With quality determination of fossil fuel posing as a challenge, the Centre has decided to allow Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) to carry out sampling and analysis at unloading end.
The government had earlier termed the quality of coal as "an area of concern".
"Ministry of Power... Has recommended that Third Party Sampling at unloading end also may be carried out by CIMFR only... It has been further decided to permit CIMFR, for undertaking of sampling and analysis of coal at unloading/ receipt end by the thermal power plants," an official said.
Recently, Coal Ministry has nominated CSIR-CIMFR to take up the job of coal quality monitoring at national level for the entire power sector to ascertain the coal quality.
A tripartite MoU will be signed among CSIR-CIMFR, NTPC and Coal India tomorrow in the presence of Union Minister for Science and Technology & Earth Science Harsh Vardhan and Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, another official said.
The government had already brought in a new regime for sampling and testing of the dry fuel from January 1 to ensure supplying quality coal to consumers.
Coal India (CIL), which accounts for about 80 per cent of the domestic dry fuel production, supplies a chunk of the coal it produces to power utilities.
