Centre should compensate states for importing coal- AIPEF
Bahadurjeet Singh /Rupnagar
All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has demanded that the center should compensate each and every state that is being forced to import coal in absence of adequate domestic coal . In absence of this financial help, the financial condition of the utilities will deteriorate further.
V K, Gupta spokesperson AIPEF said that the federation has written a letter to R K Singh union power minister on Friday that the forcing the states to go for imported coal due to the shortage of domestic coal to bridge the coal supply-demand gap, created through sheer mismanagement and lack of anticipation and planning is not appreciable.
Gupta said that the landed cost of coal in thermal plants of Punjab and Haryana is around Rs.5500 per tonne. In the case of imported coal the cost of Indonesian coal is around 200 $ per tonne or around Rs 15000 per tonne.
In addition to this the transportation charges of Rs. 3300 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.13500 per tonne. Punjab will have to bear an extra expenditure of about Rs 800 crore if it imports the complete 6 lakh tonne target. In the case of Haryana, this amount will be 1200 crore for a 9 lakh tonne target. In the case of other states ,where targets are much bigger,the financial implications will be more.
The federation said that as per RTI information, the railway ministry ordered a total of 52112 wagons in the last five years and the pending supply of 14050 wagons as of 31st. March, 2022. The shortage of rail wagon will remain a constraint in the coal transportation.
AIPEF has also endorsed the letter of EAS Sama former power secretary written to the cabinet secretary. AIPEF is of firm views that the government’s insistence on the CIL paying high dividends has hindered its own efforts to enlarge its coal development program.
Coal India’s output has stagnated for the last three-four years and the company has lost the momentum it built up whilst failing to make good use of its sizeable reserves.
May 6,2022
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