Power ministry for coal linkages to captive plants

The power ministry has asked the coal ministry to provide all captive power plant proposals with coal linkages so as to speed up power-capacity addition in the country.

The coal ministry has also been asked specifically to provide coal linkage to the Haryana Power Generation Corporation's 1000-Mw thermal project in Hissar.

In a letter written by Power Secretary RV Shahi, to Coal Secretary HC Gupta, the power ministry has recommended that all captive power plant proposals, irrespective of size and the schedule of submission, should be included in the coal linkages.

"This will go a long way in getting quicker capacity addition, which is badly needed," a power ministry official said.

The captive power generation capacity in the country is estimated at around 20,000 Mw. The power ministry believes that one of the options available to augment power generation in the short-term is to enable surplus captive power capacity to flow into the grid.

"A large number of industrial establishments have prepared themselves for the development of captive plants, making them an important source of additional capacities in the power system profile," a power ministry official said.

The power ministry believes that enhancement of coal linkages is necessary in order to correspond to the higher levels of the power stations' plant-load factor as a result of improved performance.

The power ministry has asked that the coal ministry hold meetings of the standing linkage committee for the long-term, on a quarterly basis.

"This has been suggested so that even if certain projects are not considered during one meeting due to either, a lack of details or preparedness, they could be considered in the next three months' period," the official added.