Govt approves transfer of coal linkage of TPS to new plant

Government has approved the transfer of existing coal linkage of Panipat Thermal Power Station (TPS) to a new super critical plant at the same location in Haryana.
The move is in line with the policy formulated after the NDA government took over in May last year for automatic transfer of coal linkage in case of scrapping of old thermal plants and replacing them with new super critical plants.
"Under this dispensation, inefficient and uneconomical units 1 to 4 (each of capacity 110 MW) at Panipat TPS shall be replaced by setting up more efficient super critical unit of 660/800 MW capacity at the available land within the same premises by way of simultaneous phasing out units 1 to 4 during the next 4 to 5 years," the Coal Ministry said in a statement.

As per the new policy, linkage granted to the old plant shall be automatically transferred to the new plant of nearest super critical capacity.
"If the capacity of the new super critical plant is higher than the old plant, additional coal may be accorded priority subject to the availability of coal on the best effort basis from Coal India Ltd (CIL)," the statement said.
The only technical requirement is that a capacity equivalent to at least 50 per cent of the proposed capacity of new super critical plant has to be retired, it added.

Coal Ministry said that this policy shall be applicable to pre-NCDP (New Coal Distribution Policy) plants in public sector only, which have already been granted long term linkages/ letter of assurance (LoAs).

Automatic transfer of LoA is permissible only when the new plant is set up within the State in which the old plant was located and the old plant is actually scrapped, it said adding, the old plant can continue to operate only till the commercial operation date (CoD) of new plant.
The decision to transfer the existing linkage has been taken on the basis of recommendations of the Standing Linkage Committee (Long Term) which considered the request of the Government of Haryana, it said.