Use of imported coal in thermal plants to cost power consumers dear, says AIPEF

This is the second time in the last nine months the coal crisis has occurred.

The electricity consumers in the country would share the burden of costly power due to the blending of imported coal with Indian coal, a press note issued by the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) stated.

AIPEF spokesperson V K Gupta said that the use of imported coal would increase the electricity tariff by 70 paise to one rupee per unit for the financial year 2022-23. He further said this increase will be passed on to the consumer in the form of a quarterly fuel surcharge adjustment.

The press note also stated that the total additional cost burden on the states on account of imported coal would be in excess of Rs 24,000 crore.

It is stated that in the case of Haryana, the consumers may face a fuel surcharge adjustment of 90 paise per unit. And, while Haryana has ordered 9 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of imported coal, Punjab has ordered 1.5 lakh MT of Indonesian coal and has asked Coal India to import a balance coal quantity.

This is the second time in the last nine months the coal crisis has occurred and this may again happen during the monsoon.

The statement further noted that against the backdrop of high power demand and insufficient coal supply, the Ministry of Power has unilaterally directed states to import coal without caring to take into account the technical implications of using imported coal in power plants. Most power plants do not have the necessary facilities for the proper blending of coal and this could damage the boiler, the federation noted.