MahaGenco pins hopes on allocation of new mines after Supreme Court scraps licence.

The fate of MahaGenco's power projects worth Rs. 20,000 crore and combined generation capacity of over 3,000 MW hinges on allocation of new mines after the Supreme Court scrapped coal extraction licences given to most private companies, senior company executives said. MahaGenco Maharashtra's largest state-owned power generation firm, is set to add about 1,000 MW of capacity by March end.

The company had permission to extract 30 million tonnes of coal per annum from the Machhakata-Mahanadi block, but the court cancelled its licence, along with those of several other companies, in September last year saying the allocations were illegal.

Managing director Asheesh Sharma told ET that if the power generator is unable to secure fuel supply for the new capacity, it may have to shut some inefficient plants and divert coal to these new plants or resort to using imported coal. MahaGenco has an installed capacity of 11,237 MW, 70% of which is thermal.

ET