BHUBANESWAR: In a major development, senior BJD leader and MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik has called for the abolition of Odisha Coal and Power Limited (OCPL) as an independent entity and its merger with the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC).
In a submission to the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) on May 15, the ruling party lawmaker raised several pertinent issues including the continuance of OCPL after AES relinquished 49 per cent of its equity in the Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC).
He also requested the regulatory body to determine the input cost of coal supplied by OCPL to the stage-II power projects of Ib thermal power station afresh on the basis of the price determined by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for Darlipali power station of NTPC.
“We do not find any reason for the continuance of OCPL as OPGC is now a wholly-owned company of the state government. BGR Infra has been selected in the competitive bidding process to carry out mining operations at coal mines allotted to OPGC,” he said.
Patnaik urged OERC to advise the state government for the closure of OCPL and its merger with OPGC to carry out coal mining operation of Manoharpur coal blocks through BGR Infra.
The BJD leader, one of the objectors to the power generation tariff application of OPGC for 2023-24, had charged OCPL, a joint venture of OPGC and OHPC, of making 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 OPGC.
Citing various notifications and orders of the central government as well as the terms and conditions specified in the allotment order, Patnaik had argued that OCPL cannot make any profit on sale of coal to OPGC so that the benefit should be passed on to the ultimate consumers.
Accusing OERC of failing on its mandate by not following the principles adopted by CERC for the determination of input price of coal produced from Dulanga mines to NTPC’s 2X800 MW power plants at Darlipali in Sundargarh district, Patnaik said the state regulator has burdened the consumers by increasing the generation tariff of OPGC by 50 paise per unit.
Seeking amendment to the OERC (Terms & Conditions for Determination of Generation Tariff) Regulations, 2020, in line with the CERC regulations, Patnaik requested the commission to initiate action to utilise the profit derived by the OCPL by billing higher coal cost and from merchant sale of coal for the reduction of generation tariff from the Unit-III and IV of Ib thermal power station.