Delhi wants own coal blocks for 4,000 MW power plant

“We have had informal discussions with the Centre and we will make a formal request (for coal block allocation) in a day or two,” Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday.

He was backed by power minister Satyendra Jain. Like other states, Jain said, Delhi should be allocated coal blocks to feed its power plant.

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Jain said the government expects to incur no expenditure in setting up the plant as it would follow the Madhya Pradesh model of electricity generation.

“In MP, Reliance Energy has tied up with the government for 25 years and the rate of electricity is Rs 1.19 per unit. We will get power at Rs 2, accounting for inflation,” the minister claimed. He said the government will invite competitive bidding for the cheapest rate.

The Sheila Dikshit government had set up a gas-based power plant at Bawana in 2010 but it is still non-operational. Jain said the plant cannot be made operational till the government gets cheaper gas.

On the promise to slash electricity prices by almost half, Jain said a review is underway. Asked what happens if DERC hikes the tariff, Jain said, “The companies’ demands are not fair. We will request DERC not to increase power tariff.”

On the planned allocation of coal blocks to states, the minister said, “The Centre has given many states coal blocks and we have demanded our share. A formal application will be made tomorrow.”

He said the peak demand in Delhi is 6,000 MW and this is likely to rise in next five-six years to 10,000 MW. “We are aiming to generate 4,000 MW of electricity. The coal power plant will take 3-4 years to be operational,” Jain said.