Indian Coal
Regulations – Learning from International Practices
India is a developing economy and is set to witness a huge surge
in energy demand given the strong linkage between economic growth and energy
demand. Coal is the pre-dominant source of energy in India and has the largest
share in the energy mix. Despite recent focus on other sources of energy such
as gas and renewable sources, coal is expected to dominate the energy mix for
the next few decades or so owing to technical and economic factors.
At present, the
Coal sector in India is facing numerous challenges such as inefficient mining
practices, shortages in coal supply, monopoly of Coal India Ltd. in mining, improper
pricing mechanism, contractual disputes between buyers and suppliers, lack of clear
process for mine opening/mine closing and rehabilitation etc. The Government of India has approved the constitution of a Coal
Regulatory Authority to address these issues and challenges. The Coal
Regulatory Authority Bill 2013 was approved by the Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs (CCEA) in June 2013 and tabled in the Parliament in December
2013. The scope of the proposed Coal Regulatory Authority includes development
of regulations for the specific functions assigned to it in consultation with
various stakeholders. The Authority is expected to establish guidelines and
standards for grading of coal to be supplied, pricing mechanisms, ensuring
adherence to FSAs and resolving disputes thereof, monitor and enforce mine
closure plans and adherence to mining plans, advising various stakeholders in
the sector and resolving grievance of coal producers and consumers. Figure 1
provides an outline of the scope of the proposed Coal Regulatory Authority.
Figure
1 Scope of the Proposed Coal Regulatory Authority
To understand the views of various
stakeholders on the proposed scope of the Coal Regulator, InfralineEnergy
conducted a conference on “Developing
Regulatory Framework for Indian Coal Sector: International Practices” on
November 26th, 2013. With this background and on basis of
discussions with various stakeholders, InfralineEnergy has commissioned a research
study on policy and regulatory set up in the global coal industry named “Global Coal Regulatory Framework: Path-Setting for Developing Indian
Regulations”. The report will examine the structure
of coal industry, institutional bodies, policy- regulatory framework of eight
countries and functions of various authorities administering and regulating the
coal sector. These countries have been shortlisted based on various parameters such
as maturity level of coal sector, emerging coal industry and presence of
independent coal regulator. It presents a broad comparative analysis of
regulatory practices in various countries and established best practices to
eventually provide various stakeholders, including the Central Government and
the proposed Regulator, with mapping of global practices as they join together
to develop regulations for the Indian coal sector. InfralineEnergy strongly
believes that the report will effective serve the above objective.
Infraline Energy Coal Research Team
No comments:
Post a Comment