CHENNAI: Tangedco has floated a tender to procure 4.8 lakh tonnes of coal to handle the surge in power demand in summer. The tender will be opened on April 11.
According to sources, 72,000 tonnes of coal is required to operate the State’s five coal-based thermal power plants every day. The utility, however, doesn’t receive enough coal from its supplier, Coal India Limited (CIL). “Tangedco currently receives less than 40,000 tonnes of coal from CIL a day. Moreover, mines might reduce production in the coming days as it’s extremely tough to extract coal in summer,” an official said.
The decision to procure coal from the private sector comes after two years. The last time Tangedco went for private purchase was in 2019 when it procured 20 lakh tonnes of coal from Indonesia through private players at a cost of `1,650 crore.