NTPC invites 2 million tonne coal import tender

NTPC imported 0.5 MT coal in Q1FY22 in opposition to 0.2 MT imported within the corresponding quarter final yr. Its general coal consumption within the quarter elevated by 14.6% to 46.3 MT. NTPC’s captive mines produced 2.5 MT of the gas in Q1, marginally larger than 2.4 MT in the identical interval in FY21.

State-run energy technology firm NTPC has invited tenders to import 2 million tonne (MT) of coal, quickly after the Centre requested energy vegetation to step up imports of the important thing gas for thermal energy.

NTPC vegetation will use 1 MT imported coal, and the tender for the remaining quantity has been floated on behalf of the ability vegetation of Damodar Valley Company (DVC), collectively owned by the Centre and the state governments of Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Though the precise timelines for the imports are usually not talked about within the tender doc, sector consultants mentioned the procurement isn’t more likely to begin instantly as coal imports from Thailand, Australia and South Africa — the principle coal exporters to India — are presently as much as three-four instances costlier than home coal.

NTPC imported 0.5 MT coal in Q1FY22 in opposition to 0.2 MT imported within the corresponding quarter final yr. Its general coal consumption within the quarter elevated by 14.6% to 46.3 MT. NTPC’s captive mines produced 2.5 MT of the gas in Q1, marginally larger than 2.4 MT in the identical interval in FY21.

In a tacit acknowledgment of the disaster being confronted by the nation’s energy sector owing to paucity of coal, the federal government determined that energy vegetation may use as much as 10% of their gas requirement by way of imported coal, which might be blended with home coal.

On the present excessive worldwide charges of round Rs 12,000 per tonne, even 10% mixing of imported coal is more likely to improve electrical energy technology price by `0.50-0.75 per unit, which is 13-19% of the typical energy buy prices paid by energy distribution corporations.

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Of the 209 gigawatt (GW) put in coal-based energy vegetation, round 90 GW presently import coal for energy technology. About 72 GW of this capability imports coal for mixing with the native variant, whereas 18 GW are designed to run particularly on imported coal.

The federal government, in April 2020, had requested thermal energy vegetation to scale back coal imports and “make finest efforts to interchange their imports with home coal”.