To avert disruption in power generation and giving some relief to the coal based power plants, which had lost their mines after the Supreme Court cancelled licences of 204 blocks last year; the government has extended till June-end short-term supply of coal to power plants. Earlier, Coal India was asked to supply fuel to such power plants on a tapering basis till March 31, subject to review after that date.
Based on the recommendation of the Standing Linkage Committee (Long-Term) for Power, now the government has issued a fresh directive, saying that supply of fuel to power plants, the blocks of which were cancelled by the Supreme Court last year, will continue till June 30, 2015 since these are running plants.
The dispensation will apply to those power plants which are part of 78,000 MW list approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and are running, and have long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).
The committee has however said that in case of supply of coal starts from schedule II (producing) blocks allocated to fresh allocatees in the current auction process, the dispensation shall cease in respect of the units linked to such coal blocks.
