Coal India yet to sign fuel supply pacts for 4925 MW

New Delhi: Amid fuel supply issues, state-owned Coal India (CIL) has so far signed fuel supply pacts with power plants for a capacity of only 73,075 MW. The coal and power ministries are now under one Minister- Piyush Goyal.

Out of 78,000 MW capacity as on date Coal India (CIL) signed fuel supply agreements (FSAs) for a capacity of 73,075 MW, the Coal ministry said in a document dated June 25. Pacts for the remaining 4925 MW could not be signed till date due to issues, including "extension of coal supplies beyond the period admissible under tapering linkage policy", the ministry said.

Tapering linkage is short-term linkage provided to those consumers who have been allocated captive coal blocks but which could not be developed on time. "Such issues are being considered separately," the ministry added. The issues pertaining to the signing of fuel supply pacts comes at a time when state-owned Coal India and country's largest power producer NTPC are at loggerheads over the issue of quality of coal being supplied to power plants and grade slippages. It has been almost a year that the government issued Presidential directive to Coal India for signing of the pacts for a capacity of 78,000 mw.

However, the maharatna PSU is yet to sign pacts with 12 power units. Two deadlines set for the signing of FSAs by CIL with the power producers could not be adhered to. The government had set the deadline of August 31, 2013 for signing of the FSAs, which could not be met. The second deadline was set for September, last year.