Pvt firms upset over coal min’s preference to govt power plants
Private power players are crying foul over the government’s instruction to Coal India (CIL) to allot coal “out of turn” to power plants owned by the central and state governments.The development comes at a time when the gap between the plant load factors (PLFs) – capacity utilisation levels – between private and government-owned power plants continue to widen, and this decision, independent power producers claim, would further impair their ability to service debts, and in turn worsen the bankers’ portfolio of stressed assets in power, currently seen at more than Rs 1.74 lakh crore.In the wake of a more-than-expected rise in power demand as mercury rises, the coal ministry has written to CIL and Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) that “out .....