The Government of India announced a new policy called SHAKTI to allocate coal to power sector consumers in May 2017. This article analysing SHAKTI and its impact on the power and coal sectors was published in Business Standard of 25th June 2017. It concludes that, while the policy announcement will bring in short-term relief, it is unlikely to contribute to the long-term goals of the sector which requires efficient thermal generation, competitive markets and flexible contracts. Instead, it could fragment coal and power generation along public and private sector lines, with consumers having to bear the costs of the resultant inefficiencies.