The coal ministry has allowed Reliance Power (R-Power) to reassign 26 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of coal from the Tilaiya ultra-mega power project (UMPP) coal blocks in Jharkhand. The permission has come even as the government, Tata Power and R-Power are locked in a legal battle in the Supreme Court over permission to divert coal from the Sasan UMPP to another R-Power project.
The ministry’s decision will help R-Power set up new coal-fired power projects or use the excess coal for other projects. The coal mines, named Kerandari B&C in Jharkhand, can support 10,000 megawatt (Mw) of power generation. It is estimated to be the largest coal block in India and among the top three in the world, with reserves in excess of 1.2 billion tonnes. The mining plan, approved by the government on October 29, allows R-Power to draw 40 mtpa of coal for over 30 years.
"The company will utilise 16 mtpa of coal exclusively for the Tilaiya UMPP and the balance 24 mtpa will be utilised or disposed of according to the conditions in the allocation letter," stated the approval letter.
Tata Power, which had participated in the earlier rounds of bidding for the Sasan UMPP, had challenged a decision by an empowered group of ministers to allow R-Power to use excess coal from the captive mines meant for the Sasan project in Madhya Pradesh for another 4,000-Mw project at Chitrangi in the same state.
On January 9, the Delhi High Court rejected Tata Power’s petition to grant a stay or maintain status quo. Tata Power appealed the decision in the Supreme Court. On November 7, a bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly issued notices to 15 respondents — including R-Power, the ministry of coal, ministry of power and Power Finance Corporation — to file their replies within 12 weeks. The matter is posted for hearing again in January.
R-Power already has the largest coal reserves in India with over 2 billion tonnes. It is setting up three UMPPs, another 4,000-Mw capacity at Chitrangi and 1,200-Mw capacity at Rosa, besides gas, wind, hydro and solar projects.
The company targets a generation capacity of over 25,000 Mw by 2015.
It will produce 70 mtpa of coal from Indian mines to support 20,000-Mw capacity for 25 years and another 10,000-Mw capacity will be supported by coal from its three mines in Indonesia, R-Power Chairman Anil Ambani had said at a recent annual general meeting.
The mining plan for Tilaiya was submitted by R-Power's special purpose vehicle for the project, Jharkhand Integrated Power, in August 2007. The Kerendari B&C coal blocks are located in the North Karanpura coalfields of Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand, which is about 30 km from a double-line track of Indian Railways. This will help R-Power transport coal to its projects in other locations. The mine received first-stage environment clearance in July.
R-Power is planning to use in-pit crushing and conveying technology to ensure reduced diesel consumption and lower operating costs. It will be the first mine in India to use this technology. Land acquisition has been initiated and site studies are in progress, said an R- Power executive.
R-Power share swap concluded
R-Power said on Sunday it has concluded the allotment of equity shares to shareholders of group company Reliance Natural Resources under the terms of their merger agreement. R-Power has allotted one equity share of Rs 10 face value in exchange for four RNRL equity shares of Rs 5 face value each.
