Measures Taken to Ensure Supply of Quality Coal to Thermal Power Plants
(i) Selective mining of bands of thickness more than 1 meter.
(ii) Appropriate positioning of overburden and coal benches to avoid contamination.
(iii) Scrapping/cleaning of coal benches before blasting.
(iv) Installation of metal detectors / magnetic separators over running conveyors before coal loading.
(v) Crushing arrangement is also provided for supply of sized coal for better consumers satisfaction.
(vi) All the major projects having high capacity coal handling plants dispatch sized and uniform quality of coal to suit the requirement of the consumers.
(vii) Bomb Calorimeters provided at all the area laboratories/ at all the major projects for regular quality assessment.
(viii) Participation of consumer representatives in joint sampling and / or third party sampling and analysis of coal, based on which consumers are provided with the facility of adjustment of payment against coal value.
(ix) Awareness programmes and imparting training to the personnel involved in production of coal regarding importance of coal quality and need to improve and maintain the same during mining operations.
(x) Shale picking, if any, at mine face, stocks, sidings and from the wagons.
(xi) Beneficiation of non-coking coal in washeries have been planned for “Build Operate & Maintain” (BOM) basis in addition to the existing capacity of non-coking coal.
The Minister further stated that the subsidiary coal companies of Coal India Limited (CIL) are supplying coal to all Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) in accordance with the provisions of Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA). In terms of FSA, third party sampling and analysis facilities at loading ends are provided to the power utilities for assessment of quality of coal at loading end jointly and thereby loading of proper quality coal to power companies is ensured. As per the provisions of FSA, the consumers are to make payment of coal bills in accordance with the quality of coal so determined at loading end for sampling and analysis by the third party in presence of the representatives of the consumer. Besides, in accordance with the provisions of FSA, power plants are compensated for the Stone/Boulders of (+) 250 mm size segregated at the unloading end, after joint assessment.
CIL and its subsidiary coal companies have received some complaints from power companies/TPPs and other consuming units in the country including the power plants in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka regarding oversized coal and coal mixed with some stones/boulders, which altogether cannot be ruled out due to unique geo-mining conditions and/or factors present in Indian coal seams. The subsidiary coal companies of CIL put their best efforts to segregate and remove the foreign bodies present in the coal seams. In view of the complex nature of coal seams, some extraneous material can get mixed with the raw coal being supplied, for which provision for stone compensation is kept in the FSA.
The Minister further stated that since coal is heterogeneous in nature, the inherent ash content in coal seams cannot be ruled out totally. However, to reduce ash content and remove impurities present in the coal, thereby improving the quality of coal, CIL and its subsidiaries are adopting new technologies such as Selective Mining, Surface Miners etc.
Further a revised mechanism for third party sampling is being put in place by CIL to make it more transparent and acceptable to the consumers, the Minister added.
