By IANS,
New Delhi : Coal India has agreed to sign fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with power generation companies even if they do not have power purchase agreements (PPAs) with distribution firms, Power Minister M. Veerappa Moily said Tuesday.
“We had a series of meetings with the coal minister and coal secretary and have sorted out the issue… The signing of FSAs is not going to be a bottleneck in ensuring coal supplies,” Moily said at the annual Economic Editors Conference here.
Elaborating, Power Secretary P. Uma Shankar said: “Even if the power purchase agreement is not signed by a power generator, the FSA still can be signed (with Coal India). But the coal supply will be triggered off only if power companies furnish the PPA.”
Many power companies have not yet signed FSAs with Coal India as they have had reservations about the pact.
The power minister also announced that the Southern Power Grid would be connected to the National Grid by the first quarter of 2014, providing a uniform flow of electricity across India at one frequency.
He also said the capacity addition target for the current financial year is nearly 18,000 MW, while the total installed capacity in the country as on Sep 30 was over 200,000 MW.
The Planning Commission has approved budgetary support of Rs.49,730 crore for the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme in the 12th Plan.
On the progress of ultra mega power projects (UMPP), the power secretary said: “The commissioning of the first 660 MW unit of Sasan UMPP in Madhya Pradesh is as per schedule, which is the beginning of next year.”
Moily said a cabinet note is being prepared on disinvesting 9.5 percent stake in NTPC, which is expected to earn the government about Rs.13,100 crore.
The government currently holds 84.50 percent stake in NTPC that after disinvestment would be come down to 75 percent.