Powered by cheap indigenous coal, PSPCL earns Rs 560 crore until October

Aman Sood

Patiala, November 29

The reluctance of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in blending imported coal to run its thermal plants, the abundance of coal availability from its captive Pachhwara coal mines and the sale of power to other states has turned the PSPCL into a profitable company.

Big turnaround

The coal supply from Pachhwara coal mine has not only improved thermal generation at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat, but also turned the PSPCL into a profit-making company. It has earned over Rs 560 crore by sale of power through exchange on day ahead/real-time basis.

The coal supply from Pachhwara coal mine has not only improved the thermal generation at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat, but also turned the loss making PSPCL into a profit making company. PSPCL has earned more than Rs 560 crore by sale of power through exchange on day ahead/real-time basis in the current financial year. Otherwise, the PSPCL would have been forced to blend imported coal at its own thermal plants.

Punjab-owned — GGSS, Ropar and GHTP, Lehra Mohabbat — thermal plants are located at an average distance of about 1,325 km from the Mundra port located in western India.

“The average distance of mines these thermal plants of Punjab are getting from Coal India Limited coal works is about 1,450 km. The price of indigenous coal is around Rs 5,500 per tonne. The imported coal costs around $200 per tonne (Rs 15,000). Add another Rs 3,300 per tonne transportation charges from the seaport to Punjab and thus Punjab saved crores using indigenous coal,” said a top PSPCL official.

According to the data available with The Tribune, PSPCL has earned a profit of Rs 564.76 crore during the peak season of the year ending October, against a loss of Rs 1,880.25 crore during the corresponding period last year.

The powercom received 564 coal rakes weighing 22,24,000 metric tonnes of coal from Pachhwara coal mine. Of these Ropar received 214 rakes while 350 landed with the Lehra Mohabbat plant.

“The state received a maximum of 93 rakes in the month of September. The PSPCL has already produced 4,499 million units from their own thermal power plants this year exceeding the target set by commission. The commission approved 4,351 MU from state thermal plants comprising the generation at Ropar 2,074 million units and at Lehra Mohabbat it was 2,277 MU,” said a senior PSPCL official.

All-India Power Engineers Federation spokesperson VK Gupta said last year, power purchase from the open exchange was 4,773 million units but power purchase came down to 2,480 million units this year. “The fuel cost approved by PSERC for Ropar thermals was Rs 817 crore and for Lehra Mohabbat thermal it was 953 crore,” Gupta said.