The Government has sought by April 10 the status of power purchase agreements from 20 companies, including NTPC, NMDC, NHPC and Neyveli Lignite, that have applied for coal mines to be allotted to PSUs.
“The companies who have not submitted the status of their Power Purchase Agreement...in respect of the application submitted in response of NIA (Notice Inviting Application with regard to 17 blocks for allotment to Government companies) are requested to furnish the same...by April 10,” the Coal Ministry said.
A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a contract between two parties — one who generates electricity for the purpose of sale (the seller) and one who looks to purchase electricity (the buyer).
The PPA defines all the commercial terms for the sale of electricity between the two parties, including when the project would begin commercial operation, among others.
Other companies that have been asked to submit the status of PPA are Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp, Bihar State Power Generation, Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd, Kerala State Electricity Board and Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Ltd, among others.
Initiating the process of allocation of coal mines, the Government had last year invited proposals from PSUs for allotting 17 blocks to them, mostly for captive power plants.
The development came in the wake of the Government’s repeated announcements to make the policy for mines allotment transparent, following the CAG terming potential losses of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to the exchequer on account of block allotment to 57 private firms without auction.
The blocks on offer have estimated reserves of 8.45 billion tonnes.