BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has requested the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) to grant interim coal linkage to the Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) which is in the process of adding capacity to the existing thermal power station at Banharpalii in Jharsuguda district. The State-run OPGC having two units of 210-MW capacity thermal power plant each is putting up two more units of 660-MW capacity (super critical) each at the same location to cater to the power requirement of the State. Though the Ministry of Coal had allocated two coal blocks in the Ib Valley coalfields at Manoharpur and its deep side to OPGC for its captive consumption, the development of coal blocks is delayed for want of statutory clearance by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). The MoEF classified the two blocks as ‘No-Go’ category and after much persuasion by the State Government the Ministry reclassified the same as ‘Go’ category. The State Government lost valuable 18 months due to objections raised by the MoEF. “The expansion plan of the State is at an advance stage and the two new units are scheduled to be commissioned during the latter part of the 2016-17 financial year,” Energy Secretary G Mathivathanan said in a letter to MCL Chairman and Managing Director AN Sahay. MCL is a subsidiary of Coal India. The scheduled coal production is likely to be delayed and there exists a gap between the commercial operation of the power plant and the full coal production from the allocated mine, Mathivathanan said. Meanwhile, OPGC has also applied for tapering coal linkage for the new units to the Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Power has also recommended the case of the State PSU for interim coal linkage. “In order to meet the power needs of the State, it will be highly appreciated if MCL can provide the interim coal requirement of OPGC to the tune of 16 million tonnes over a period of three years from the latter part of 2016-17 from Basundhara coal mines ...,” the Energy Secretary said. Since OPGC has planned to construct a merry-go-round (MGR) system from Manoharpur to the plant site for evacuation of coal, it will be much easier for MCL to supply coal for the interim period using the system, he said. Sources believed that the State Government’s proposal to MCL for setting up a coal washery and coal reject-based thermal power plant in joint venture is an attempt to facilitate the tapering coal linkage to the new thermal units of OPGC.
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