants are going on in full swing but their fuel security and implementation is at stake due to recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court", the letter stated.