PSPCL to scrap old tender for coalmine operation in J’khand

: With a view to starting the operation of its coalmine in Jharkhand by hiring a contractor at the earliest, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to scrap the old tender, which has been stuck in a legal tangle for the past one and a half years.

The non-operational coalmine has been costing Rs 300 crore as the PSPCL has to depend on the coal supply from the Coal India Limited or private plants to generate electricity. Union ministry of coal and mines had reallocated the Pachwara coalmine in Jharkhand to the PSPCL in April 2015. The mine has been lying shut eversince as the corporation has failed to select an operator.

The PSPCL tender to hire an operator is caught in a legal tangle as four of the five bidders who failed to qualify the tendering process moved the court. “The court case has turned out to be costly for the power corporation. Most of the bidders have approached the court, against one another and PSPCL is suffering. As the cost of electricity has become a major issue in the state, it can be controlled only by operation of our own coal mine. PSPCL coalmine operation will save us around Rs 300 crore annually,” said a PSPCL official.

He added that a proposal for cancelling the previous tender has been submitted to the chaiman-cum-managing director (CMD), urging him to invite fresh tenders. He said that fresh tenders will not only bring the PSPCL out of the legal tangle, but will also increase competition.

The PSPCL has three coalbased power generating units — Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat; Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda and Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant, Rupnagar — with a combined power generation capacity of 2,640 MW. The three plants are getting about 7 million tonne coal from the Panem coalmines, also in Jharkhand, against the annual requirement of 13.6 million tonnes. The rest of the quantity is supplied by Coal India Limited.

When contacted, PSPCL CMD A Venu Prasad said the power corporation wants to start coalmine operation at the earliest and has sought the opinion of the advocate general over the court cases. “If permitted, we will seek fresh tenders to select the mine operator, so that we are able to start extracting coal by the end of this year.”

Notably, the Power Engineers has repeatedly taken up the issue with the state government to start coal mine operation to cut the cost of generation, to provide cheap electricity to consumers.

FAILURE TO UTILISE COALMINE DUE TO A LEGAL TANGLE COSTING POWER CORPORATION ₹300 CR ANNUALLY