India’s largest power generation company NTPC Limited has started purchasing coal from the country’s private -owned commercial mines for the first time. Till now NTPC used to buy domestic coal from the government -run Coal India Limited (CIL), which was purchased under the long -term fuel supply agreement (FSA). Senior officials of the company said that NTPC has issued a tender to purchase 3 million tonnes of coal from private mining companies in the last 6 months and its supply has already started.
A company official said, ‘We are receiving coal from commercial mines. Coal is being supplied directly to our plant from these mines. This tender was for NTPC’s non -pithead electrical plants. Non -pitched plants are at a distance of more than 500 kilometers from coal mines, while the pithead power plants are close to mines. Officials said that buying coal from private commercial mines is a bit expensive than coal India coal, but cheaper than imported coal.
Apart from taking coal from CIL, NTPC also imports high quality coal. Especially this import is from Indonesia. It is added to domestic coal and is compensated when there is a shortage of coal from CIL. The coal imported in NTPC’s total demand is 8 to 10 percent.
A senior official said that we have set a target that soon we will start buying domestic commercial coal instead of imported coal. We have set a target to zero the import of coal in the near future. NTPC currently puts the burden of full cost of power generation at the rate of electricity supply. Company officials told the business standard that its effect on the cost would be modest.
The official said, ‘Coal is being transported directly to our plants from these private mines. This is beyond the CIL’s coal supply, which is usually lifted from the rail siding. For this, we often have to resort to transportation by road. Commercial coal increased costs include transportation expenses, which are borne by the mining company. Direct delivery is also correct according to cost and correct according to the environment.
First Published – April 13, 2025 | 10:39 pm IST
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