CIL's e-auction to offer coal to power plants begins Mar 30

Move part of govt's efforts to ensure 24x7 affordable electricity to all

State-run Coal India will conduct a two-day special e-auction beginning March 30 to offer the fossil fuel to distressed power plants as part of government's efforts to ensure 24x7 affordable electricity to all.

"The special forward e-auction phase V will be conducted as per the terms and conditions followed for special forward e-auction phase IV," Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a recent notice.

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The auction for around three million tonnes of coal will be held on March 30 and 31, the notice said.

"The reserve price for power sector consumers will remain at 10% over the notified price of coal for power sector... This is however applicable for G6 and below grades of coal," the company said.

The notice further said that biomass-based power plants already commissioned shall be eligible to participate in the auction.

According to an official, CIL which accounts for over 80% of domestic coal production will put on offer the fossil fuel for those distressed power plants which have neither linkages nor power purchase agreements.

Earlier this month, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal had informed Parliament that Coal India has offered 14 million tonnes of fossil fuel under special e-auction to both power and non-power sectors in order to facilitate liquidation of pit-head stock.

Supply of thermal coal to power sector by Coal India was 385.61 MT against a target of 405 MT in the last fiscal, he had said.

During April-January 2015-16, supply to power plants by CIL was 337.01 MT (provisional) against the target of 352.29 MT.

The government has set a target to provide round the clock affordable power to all by 2019.

CIL, a major supplier of coal to the power sector, is also eyeing production of 1 billion tonne by 2020.

The government has set 550 million tonnes of output target for the PSU in the current fiscal.