Bloomberg reported that PTC India Limited plans to start importing coal to supply power stations in return for electricity to defend its position as the nation's biggest energy trader.

Mr TN Thakur chairman of PTC in an interview said that PTC has agreed to supply 1.5 million tonnes of coal by December 2009. The company plans to invest in mines in Indonesia and India to secure as much as 15 million tonnes, equivalent to Q3 of India's annual imports.

Mr Thakur said that the energy trader faces competition from new power exchanges and is using part of the INR 12 billion it raised in a January share sale to invest in power projects and assets. PTC will pay generators to use its coal and sell the power produced to its customers.

He said that “Coal is going to be king in the next few years and those who own the resource will grow, Prasad Dahapute, a Mumbai based analyst with Antique Stock Broking Limited. He added that PTC will make more money through generation than it can through trading.”