Coal auctions to ensure cheaper power: Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the ongoing auction of coal mines would help in ensuring cheaper electricity to the common man in a sustained manner as against the practice of states subsidising power.
The Minister, who will present budget in the Lok Sabha on February 28, said that the India is better placed to provide investment opportunity to the global and domestic investors.
"The starting point of all this has to be the credibility of the Indian economy, the faith of people in the Indian economy and our ability to provide opportunities to investors.
"From that point of view, our own systems have to tune a lot and for each one of these, power is essential," he said while addressing renewable energy conference 'Re-Invest 2015'.

Referring specifically to the ongoing auction of coal mines, Jaitley said the reverse auction process will ensure cheaper electricity to common man as against the practice of certain states giving power subsidy.
"In reverse bidding, the cost of power is going to be linked with the rate at which you get the fuel," Jaitley said.

He said a state subsidy is not sustainable.
"One way by which people want to provide cheaper electricity is by the state subsidising it. A state subsidy really means that you will have to tax people more in order to provide something free to some other people. Is that a sustainable cause," he said.

Taking the first step towards slashing power tariff by 50 per cent, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government yesterday directed finance and power departments to immediately send their proposals for its implementation.
Slashing power tariff by half was among the key pre-poll promises made by AAP in the Assembly elections which they won with a landslide majority.
Aggressive bidding is going on for the first tranche of the coal mines auction which is expected to completed by February 22.