Coal India inks 156 supply deals with power producers
28 Oct 2013
Coal India Ltd (CIL), the world's biggest producer of coal that supplies over 80 per cent of India's consumption, has reportedly entered into pacts for supply of coal with around 156 power units.
"Around 156 fuel supply pacts have been signed and the remaining are likely to be signed in due course," Business Standard cited an official as saying.
According to the new fuel supply agreements (FSAs) forced on CIL by the government, it will supply 65 per cent of the contracted amount from domestic sources, while another 15 per cent will be met through imports on the 'pass-on' pricing model. Under pass-on, CIL will charge buyers for imported coal at landed cost plus a service charge and there will be no subsidy in pricing.
Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that 85 per cent of FSAs have been signed and the remaining would be done as soon as the technical glitches are addressed.
He however, refused to comment on whether the government has set a fresh deadline for signing of the pacts.
The cabinet committee on investment (CCI) had earlier said that timelines for signing 173 FSAs for power projects with a total capacity of 78,000 MW should be met.
Two deadlines set recently for the signing of the FSAs by CIL with power producers could not be met. The CCI had even directed the power minister to review the progress of power projects on a daily basis with the secretaries of both the power and coal ministries.
The coal ministry had earlier set the deadline of 31 August for signing of the FSAs, but this could not be met. The second deadline of 6 September was also missed.
