Mumbai, March 24 (IANS): Power producer Essar Power MP Ltd, a subsidiary of Essar Power, on Tuesday said the allocation of the Tokisud North coal block in Jharkhand during the coal mine auction will help it to re-energise its plant in Sangrauli in Madhya Pradesh, which was idling for the last 18 months due to lack of coal.

"The coal block would provide a big boost to re-energise the Mahan Power Plant (in Sangrauli), which was idling due to lack of coal for the last 18 months. With Tokisud North coming on stream, 1,200 MW of power from the plant would soon be available to the country. The company is in the process to sign long term Power Purchase Agreements," the company said in a statement.

Essar said the coal block, which has all necessary clearances to begin mining, has extractable coal reserves of 52 million tonnes.

"Vital infrastructure like connectivity to the nearest railway siding, merely 6 km away, already exists, thereby reducing the block development time," it said.

The company won the Tokisud North mine in February at a price of Rs.1,110 per tonne.

With the highest bid for the block, it had beaten companies like Adani Power, Jindal Power, Balco, DB Power, Dhariwal Infrastructure, GMR Chhattisgarh Energy, GVK Power Goindwal Sahib and Jaiprakash Power Ventures.