The Power Ministry has revoked the mandate for coal transport via sea from Odisha to Punjab. Thanking the Union power minister RK Singh for the move, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state will not face power shortage this summer.

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After meeting Singh, Mann said that he discussed the supply of solar power from Madhya Pradesh to Punjab in summer. During the meeting they also spoke of increasing the capacity of the Pachwara coal mine.

He added that there would be no power shortage this summer in Punjab.

Earlier this month, the ministry had decided to transport coal via the rail-sea-rail (RSR) mode to thermal power plants in states including Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and NTPC plants in northern and western India.

The ministry said it had taken the decision because of logistic constraints associated with coal transport from mines in eastern India. The ministry had added that the port had been selected by the concerned power generation company and not the government.

Congress MP Manish Tewari had slammed the ministry for instructing Punjab to import coal via the RSR mode instead of the direct mode as the former would cost three times more.

The ministry earlier this month had also said that Punjab had failed to arrange coal on time from the Pachwara captive coal mine to ease the supply to its thermal power plants and additional coal was being given to the state from alternative sources to help it maintain the power supply.

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