National miner Coal India and state-run power producer NTPC have agreed to end their dispute on coal sampling, an outcome that could be related to having a common minister for power and coal.
For nearly two years, NTPC led a pack of state-owned utilities in demanding that fuel sampling be held at the plant-end, even as CIL refused to grant utilities such a liberty.
Both sides now agree by ironing out differences on a new mechanism that involves independent testing laboratories.
Earlier, NTPC had even withheld payments to CIL, citing ‘grade slippage’ or discrepancies in actual and promised quality of supplies.
Taking a cue from NTPC, Damodar Valley Corporation — jointly owned by the Centre and State governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand — had also raised a hue and cry on fuel quality and denied paying coal dues.
According to the new sampling method, which came into effect in September 2014, both buyer and seller are expected to appoint ‘independent’ agencies (from a list of empanelled vendors), which will collect samples jointly but test them separately.
In case of a discrepancy between two results, a third sample (separated during joint collection of samples) will play decider.
Everything was fine except a loophole in the standard operating practice (SOP)issued by the miner that granted utilities the option of collecting samples ‘independently’.
CIL officials said it’s a case of bad drafting. But NTPC wanted to use it to its advantage leading to fresh disputes on quality of fuel and a flurry of claims and counter-claims for the last three months.
But unlike in the past, both sides were now quick to bury the hatchet. NTPC agreed to CIL’s stand that samples must be collected jointly for the sake of authenticity. The SOP was duly amended and, both sides are now extending courtesies to each other.
Last week, NTPC Chairman Arup Roy Choudhury congratulated CIL for a vastly improved coal stock at the plant-end. From barely 1.6 million tonnes (four days’ equivalent) in September, NTPC’s coal stock has crossed 9 million tonnes – sufficient to fuel power plants for nearly three weeks.
CIL Chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya, too, says the miner is attentive to the needs of its largest consumer. “As a responsible corporate citizen, we would like to make consumers and railways a party to our growth plan,” Bhattacharya said.