The power ministry has floated cabinet committee on economic affairs' (CCEA) note on pooling of coal prices, CNBC-TV18 learns from sources. In a bid to meet 24X7 power supply commitment and help power plants from not becoming non-performing assets, the power ministry is looking at pooling coal prices for the additional coal requirement for the power plants coming up in the 12th five year plan (2012-2017).
The note is for an inter-ministerial consultation, on meeting increased coal requirements of the power plants by pooling imported and domestic coal prices, sources say. The idea is to run thermal plants at an appropriate plant load factor (PLF) or simply increase power generation in the country. The power ministry is looking at meeting the current year's coal deficit either by lowering of e-auction quantity or imports by Coal India.
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Pooling of domestic and imported coal prices will increase the power generation cost by 74 paise/unit in FY15, 44 paisa/unit in FY16 and 5 paisa per unit in FY17, which will be passed on to the consumers.
Basically, tariff burden on imported coal will be higher, hence pooling will help keep electricity tariff within limits. Once approved by the CCEA, modalities will be decided by Central Authority of Electricity (CEA) and Coal India. In the current financial year, the coal requirement for the power sector is about 433 mt whereas Coal India has set a target of 408 mt.
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