The power ministry has told an inter-ministerial panel that the proposed regulator for the coal sector should be equipped with adequate powers to decide upon the prices of the fuel to curb the “profiteering” tendencies of coal companies. It should also be empowered to adjudicate disputes between coal producers and buyers.

Ahead of the next meeting of the Group of Ministers constituted to suggest the powers and functions of the proposed regulator, the ministry contended that while power purchase agreements are regulated by the concerned electricity regulatory commissions, coal companies are not.