The move comes in the wake of power plants across the country grappling with coal shortages
NLC India Ltd (NLCIL), a Navaratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Coal, on Tuesday announced that it would be ramping up coal production to 10 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) from its coal blocks in Talabira, Odisha from the current year, to meet the rise in demand. The move comes in the wake of power plants across the country grappling with coal shortages.
The Talabira II and III blocks were allotted to NLCIL by the Union Government on May 2, 2016, under the Coal Mines Special Provision Act, 2015, for optimum utilisation of collieries for end-user plants like the Neyveli Talabira Thermal Power Plant (NTTPP) and the NTPL. The mining activity started on December 11, 2019, and production commenced successfully on April 26, 2020.
According to an NLCIL official, “The Talabira II and III open cast mines had already crossed 2 million tonnes production till date during its first full year of operation. The PSU had originally planned to achieve a target of 6 MTPA from its schedule of 4 MTPA during the current year. However, considering the high demand for coal, NLCIL is now taking all-out efforts to augment the coal production to 10 MTPA from the current year and upto 20 MTPA from next year onwards. This will not only provide fuel security to end-use plants, but also make available coal in the market.”
The coal produced from Talabira is being transported to the PSU’s end use plant – NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited, 2 x 500 MW, at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, a subsidiary of NLCIL. The entire generated power caters to the requirement of the Southern states with about 55 % being supplied to Tamil Nadu.
The recent amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act on Mineral Concession Rules by Ministry of Coal has enabled sale of excess coal after meeting the coal requirement of end-use plants. Accordingly, NLCIL has sought permission from the Coal Ministry to sell the excess coal, the official added.
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