Coal India Ltd’s arm Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has offered to sell power to the Odisha grid from its proposed 1600 MW coal-fired power station to come up at the coal surplus Basundhara region under Ib Valley coalfields.
The terms of power sale are not known. The state government may buy out 50% of the generated power or settle for procuring 12-14% power at variable cost on the lines of power given by independent power producers (IPPs).
“MCL has given us an offer to purchase power from their planned project. But, the terms lack clarity as to under which route they would be offering power to the state grid. We have asked them to first obtain the clearance from the Union ministry of power”, said a senior Odisha government official.
MCL’s 1600 MW power project with two 800 MW super critical units is set to come up at coal-rich Basundhara region in Sundargarh district where the coal miner has surplus inventory. The power plant is estimated to cost INR 10,000 crore.
An MCL official said, “The talks with the Odisha government are still at a nascent stage. We are yet to firm up power evacuation plans.”
The coal company aims to use coal from Basundhara area having a reserve of 6.8 BnT. The annual coal extraction from this mine is set to touch 40 MnT per annum in the coming years.
The power project has got the nod of the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the highest body to approve investments in Odisha.
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