Coal Regulatory Bill to address supply issues as well:Official

NEW DELHI: The Coal Regulatory Authority Bill that is likely to be introduced in the coming budget session will address the transportation problems faced by the consuming industries among other issues, a source in the ministry said today.

The coal regulatory authority bill, which at present is in the drafting stage and is awaiting comments of various ministries and departments, will also "monitor movement of coal from producers to consumers," said a source with the Coal Ministry.

Once approved in the parliament, the new regulatory authority will determine the price of coal, grant authorisation to undertake mining operations, production and supply of coal, monitor and enforce closure of mines among others, the source added.

NTPC's two projects--Farakka in West Bengal and Kahalgaon in Bihar, are facing acute coal shortage due to transportation hurdles at Rajmahal mines, alloted for captive use by these plants.

This is leading to low electricity generation. The power generation at the two projects had to be brought down in September last year due to the scarcity of the dry fuel.

During Septembers, 2010 as against the pro-rata monthly contracted quantity of 12.47 lakh tonnes in respect of Farakka and Kahalgaon units of NTPC, actual supply was 12.27 lakh tonnes, including materialisation of about 98 per cent.

The generation target for Farakka for September, 2010 was 1005 million units while the actual generation was 876 million units. While in Kahalgaon the generation target for the same month was 1,331 million units while actual generation was 1,128 million units.