Bengal is keen to step up coal supply from its allocated mines in a bid to secure fuel supply for the thermal power units of West Bengal Power Development Corporation.

WBPDCL was allocated six coal blocks after the Supreme Court had cancelled all coal blocks allotted to private parties and state PSUs. The allotted blocks are Tara (east and west), Barjore, Gangaramchawk Bhadulia, Pachhwara (north), Barjora (north) and Kasta (east). The last two blocks were allotted afresh to the state utility.

WBPDCL at present sources around 14-15 million tonnes from Coal India through fuel supply agreements and depends on captive mining and imported coal to meet its overall requirement of around 18-19 million tonnes.

“We have opened two collieries — Barjora and Barjora North. We are hopeful that Pachhwara and the other blocks can also be brought into operation soon,” said Bengal power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on the sidelines of an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

He added that an increase in coal mined from captive sources could ensure fuel availability at competitive prices, which in turn could have a positive impact on the tariff. Moreover, the price of coal sourced from Coal India have gone up, adding to the cost.

WBPDCL units at Bakreshar, Bandel, Kolaghat, Sagardighi and Santaldih together produced 101.92 per cent of its planned generation in the months of April and May with a plant load factor of 61.62 per cent.

Chattopadhyay said the state was looking to improve the power transmission quality by implementing substations and fault detectors, especially in places where the transmission lines are of longer length. “With the increase in the number of consumers, we are focussing on reducing the distances and on faster fault detection to tackle the low voltage issue and improve the quality of power,” he said.