Amid growing demand, Power Ministry advises Punjab, Haryana to import coal

Report by Gagandeep Ahuja from Patiala: The Union Power Ministry has advised Punjab, Haryana and other state utilities to import coal as Coal India is unable to meet the growing demand. The Union Power Ministry has suggested that Punjab and Haryana might import 6 lakh tonne and 9 lakh tonne of coal, respectively. The advisory comes in the wake of states demanding more coal to run their thermal units amid growing demand. However, it would affect Punjab State Power Corporation Limited hard as imported coal would impose a burden of Rs 800 crore on Powercom, which is facing financial burden. The ministry suggested all state utilities to ensure the delivery of 50 per cent of the allocated quantity by June 30, another 40 per cent by August-end and the remaining 10 per cent by the end of October. The deadline suggested by the ministry is likely to push further imported coal prices. Also read | Annual ICC Rankings: Australia consolidate top spot in Tests, India No. 1 in T20Is VK Gupta, spokesperson for the All-India Power Engineers' Federation, said the landed cost of coal in thermal plants of Punjab and Haryana was around Rs 5,500 per tonne. In case of imported coal, the cost of Indonesian coal is around $200 per tonne or around Rs 15,000 per tonne. In addition to this, the transportation charges of Rs 3,300 per tonne from the seaport in Gujarat to thermal plants of Punjab and Haryana will be extra. The minimum cost difference between domestic and imported coal would be about Rs 13,500 per tonne. Punjab will have to bear an extra expenditure of about Rs 800 crore if it imports 6 lakh tonne. In the case of Haryana, this amount will be Rs 1,200 crore for a 9 lakh tonne target. Punjab and Haryana are at the complete mercy of coal India for getting domestic coal. In the northern region, the power demand in Punjab and Haryana during the paddy season is maximum. This year, the maximum power demand in Punjab is likely to cross 16500 MW against the last years demand of 15000 MW.  In Haryana also, power demand will shoot up to 14000 MW this year. Gupt said as per RTI information, the Railway Ministry ordered a total of 52,112 wagons in the last five years and the pending supply of 14,050 wagons as of March 31, 2022. Also Read | India reports 3,205 new Covid-19 cases, 31 more deaths The present low coal stock at thermal plants is the Railways inability to transport extra coal and failure to forecast the power demand due to the sudden rise of temperature. The ministry has asked state government-owned utilities to import over 22 million tonne of coal and private power plants import 15.94 million tonne. -PTC News