Centre gives nod to coal linkage for Goindwal Sahib plant

The Punjab government today said the Centre has agreed to grant coal to 540 MW Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant which will enable the project developer commence energy production.
"The Union Minister for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal has agreed to grant 2 lakh tonnes of coal per month for Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant which will enable the state to fully utilise the 540 MW capacity of the plant which has been lying idle for want of coal," an official spokesman said here today.
The Punjab government had sought tapering (short-term) linkage of 2 lakh tonnes per month for the power plant set up by GVK.

The power generation at 2X270 MW plant could not start as the project developer had been unable to make its allotted mines functional due to certain issues with the Jharkhand government.
The official further said that acceding to the demand of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the Centre has enhanced coal linkage for Talwandi Sabo Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and Rajpura TPP, matching with their installed capacities of 1,980 MW and 1,400 MW, respectively, which had been pending with the Coal Ministry since April 2011.
He added that the Union Coal Minister has also agreed to ramp up coal supplies to PSPCL's own thermal plants by converting one million tonne of coal from road mode to rail mode during remaining paddy season from July to September.

In a letter to Goyal, the Chief Minister has sought extension of deadline for implementation of Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Program -A (RADRP-A) project on account of the poor performance of the IT Implementing Agency (ITIA) in Punjab, up to March 31, 2015.
Punjab CM also asked the Union Minister that keeping in view the overall national interest, a policy should be framed that minimises the coal transportation costs for states like Punjab that were land locked and far away from the pithead as well.