Hyderabad, Aug. 20: Coal India's decision to allot 10 per cent of its production for e-auction has hit the availability of coal for the thermal stations. Almost all thermal stations in the state are passing through severe shortage and some of them even closed down for few days as there was no coal to operate. While the Mahanadi Coal Fields (MCF) has diverted nearly 30 million tonnes of coal towards e-auction, state-owned Singereni Collieries has been selling around three lakh tonnes of coal in e-auction, depriving both Rayalaseema and Kothagudem thermal stations. Interestingly, Coal India discreetly changed the guaranteed supply regulations. The Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) entered with all the power utilities and manufacturing companies would undergo a major change with the fresh amendment. As per the amended FSA, the Coal India would only guarantee 60 per cent of coal dispatches and would pay compensation if the supply is less than 60 per cent. "Earlier, it was 85 to 90 per cent. So we were sure of about 90 per cent supply, but now we can't press for that and we are forced to halt generation" said a senior Genco official. Even the NTPC Ramagundam unit also reduced production between 200 to 400 MW per day as it did not receive required quantity of coal. "We are running short of 12 MT coal for the entire country. Some of our units are under forced outage" said a NTPC official. Unable to clear the mess, developed with the e-auction, the Union Coal ministry is advising power generation companies to go for imported coal, which priced around Rs 8,000 per tonne while the domestic coal is priced at Rs 2,000 per tonne. "This is highly illogical. On one side existing units are deprived of coal on the other, new units are given fresh linkage. Only to manage the crisis, Coal India has decided to revise FSA to 60 per cent guarantee" pointed a Singareni Collieries official. But the state power companies are facing other problems too. "Our thermal units are not fully suitable for imported coal. We are facing heating problems as the imported coal has higher calorific value and needs specialised valves in the unit" said a Genco engineer. The state-owned power generator decided to change the mix with 30:70 per cent to save the existing units from higher heat. Genco is importing more than one lakh tonnes of coal, but with poor port handling, arrival of the stocks is being affected.