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Two months after the Union cabinet spelled out the road-map for implementing the controversial proposal of coal price pooling, contours of the proposal are yet to be firmed up.
The coal ministry today gave a presentation to the Planning Commission on the methods of pooling and its impact on different sectors, in a meeting chaired by the commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had in February decided restricting pooling to power plants which have been commissioned since March 2009.
However, the proposal has invited criticism that it would benefit developers of some power plants (commissioned pre-2009) at the cost of new stations.
The CCEA had decided that for plants commissioned before 2009, supply will continue at notified prices. However, developers of plants commissioned post 2009 will have the option of either taking imported coal on cost-plus basis or imported coal at pooled prices.
Power capacity that has to be provided coal at pooled rates include 60,000 Megawatt (MW) to be commissioned between 2009 and 2015 and an additional 18,000 Mw without any firm assurance.
