CIL to hold e-auction for power plants

PTI 

State-owned CIL will this month hold the second phase of special e-auction for the current financial year for providing coal to power plants as the government's targets 24X7 power supply across the country. 

"The special forward e-auction for 2016-17 for power producers-Phase II will be conducted as per the terms and conditions followed for Special Forward E auction for 2016-17 Phase I and as per the scheme of Special Forward E Auction for power producers," an official said. 

The special forward e-auction for 2016-17 for power producers including captive power plants (CPP)-Phase II would be held on May 24 and May 25, the official added. 

"The reserve price for power sector consumers will remain at 10 per cent over the notified price of coal for power sector and for captive power plants it will remain at 10 per cent over the notified price for non-power sector," the official said, adding that this, however, is applicable to G6 and below grades of coal. 

Subsidiaries of Coal India shall notify the final source and grade wise reserve price of coal on their respective websites and convey the same to respective service providers with copy to CIL, the official said. 

CIL had last month held the first phase of special e-auction for the ongoing fiscal. 

The Coal Ministry had earlier said that power producers being supplied coal through the MoU route by CIL will now have to take it via special e-auction being conducted for the power sector as the government has decided not to extend the pact beyond June 30. 

In a communication to Coal India Ltd, government said that in order to ensure there is no disruption in coal availability to these plants, the MoU with the plants which expired on March 31, will not be extended not beyond June 30, so as to facilitate smooth transition to the special forward e-auction system of the coal PSU. 

CIL, a major supplier of coal to the power sector, is also eyeing production of one billion tonnes by 2020. 

Coal India's output for this fiscal is fixed at 598 million tonnes.