The Central Electricity Authority has favoured allocation of coal linkages for setting up captive power plants by steel, aluminum, cement and textile industries and has asked the government to frame a long-term policy for this.
The CEA has received about 170 proposals by the captive power plants for providing coal linkages out of which around 50 proposals have been recommended to the Ministry of Power, while keeping the remaining in abeyance until finalisation of policy, power ministry sources said.
Industries which are having captive power plants of 100 MW and above have been recommended preference in allotment of coal blocks.
Keeping in view the power shortages that most of the states are facing and their inability to ensure quality power supply at reasonable price to industry, a trade-off has to be made for allocating coal to plants with unit size where a reasonable level of efficiency could be achieved, CEA is understood to have said.
