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Centre allocates 2 coal fields to Uttar Pradesh

In an important development, the Centre has allocated two coal fields to UP government to run its power plants. The state government will take at least four years to develop these coal fields to feed its power plants, whose installed capacity is proposed to be increased by around 2,000 MW.

While one coal filed has been allocated in West Bengal, the other is in Jharkhand. UP Rajya Vidyut Upadan Nigam (UPRVUNL) chairman Kamran Rizvi said that the coal fields will also be shared with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. While WB field will generate around 250 metric tonne coal, the one in Jharkhand will dole out around five metric tonne.

 UPRVUNL sources said the allocation of coal fields would certainly raise the prospects of a higher power output. This, in turn, would prove to be a boon for UP since the power generated from the state-owned plants will be wheeled majorly into the state grid.

Accordingly, the state government has planned capacity enhancement from some of the power plants like Harduaganj, Panki and Obra. Rizvi said while capacity of Harduaganj is proposed to be increased by around 660 MW, the Obra power plant will get two additional units of 660x2 (1,320 MW). The installed capacity of Panki unit in Kanpur will also be increased by 660 MW. The proposed coal availability will give the much needed fillip to the state government plans to elevate power generation from its own resources by around 2,500 MW.

This will, however, just suffice for a state which registers about 5% rise in power demand every year. In a way, the state government may just be able to sustain the gap between the demand and supply over the next few years.

It is the state-owned power plants which have been performing badly and adding to the prevailing power crisis in UP. The state's own generation has been dwindling - often hovering around 2,500 MW. There have been repeated failures of the boilers. The lack of availability of coal further aggravates the crisis, leaving the government with no option except rostering.

The additional capacity build up for the power plants is essential for the Samajwadi Party which has been facing severe criticism on the power front since coming to power. The state government has also been seeking the Centre's support to provide coal for some privately-owned power plants and the ones proposed to be set up through the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Source: The Times of India