PTC India in talks with Indonesian miner for coal supply: Report

PTC (India) Ltd. is in talks with mine owners in Indonesia to import coal on a long-term basis for private power projects in India, a senior company official said Thursday.

PTC will arrange for coal supplies on a "tolling basis" in return for electricity from these power projects, the official said.

"We are in talks with four to five strong entities (from Indonesia)," he was quoted as saying by Dow Jones without elaborating.

To begin with, PTC plans to secure 1.5 million metric tons of imported coal for two power projects in Krishnapatnam in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

If the deals go through, supplies are likely to start in 2010-11, around the time when the private power projects start operations.

PTC is negotiating for a five-year contract for coal supplies, he said.

Coal supplies may go up to 5 million tons later on, as more projects are brought in to the tolling arrangement.

PTC, a power solutions provider, is primarily an electricity trader, owned largely by state-run power companies. (*)