Coal news and updates

CIL clears way for TPPs to sell power in exchanges

In a major policy shift Coal India Limited (CIL) has cleared the decks for un-requisitioned surplus (URS) power generated by the thermal power plants that use CIL’s linkage coal under long and medium term fuel supply agreements (FSAs), to be sold in power market and exchanges with effect from August 1, 2025, according to a senior official of the company.

Earlier, TPPs serving power purchase agreements (PPAs) using CIL’s linkage coal could sell the electricity generated only within the confines of the PPAs as the provisions disallowed the sale of power generated from long and medium term FSAs in the power market and exchanges.

In the spirit of the revised SHAKTI policy, CIL has done away with the earlier provision of restricting the sale of power in the open market. This applies evenly to all existing as well as future long and medium term power FSAs and extends to all the power generators - central and state gencos, independent power plants. During FY26, CIL has around 650 million tons (mt) of FSAs in place for the power sector.

“We have been cementing our relations with consumers consistently and the policy facilitates the power sector to meet consistent demand of affordable power,” said the senior official.

With the surplus power availability in the exchanges, ideally, the spot prices will be in check, leading to affordable power to all.

A year ago, in August 2024, CIL paved the way allowing supplies beyond annual contracted quantity (ACQ) to TPPs of the country including IPPS, doing away a provision which allowed coal supplies up to a maximum of 120 percent of ACQ.