Will continue to auction earmarked coal to power companies: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal

KOLKATA: The Coal Ministry has assured uninterrupted supply of coal to power plants hit by shortfalls in supply of the fuel, but while quantities will be earmarked for the generation companies, they will have to secure their requirement through competitive bidding.

"We are open to continue offering e-auction coal for power plants. We can also earmark coal for them to ensure availability. But they have to buy at the auction price. I have told NTPC about this," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said.

With around 30 power plants running with critical coal stocks, state-run Coal India had diverted an additional 10 per cent of its output, or 4 million tonnes, for e-auction to tide over a power crisis in October.

That month, power companies had to buy coal meant for e-auction at a price almost 40 per cent higher than the notified price.

The Power Ministry has been lobbying to stop the e-auction of coal on account of short supply to power plants. This would have impacted CIL, as the miner sells about 10-11 per cent of its coal output through the e-auction route, which accounts for between 25-30 per cent of its total annual revenue.