Thar coal board approves tariff, financing terms for block-II development

The Thar Coal & Energy Board, led by Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, has approved the Commercial Operations Date (COD) Stage tariff for the Thar coal Block-II mine, along with revised financing terms for its development.

Chaired by CM Murad Ali Shah, the board meeting saw the participation of key stakeholders, including Federal Energy Minister Sardar Awais Leghari, MNA Ms. Shazia Marri, and various provincial ministers and secretaries.

The board’s discussions centered around the tariff for the Block-II mine, which has a capacity of 7.6 Mtpa (Phase-II). Additionally, the board deliberated on the Limited Scope Petition regarding the financing terms for Phase-III Mine of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC).

TCEB took the following decisions after getting an elaborate presentation from Mr. Tariq Ali Shah, Managing Director, TCEB. The Board unanimously approved the Commercial Operations Date (COD) Stage tariff of Thar coal Block-II mine of 7.6 Mtpa capacity (Phase-II) SECMC which stood levelized at $36.70 per tonne against the Petition Tariff sought at USD 45.80 per tonne. The Board also unanimously approved revised financing terms in review Contract Stage tariff for Thar coal Block-II mine of 11.2 Mtpa capacity (Phase-III) SECMC by increasing lending spread up to 1.85 per cent over the benchmark interest rate, which was earlier allowed upto 1.5 per cent.

The Board appreciated the efforts made by the Government of Sindh for achieving the objectives of Thar Coalfield through Block-I and Block-II and directed to expedite Phase-III of Block-II maintained by SECMC so that the objectives of Thar Coalfield could be achieved to bring down the prices of energy tariff in the country.