Power ministry asks CEA to compute coal consumption

The power ministry on Sunday asked the Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) to compute the quantity of the coal consumed, that was procured under the SHAKTI B policy, mandating blending of 10% by weight for the power generation from June 15, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

This blended coal is equivalent to about 15% of the domestic coal in terms of energy.

“Shakti B (viii) (a) is the window for power plants having untied capacity to bid for coal, to generate power using this coal and sell it in the exchange under the Day-Ahead Market (DAM) or the Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price (DEEP) portal for short term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA),” said the ministry of power in an official statement.

The determination of coal consumption during the said period will give a window of about three weeks for these plants to procure imported coal.

Considering the increased demand for electricity, and coal supplies from domestic coal companies not matching the consumption of coal, the power ministry advised all Gencos including IPPs (Independent Power Projects) on 28.04.2022 to blend 10% of imported coal for power generation. This was done to supplement the domestic coal supply.

Earlier, the ministry had asked states and Gencos to import coal before monsoon season sets in.

The ministry also warned that it would cut domestic fuel supply to state government-run utilities by 5% if they do not import coal for blending by June 15.

Accordingly, the revised allocation of domestic coal for the month of July 2022 onwards will be conveyed based on the above methodology.