NTPC-CIL fail to achieve target of 29 FSAs

The companies are yet to complete FSA for a 500 MW JV thermal power plant of NTPC and SAIL at Bhilai

NTPC and Coal India could not meet the target of signing 29 Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA) by today as the two PSU majors could ink FSAs only for 28 units.

The 29 thermal power units of NTPC have a combined output of 14,510 MW.

"A few FSAs were signed today and with this the total FSA signed so far are 28," CIL chairman S Narsing Rao and NTPC chief Arup Roychowdhury said here at a joint press conference.

The companies are yet to complete FSA for a 500 MW joint venture thermal power plant of NTPC and SAIL at Bhilai.

Sources said both Rao and Roychowdhury were to announce the completion of the 29 FSAs by July 17.

"We have worked hard for this day," Roy Chowdhury said.

The total coal quantity would be 60 million tonne per annum for the 28 FSAs signed so far out of 29 for NTPC's own plants and joint venture projects.

There were 17 FSAs for NTPC-owned plants to source 40 million tonnes of coal and 11 FSAs for NTPC managed JVs, signed so far by both the PSUs.

Both the PSUs tried to down play the differences between them that allegedly delayed the signing of FSAs by over a year.

NTPC had refused to enter into FSAs with CIL over quality issues of the dry-fuel supplied to it and had stopped payment to Coal India subsidiary, Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

Retorting to the step, the world's largest coal miner had temporarily stopped supply of fuel to NTPC which was resolved later following government's intervention.

The FSA signing began since last week with NTPC's 500 MW Kahelgaon unit in Bihar and 500 MW Farraka unit in West Bengal.