Clarity on coal e-auction process by November end: Piyush Goyal

There will be clarity on the e-auction process of coal blocks by the of the month, said Piyush Goyal Minister of State (Independent Charge) Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy on Friday.

 Speaking at sidelines of the Global Energy Technology Summit organised by NTPC, Goyal said, “We are doing the work very carefully and cautiously to ensure transparency in the whole process. The commissioner of payments has been notified and a committee to assess the compensation to be paid to existing miners has been formed. By the end of the month you will see significant traction in the whole e-auction process.”

The Coal Ministry has prioritised finding new developers for 74 coal blocks (42 producing and 32 which are ready to produce). While some of these blocks will be allotted to Central and State public sector units on payment of a reserve price of these blocks the rest will be put to auction.

On being asked whether work is also on to form a coal regulator, Goyal said, “We should focus right now on the job in hand. Right now the focus is to ensure the continuity in coal production and that supplies are not disrupted.”

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, Arup Roy Choudhury, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC said that coal will remain the primary fuel for the power sector for a long time to come.

He added that increasing the efficiency of the power plants can help reduce emissions even from coal as a fuel.

“Every one per cent improvement in efficiency reduces emissions by three per cent. We are currently operating at 40-41 per cent efficiency and the aim is to go to 45 per cent. We have come a long way from the time when 35 per cent efficiency was the norm,” said Choudhury.

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