The Coal Ministry on Wednesday said 35 power firms have so far entered into fuel supply pacts with Coal India, amid the government stating that most of the issues relating to FSAs have been resolved.
The statement follows the government announcing last month that power companies are likely to ink fuel supply pacts with Coal India (CIL) in a month’s time.
“CIL (Coal India) after resolving the pending issues with power utilities have already signed 35 FSAs (Fuel Supply Agreements) out of 114,” the Coal Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also expressed hopes that the remaining 79 fuel supply pacts would be signed shortly.
On December 21, after a meeting, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal and Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had told reporters that most of the issues related to the contentious FSAs have been resolved.
The development followed Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directing power producers to enter into FSAs with CIL within a month. PMO directive on December 17 came after its November deadline for FSAs was missed, amid differences over various issues including coal quality.
Both ministers had said a joint decision had been taken to ensure that there would be no “distinction” on FSAs for public and private power companies.