Neeraj Rohmetra
JAMMU, Mar 15: In a major boost for the power – deficit State, the Government is likely to sign soon a Joint Venture Agreement with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to harness power from the 130 million-ton coal block, which was allocated to the State in 2013.
Reliable sources told EXCELSIOR, “the entire spadework for signing of the Agreement had been done and the formal signing ceremony is likely to be taken place shortly, after a detailed presentation about the project will be shared with Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Power Minister, Nirmal Singh”, adding, “the Joint Venture Agreement would be signed between the J&K State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDCL) and NTPC. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would spell out details about setting up of the End Use Power Plant, in which the State will have one-third equity share, while the remaining will be held by NTPC”.
“Power generated form this coal block would be a major boon from Jammu and Kashmir as it suffers from major energy deficit especially during winter season, when the generation of power through various Hydro Electric Power Plants falls drastically due to low discharge in rivers”, sources said adding, “though the project has a gestation period of around five years, it is being considered a major step in making J&K self-reliant in power-production”.
Sources said, “as per the proposal, it will be a pithead power plant that is located in coal mine itself and thus reduces operating cost as transportation cost of carrying coal to power plant is reduced. As per estimates the coal block would enable J&K to generate 1000 Megawatts of power for a period of 25-30 years”.
“The dedicated base load Thermal Power Station would effectively wipe out the current energy deficit of nearly 28 per cent and improve the reliability of the power supply around the year”, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention here that on June 29, 2014, the State Cabinet under the chairmanship of Omar Abdullah had approved the formation of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for development of coal block at Kuidnali Laburi (Talcher) in Odisha. The coal block had been jointly allocated to JKSPD and NTPC by the Union Ministry of Coal.
The proposed thermal plant will be Base load Power Plant that produces energy at a constant rate, usually at a low cost relative to other production facilities available to the system.
“Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah had also actively taken up the issue of allocation of coal block with the then UPA Government at the Centre”, sources said that the objective was to make the State energy sufficient by harnessing huge hydro potential available to the State along with Solar and Thermal Power.
In June 2013, the Union Ministry of Coal had allocated 14 coal blocks for power plants to come up in various States (including J&K) on the recommendations of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC). These blocks had a geological reserves of 8311 million tonnes (mt) and were capable of yielding about 159 mt coal production per annum.
The then Additional Coal Secretary, A K Dubey after consultation with Jammu and Kashmir Government had also submitted details to the Coal Ministry stating that NTPC and J&K State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDCL), who had been jointly allocated a coal block would form a Joint Venture Agreement to develop the mine.
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