OREANDA-NEWS. September 13, 2012. Sasan (Madhya Pradesh), September 3, 2012: Production of coal has begun in Reliance Power’s mines at Sasan, in Madhya Pradesh. Coal from the mines will be used to generate electricity at the company’s Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant, India’s largest domestic coal-based power plant. There will be annual production of 20 million tonnes from the Moher and Moher-Amlohri coal mines associated with the Sasan project. This makes Reliance Power’s mines the largest in the country on the basis of volume of material handled.

Commenting on the development, Anil D. Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Power, said: “This is a milestone moment for Reliance and for the Indian power sector. Scarcity of coal is one of the biggest challenges facing the power sector in India. We will be able to get 20 MTPA from these mines as a result of our efforts to optimise coal production by deploying latest and advanced mining technologies. We are developing the coal blocks to exacting international standards of operations, safety and productivity with the finest team available not only in the country but also overseas.”

The Sasan coal mines are deploying the largest mining equipment ever used in India. The equipment being used includes giant rope shovels, dumper trucks, dozers and graders. The company will soon press into service draglines with a 61 cubic metre bucket, which is twice the size of the largest dragline ever to be used in India.

The Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Power, J.P. Chalasani, said: “We remain committed to increasing coal production in India to reduce imports and save precious foreign exchange. For the Sasan mines we have deployed the largest, state-of-the- art mining equipment ever used in Indian mining history to produce coal.”

Reliance Power Limited, a part of the Reliance Group, is India’s leading private sector power generation company. The company has the largest portfolio of power projects in the private sector based on coal, gas, hydro and renewable energy, with an operating portfolio of 1,540 megawatts. The company also has the largest captive coal reserves in the private sector, estimated at two billion tonnes. Besides, the company is developing three coal mines in Indonesia and is also developing coal bed methane based generation capacity.