MP to import 8 lakh tonne of coal to run power plants

To overcome the hurdles in power generation in the state due to coal shortage, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to import 8 lakh metric tonne of fossil fuel for its thermal power stations this fiscal.

The power generating capacity of the state has been hit by the shortage of coal and the central quota of fossil fuel to the state was inadequate, Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited (MPPGCL)Chairman-Managing Director AM Sajnani told PTI today.

"We are unable to run some of our units due to the paucity of coal. Therefore, we got the state government nod to import it. Now, we will invite tenders to this effect shortly," he said.

He said that out of the 8 lakh metric tonnes of coal - 5 lakh metric tonne will be used in the Satpura Thermal Power Station at Sarni in Betul, while the remaining stock will be used in Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station at Birsinghpur in Umaria.

The CMD said that around Rs 500 crore to Rs 550 crore are required for the coal procurement.

The Plant Load Factor (PLF) or efficiency of thermal power stations in Madhya Pradesh dipped to 61.10% in FY11 from 62.86% in FY10.

According to Sanjani, the coal shortage made the MPPGCL to suffer a financial loss of around Rs 40 crore due to the decline in the PLF and that their thermal power stations have an installed capacity to generate 2,932.5 MW.

Last year, Madhya Pradesh had to import 1.5 lakh metric tonne of fossil fuel from Indonesia.