The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) of India has allowed power companies to claim compensation for extra coal procurement costs as Coal India failed to meet its coal supply obligations. This compensation was claimed by a coal-fired power plant operated by GMR Warora Energy, which had to use imported or e-auction coal as Coal India could not provide contracted domestic coal; GMR could not pass the extra coal cost on to electricity distribution companies Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) and the electricity department of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Around 14-15 GW of coal-fired power capacities are facing this supply problem.
According to the New Coal Distribution Policy (NCDP) approved in July 2013, coal-fired power plants have to receive a share of their contracted coal quantities through Coal India. This share was progressively reduced from 100% in fiscal year (April-March) 2013 to 75% in fiscal year 2017 and this 75% share was maintained by the SHAKTI policy (May 2017).