10% blending with imported coal mandatory for Private generators who bid for coal and sell power in the exchange

Power Ministry has directed CEA to determine the eligible quantity of domestic coal for the power plants using coal under Shakti B(viii) (a) taking into account 10% imported coal for blending which is equivalent to about 15% of domestic coal in energy terms. Shakti B (viii) (a) is the window for power plants having untied capacity to bid for coal, to generate power using this coal and sell it in the exchange under Day Ahead Market (DAM) or the DEEP portal for short term PPA.

For such plants, Ministry has directed CEA to compute the quantity of coal consumed (procured under SHAKTI B (viii) (a) window) on the basis of mandatory blending of 10% by weight for generation during the period starting from 15th June 2022 upto 31st March 2023. This will give a window of about 3 weeks for these plants to procure imported coal.

Considering the increased demand of electricity, and coal supplies from domestic coal companies not matching with the consumption of coal, Power Ministry advised all Gencos including IPPs on 28.04.2022 to blend 10% of imported coal for power generation. This was done to supplement domestic coal supply.