‘Coal linkages for 40,000-MW power projects yet to be obtained'

Power projects of 80,000-MW generation capacity are under construction in the country, with targeted commissioning by 2017, but the government has warned that coal linkages for plants with a combined capacity of 40,000 MW are yet to be obtained.

“Coal linkages for 40,000-45,000 MW power projects for the 12th Plan are yet to be tied up,” a Power Ministry official told PTI.

In this regard, the Power Ministry has been interfacing with the Coal Ministry regarding the availability of coal, which is a primary ingredient in thermal power generation.

“The Coal Ministry has said that it would ask Coal India to evaluate the fuel availability,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Coal India’s production may be short of the targeted production of 460 million tonnes in the 2011-12 fiscal by around 1 per cent as a lot of projects are stranded due to lack of environment clearances.

In the previous financial year, the company had witnessed a 7 per cent slump in production vis-a-vis the targeted output.

Insufficient supply of coal has affected state-run thermal power producer NTPC and has forced the PSU to explore other options like importing the fuel from Australia, South Africa and Indonesia to bridge the shortfall in domestic supply.

As per the current coal linkage policy, linkages of coal are established with the objective of making the most economic use of available capacity and keeping in mind the need to supply appropriate quality to different consumers.

The Power Ministry has set a target for adding 1,00,000-MW generation capacity in the XIIth Plan (2012-17), of which thermal power would be a key component.

The current installed power capacity of the country is over 1,73,000 MW, of which thermal power contributes over 93,000 MW.

The Ministry had set a goal of adding over 78,000 MW during the XI Plan (2007-12), which was scaled down to 62,000 MW by the Planning Commission due concerns over fuel supply.

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