Efforts on to link coal mines with nearest power plants: Secy

Efforts are under way to rationalise coal linkages with power plants to save an estimated Rs 6,000 crore a year to save on transportation of the fuel, government today said.
Exercises are progressing to ensure that coal is supplied to the nearest power plant from the mines' pit-head to save on transportation, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told PTI.
"We are working on rationalisation of coal linkages ...In lot many cases where coal is being hauled to long distances to power plants which are far away from pit head whereas the same coal can travel to a plant which is closer to the pit head and the other plants can be serviced by another mine," Swarup said.

"KPMG has prepared a report and wherein they have indicated that overall there will be a saving of about Rs 6,000 crore per annum if this entire exercise is got through," he said.
Addressing a workshop on rationalisation of coal linkages, he said: "In the first lot what we have concluded today is that there are about 21 sets of arrangements where states have agreed, and other entities have agreed wherein they will be saving Rs 1,114 crore per annum as per the agreement we arrived at with various stakeholders, including the state governments."
He said this will result in huge indirect benefits like availability of railway rakes.

"We are now looking at slightly more complex arrangements. These are bilateral arrangements which are being sorted out. Now we are looking at trilateral or quadrilateral arrangements," he said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said that an exercise to rationalise coal linkages, which will optimise transport of coal and reduce cost of power, was under way.
The government had earlier constituted an inter-ministerial task force to review the existing sources and consider feasibility for rationalisation of linkages with a view to reduce the transportation cost for power utilities, cement, steel and sponge iron sector.