March 16, 2012. The government will auction 16 coal blocks to power producers, giving them the chance to bid for 8,165 million tonnes of reserves, enough to light up a whopping 68,000-MW of power plants for 30 years. The blocks are part of the 54 block with 18,000 million tonnes of reserve, which will soon be offered by the coal ministry to various sectors, including power. The ministry has allocated 25%, each, to steel companies and state mining corporations. A little less than 5% has been earmarked for cement and sponge iron units. Two small blocks would be offered to developers for pilot surface gasification projects.