CIL authorises PT Bara Daya Energy to import 7.91 lakh tonnes coal for supply to gencos

State-owned CIL has given the contract to PT Bara Daya Energy consortium to import 7.91 lakh tonnes of coal for supplying to gencos during August and September, sources said.

Coal shortages at various power generation companies (gencos) impacted the electricity supply in the country during the peak summer months of April and May.

According to sources, the letter for the award of the contract was issued to the L1 vendor of medium-term tenders for east and west coast supply on July 9.

Subsequently, CIL awarded the contract for the supply of 7.91 lakh tonnes of imported coal to PT Bara Daya Energy Ltd (consortium) to the interested gencos during August and September, sources said.

The gencos that have expressed their willingness to buy imported coal are CESC, Adhunik Power, Rattan India, Sai Wardha, Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd, Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd, Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd, KSK, ACB India, and D B Power.

While 4.295 lakh tonnes of coal would be imported for August, 3.615 lakh tonnes would be shipped for September.

Coal India, in its board meeting held on July 8, decided to cancel the short-term tender of 2.416 MT and supply the indented imported coal quantity against the medium-term tender of the east and west coast, sources said.

On June 9, CIL said that it has floated its maiden tender to import 2.416 million tonnes of coal to ensure an adequate supply of the fuel to power plants in the country.

The move was part of the government's effort to build up a stock of coal to avoid the reoccurrence of power outages which happened in April on account of a shortage of fossil fuel.

On June 10, CIL floated two medium-term tenders for sourcing 6 million tonnes (MT) of coal from overseas, a move aimed at securing domestic fuel supplies amid the fear of shortage during monsoon.

In April, coal secretary A K Jain attributed the low coal stocks at power plants to several factors such as heightened power demand due to the boom in the economy post-Covid, early onset of summer, rise in the price of gas and imported coal, and sharp fall in electricity generation by coastal thermal power plants.

He had said a lot of measures are already underway to improve the power supply in the country.

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