Not keen on revising coal production target, says Piyush Goyal

Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal is not keen on revising the coal production target of 1.5 billion tonnes by 2022 despite a Central Electricity Authority (CEA) draft report saying no new fossil fuel-based power plant is required till the said year.

The CEA draft report is based on the fact that some 70,000 MW of thermal power projects are already under various stages of construction or are in the process of adding to generation, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal told PTI.

Goyal was here yesterday for a review meeting of Coal India Ltd.

The government is aiming at one billion tonne coal production by Coal India and another 500 million tonne by the private sector by 2022.

Given the massive capacity addition plans in the renewable sector, CEA estimates there is no requirement for new coal plants between 2017 and 2022.

Asked whether the CEA report will bear an impact on coal demand projection, Goyal replied in the negative but added that it is a dynamic situation and "We cannot go back to era of shortages."

Engineering major BHEL, despite 80 per cent of its revenues coming from the power sector, too is not worried and is now eyeing the replacement market in a big way.