Tapering linkage coal supply to Nalco restored

Aluminium major Nalco received a major stimulus with the Union Coal Ministry deciding to restore the tapering linkage coal supply from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to two units of its Captive Power Plant (CPP) at Angul in Odisha.
"We are thankful to Ministry of Mines, which strongly recommended our case before the Ministry of Coal," said Nalco CMD Tapan Kumar Chand announcing the Ministry's decision at the Annual Function of Nalco Employees' Forum (NEF) here today.
Elaborating on the news, which coincided with the recognition of NEF, Chand said out of ten units of Nalco's 1,200 MW CPP, till now the company had assured supply of 47.16 lakh tonnes of coal per annum, as per Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) with the Mahanadi Coalfields, for eight units only.

For Unit 9 and 10, there was tapering linkage supply of 10.93 lakh tonnes of coal per annum, which was linked to Utkal E coal block allotted to Nalco. This linkage supply had stopped since 2011.
With fresh allotment of Utkal D and E coal blocks by the Centre, having a reserve in excess of 200 million tonnes in the vicinity of CPP, which would take about couple of years for raising coal, the Ministry of Coal has decided to restore the tapering linkage, Chand said.
This shall greatly increase power supply to Nalco's smelter located adjacent to its CPP, resulting in operation of more pots to smelt aluminium.

Appreciating the proactive role played by Nalco's Workers' Unions, including NEF, Chand described the union leaders as hard-core managers.
"Union-Management combined power of Nalco has defied the gravitational forces of current sluggish market and the company is flying high," Chand asserted.