NEW DELHI: As the country’s power situation gets from bad to worse, power ministry on Wednesday warned all power generating companies (gencos) to comply with the 10% coal import of their requirement by June 15 or else their blending quota (imported coal quota) would be enhanced by 15% in the remaining period. The ministry, in a hard-hitting official order, also highlighted that not much blending has taken place in the months of April and May 2022.
“If the orders for import of coal for blending are not placed by gencos by May 31, 2022, and if the imported coal for blending purpose do not start arriving at the power plants by June 15, all the defaulter gencos would have to import coal for blending purpose to the extent of 15% in the remaining period up to October 31,” reads the ministry’s directive.
As the power crisis due to coal shortage has gripped the entire country, the ministry is taking various steps to tackle the situation. In its official order, invoking Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003, the ministry directed all imported coal-based plants (ICB) to operate and generate power to their full capacity. It also asked all gencos based on domestic coal to import at least 10% of their fuel requirement.
The ministry further mentioned domestic coal will be allocated proportionately to all gencos based on availability from June 1 and the balance requirement will need to be met from imported coal. Therefore, gencos have been advised to ensure adequate stocks at their power plants for smooth operation until October. “If blending with domestic coal is not started by June 15 then the domestic allocation of the defaulter thermal power plants will be reduced by 5%.”
The reason the power ministry cited for stress in the availability of coal is that gencos have cut down their coal imports. According to the government, in 2018-19 a total of 21.4 million tonnes of coal were imported for blending by power plants. In 2019-20, the import for blending was 23.8 million tonnes, whereas in 2021-22, it was only 8.3 million tonnes. However, industry experts criticised the move and said it would put undue pressure on the states.