The Ministry of Power (MoP) has initiated the move to procure aggregate power of 4,500 mega-watt (MW) on behalf of various discoms under B(v) of SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India), by floating a tender to this effect.
The process involves execution of tariff-based competitive bidding to stipulate the coal linkage allotment that would be utilised in catering to the power requirement.
The MoP has boarded PFC Consulting Limited as the nodal agency to carry out a single-stage bidding process for selection of the bidder for awarding the linkage for supply of electricity. The last date for bid submission is 21 December, 2022.
The discoms that have evinced interest in procuring power through this process include Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Ltd, New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd.
Supply of electricity to these beneficiaries will commence from April 2023 for a period of five years on finance, own and operate (FOO) basis. Against this, the Ministry of Coal has been requested to allocate coal linkage supplies to the tune of 27 million tonnes (mnt) annually.
Benefits
This is the first time that bidding is being carried out under B(v) of the Shakti scheme whose implementation has been delayed due to the absence of adequate documentation required to execute the process.
Notably, the methodology for coal allocation under this provision was issued on 11 May, 2022. However, the guidelines for power procurement were floated recently in October.
The scheme is expected to help the beneficiaries mitigate power shortages by entering into medium/long-term power purchase agreements with the successful bidders (utilities). At the same time, it will facilitate the participating power generation units to increase their capacity.
There is a win-win situation for the coal companies too as the provision will provide state-run miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) an additional avenue for coal supply.
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