APGENCO refutes Naidu charges, says buying coal from SCCL as per 2014 pact

VIJAYAWADA: The Energy department has refuted the allegations of Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu that the State is purchasing coal at a higher cost from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) when it is available at a much lower rate in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

The officials said that the purchase from SCCL is being done as per the agreement made in 2014.

In a statement on Saturday, APGENCO managing director B Sreedhar explained that the State was procuring coal from SCCL since 2014-15 itself and entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2016-17 for procurement of 50 lakh Metric Tonnes (MT) as the supply from MCL was less.

He noted that the APGENCO also agreed to pay 20 per cent in addition to the notified price to SCCL as per the MoU.