The Union Ministry of Power has proposed letting coal-fired power plants keep selling power after completing their agreements with buyers.
The proposal, if approved, will help old coal plants earn additional revenue, increase liquidity in short-term power markets and help distribution companies in states facing a power deficit access cheaper power.
Such a move will enable federal-run electricity generators such as NTPC to sell power in any mode after distribution companies exit an agreement upon completion of the tenure.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has also pushed for shutting down coal plants, which account for 80 percent of India's industrial pollution, if they do not comply with green laws.
Distribution companies operated by states such as Punjab, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha want to surrender power allocated by the federal government-run utilities after the plants complete 25 years.