Teri team to assess impact of coal mining

TERI team to visit Odisha soon

A team of The Energy & Resources Institute (Teri) is scheduled to visit Odisha soon for conducting a study on equitable sharing of benefits arising from coal mining and power generation amongst resource rich states.

Teri is likely to assess negative impact of coal mining and state expenditure on administrative machinery for approval and addressing externalities.

The Teri team will also examine the impact of allowing free power at variable cost from coal based power plants in the host state.

Teri has sought information from the state government on various facets of the power sector like capacity of coal-based power plants, state share of power from these plants, cess (if any) levied on the power plant, current rate of electricity duty on consumption and tariff at which electricity is supplied from the power plants,

It may be noted that Odisha had demanded 25 per cent free power from coal-based power plants and 33 per cent free power from power plants based on coal washery rejects. Later, the state government had scaled down its power demand from plants based on washery rejects to 13 per cent in line with the provision for free power guaranteed under National Hydro Policy.

The state energy department had sought the intervention of the Planning Commission for a quick decision on demand for free power by coal rich states.

“The decision for free power is emerging as a major concern for the state to facilitate land acquisition both for power projects as well as for coal mining as this has several adverse impacts on the state and its people. Realising the same, all the states present at the last meeting had requested the Planning Commission for expeditious decision on the matter,” secretary (energy) PK Jena had wrote to Planning Commission secretary.

The Planning Commission had urged Teri conduct a study on the matter with due consultation from various states.

Justifying its demand for free power, the Odisha government had pointed out that while states consuming power and coal provided by the host state get benefited, the host state gets a nominal advantage of limited employment opportunity and also a very low royalty on coal.