CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) will receive additional domestic coal starting from April, thanks to the new policy introduced by the Union Government.
The decision in this regard was taken in a meeting conducted by the union power ministry with all discoms in the first week of March in a bid to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the summer months of April and May.
A senior Tangedco official told TNIE that many discoms, including the power utility, requested the power Ministry to allot additional rakes to transport the entire linkage coal and provide coal as per the fuel supply agreement.
The fuel supply agreement for Tamil Nadu is for 23.8 tonnes per annum, but in reality, it is only 17.1 T, which is just 72%. The official added the new policy was introduced by the power ministry after going through the requests made by the discoms.
Explaining the new policy, another official said against the requirement of 222 million tonnes of domestic coal in April - June, the likely availability from all the sources such as Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries and captive mines will be around 201 million tonnes only due to constraints in railway logistics.
“Therefore, the power ministry decided to distribute the available domestic coal fairly and transparently,” he said. As per the new policy, domestic coal will be allocated proportionally based on the fortnightly average power generation of thermal plants. However, thermal plants taking coal through “road only” mode will be excluded from the policy.
The official further added if states are found selling power generated from domestic coal at the power exchange, their rakes will be reduced accordingly. The Centre also advised surplus power may be made available to the other discoms of the country through the surplus power portal (PuShP portal). This allocation will be operationalised from April 1.
The power ministry has also directed Tangedco to plan immediately and make arrangements for any shortfall in domestic coal at its level so that power demand is fully met. The ministry had already given its approval to Tangedco to import 6% of the coal it required till September.