New Delhi, September 17: The Ministry of Coal has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to expedite development of the Saharpur Jamarpani captive coal block, saying coal availability is currently not a constraint for state-run thermal power producer Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL).
The ministry said coal stocks at UPRVUNL’s thermal power plants increased from 7.25 lakh tonnes on September 1 to 8.41 lakh tonnes on September 15, while none of its generating stations was in the critical coal-stock category as of September 15.
During the preceding seven days, UPRVUNL plants received an average of around 0.90 lakh tonnes of coal per day against average daily consumption of around 0.83 lakh tonnes, resulting in a further build-up of stocks.
Coal India Limited (CIL) also supplied an average of 17.7 rakes per day to UPRVUNL plants during the previous 10 days, according to the ministry.
It said CIL had additionally offered coal through road and Rail-cum-Road (RCR) mode on September 3 to generating companies and independent power producers, including UPRVUNL, to supplement supplies.
The ministry said unloading constraints at some generating stations periodically result in restrictions on placement of railway rakes, limiting the scope for further augmentation of supplies.
Despite coal stocks exceeding 8 lakh tonnes, UPRVUNL’s thermal power plants recorded a Plant Load Factor of around 48% during September, the ministry said.
It maintained that lower generation during the month could therefore not be attributed to inadequate coal availability and said operational constraints at generating stations would need to be addressed for better utilisation of available coal stocks.
The ministry also pointed to the Saharpur Jamarpani coal block in Dumka district of Jharkhand, which has reserves of more than 973 million tonnes.
The block was allotted to UPRVUNL on August 13, 2015, to meet the coal requirements of its thermal power projects.
The ministry said the block has still not been operationalised and called on the Uttar Pradesh government to take steps for its early development.
It added that 14 other captive coal blocks allotted to power-sector entities on or after the allotment of Saharpur Jamarpani have already been operationalised and have commenced production for their respective end-use plants.
With Saharpur Jamarpani yet to begin production, UPRVUNL continues to depend on CIL for a significant part of its coal requirement.
The Ministry of Coal said it and CIL remain committed to meeting Uttar Pradesh’s coal requirements, while stressing that development of the state’s captive block would strengthen long-term fuel security for its thermal power plants.
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