BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) has directed Gridco to submit a comprehensive report on the input cost of coal and the price at which the Odisha Coal and Power Limited (OCPL) has been billing the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC).
The directive of OERC came following complaints from Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik that OCPL, a joint venture of OPGC and OHPC, has made an excess profit of Rs 479.33 crore during 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years by charging a higher price than the actual cost of coal to the state-run thermal power generator OPGC.
Patnaik, one of the objectors to the tariff application of OPGC for 2023-24, order of which has been published claimed that OCPL had charged Rs 373.75 more per tonne of coal supplied to OPGC during 2021-22. Stating that the input price of coal (Rs 758 per tonne) at which OCPL has billed to OPGC is Rs 1,758 per tonne is illegal, Patnaik said the billing price of coal should be Rs 1,294.50 per tonne whereas OCPL has billed to OPGC at Rs 1,668.25 per tonne, which is more by Rs 373.75 per tonne.
As per the agreement of OCPL with BGR Mines, the mine operator, the production cost of coal was Rs 399 per tonne. The input price of coal should be ideally Rs 450 per tonne. He said OCPL made profit of Rs 479.33 by supplying coal to OPGC at higher price, which is against the terms and conditions specified by Ministry of Coal for allotment of the coal mines to OCPL.
Referring to various notifications and orders of the central government as well as the terms and conditions specified in the allotment order, Patnaik said OCPL cannot make any profit on production and sale of coal to OPGC, so the benefit of such integrated coal mines should be passed on to the ultimate consumers.
Noting that OCPL is a separate entity and not a party to the tariff petition, OERC said it has not received any reply from Gridco and OPGC on the issues raised by the objector. Further, Patnaik has also not furnished any authentic supporting documents in favour of his calculation of determining the input price and billing price of coal by OCPL to OPGC.
The commission asked Gridco to take up the issue with OPGC and the state government and furnish a comprehensive report so that it will deal with the matter separately.