Jindal to pay Rs108 per tonne, Ruia Rs1,110 a tonne as coal blocks auction hits Day 6

Power equations are set to change in the power sector with the bid prices for the coal blocks in the current round of auction fluctuating by over 10 times. While Navin Jindal led Jindal Steel and Power Ltd bagged two coal blocks at as low a price of Rs108 per tonne, Essel group company paid a whopping Rs 1,110 per tonne for a single coal block.

As the coal mine auction entered the sixth day today, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has won back two coal blocks previously held by the company, at as low a bid as Rs108 per tonne.

Jindal power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, will retain its two coal blocks - Gare Palma IV/2 and Gare Palma IV/3 - in Chhattisgarh.

The block reserved for the power sector hit zero bid, following which the bidders were asked to quote the royalty payable to the states and here Jindal Power's quote of Rs108 per tonne emerged the highest.

The block has extractable reserves of 155.49 million tonnes of coal.

Others bidders for the block included Adani Power, Anil Ambani Group's Reliance Geothermal, GMR and others.

Jindal Power has already developed a power plant in the region based on the block and this could mean lower price for generating power.

Adani Power has failed to win any coal block so far, despite bidding for each of the power sector blocks.

Essar Power, a Ruia's group company, won its first block in the ongoing coal block auctions on Wednesday, placing the highest bid of Rs1,110 a tonne for the Tokisud North block.

The block reserved for the power sector had hit zero bid early in the day before bidding shifted to forward bids on the royalty payable to the state of Jharkhand.