Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Oct 27: In order to avoid power disruption during the upcoming assembly elections, the Karnataka Government has started to work on importing coal, even if it adds additional burden on the state exchequer.

A global tender in this regard is expected to be called for in the immediate future by the The Karnataka Power Coporation Ltd (KPCL). The tender will be for import of more than one million tonnes of coal, which should keep all the thermal plants of the state including the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) and Ballari Thermal Power Station (BTPS) running smoothly in the summer months.

According to P Ravi Kumar, additional chief secretary, energy department, the whole process of calling tender and completing supply will take about four months. In addition, the state government also has to get approval from the centre.

Energy minister D K Shivakumar

Indonesia, China and South Africa are the main suppliers in the non-coking coal market. Reliable sources at KPCL said that the first shipment of the imported coal is expected to reach the state by March 2018. The annual expenditure of coal that is supplied to RTPS and BTPS is Rs 8,000 crore. Imported coal costs around Rs 5,500 per tonne, while the domestic is available at just Rs 4,000 per tonne.

States across the country are facing difficulty in procuring coal as the supply is too short compared to the demand. In addition, Karnataka State is not able to purchase coal from Maharashtra due to a legal dispute that is still pending in Supreme Court.

As per the energy department, situation of coal production at Coal India Ltd (CIL) is being monitored continuously. However, it is always better to have an alternate plan, as the demand for power especially in the months after the rainy season is increasing in agriculture sector and urban localities. Generally a buffer stock of at least a month of coal is kept at the power plants.

It is expected that the demand for power in the coming months will cross 220 MU. The same was between 140 to 150 MU till the end of September. At present the cumulative stock reserve of both BTPS and RTPS is a meagre 15,000 tonnes each, which is not sufficient for even a day's production. RTPS requires 28,000 tonnes of coal everyday for the 8 units, whereas the requirement of BTPS is 15,000 tonnes per day to run two units.