Power Ministry asks CEA to compute coal consumption for power generation

The Power Ministry directed the CEA to compute the quantity of the coal consumed, that was procured under SHAKTI B policy mandating blending of 10 per cent by weight for the power generation

The Power Ministry on Sunday directed the Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) to compute the quantity of the coal consumed, that was procured under SHAKTI B policy mandating blending of 10 per cent by weight for the power generation from June 15 to March 31, 2023.

This blended coal is equivalent to about 15 per cent of the domestic coal in terms of energy.

"Shakti B (viii) (a) is the window for power plants having untied capacity to bid for coal, to generate power using this coal and sell it in the exchange under the Day Ahead Market (DAM) or the Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price (DEEP) portal for short term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)," said the Ministry of power in an official statement.

This determination of coal consumption during the said period will give a window of about three weeks for these plants to procure imported coal.

Considering the increasing demand for electricity and the failure of adequate coal supply from domestic coal companies, Power Ministry advised all Gencos, including independent power producers (IPPs), on April 28 to blend 10 per cent of imported coal for power generation to supplement domestic coal supply.