Regional Coal: India's NTPC plans to produce 50 mt coal by 2010

With coal shortage wrecking domestic power production, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is working on an ambitious plan to produce 50 million tonnes of coal over the next five years, which can wipe out India's production deficit, The Hindu reported Sunday.

The Rs 26,000-crore company, which is vying for coal mining blocks across the country, is also working on an `integrated project development strategy' wherein it will focus on developing pithead stations close to the mines allocated to it, thereby bringing down the cost of power generated substantially.

The country has been facing an acute shortage of coal, with the Government projecting a shortage of around 11 million tonnes this year, and in 2006.

NTPC announced a foray into coal mining in 2002-03 and applied for 16 coal mining blocks. The utility has, however, been able to bag only one coal block so far, with access to a number of these blocks still awaiting mandatory clearance.

"This integrated approach would be beneficial in a twin-pronged manner. While the ongoing coal shortage would be mitigated, the integrated projects would ensure that power costs are kept down, resulting in cheaper power," the NTPC Chairman and Managing Director, C.P. Jain, told Business Line.

The company has projected an output of 10 million tonnes by 2007 from the Pakri Burwadih coal block - the only one awarded to it so far.

NTPC has also factored in a production of 30 million tonnes of coal from the blocks it is eyeing in Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

The company is scouting for a captive coal mining block at Brahmani district in West Bengal for the new 500-MW unit coming up in West Bengal.

Over 80 per cent of NTPC's stations are coal-fired, while the remaining use natural gas as fuel. The generation schedule at a majority of coal-fired power stations across the country has been disrupted due to non-availability of coal.

NTPC, which is on a power expansion drive, will add 2,000 MW of thermal capacity by the end of 2006.

In the absence of requisite clearances for its foray into coalmining, the company has decided to mitigate the current shortfall by importing coal from abroad.(*)