All geared up to meet the upsurge in power demand: Ministry of Coal

New Delhi: Ministry of Coal is all geared up to address the issue of stock build-up at the end of the Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) during the monsoon season. It is notable that coal stocks with CIL are adequate to meet the upsurge in Power demand being witnessed in the country since July this year. The supply of coal to the Power Plants is being monitored at the highest level in the Ministry on a daily basis in coordination with the Ministry of Power, Railways and the coal companies.

Ministry of Coal's Secretary has reviewed the supply scenario with the coal companies on August 30 as well as August 30. He has given specific instructions to the coal companies to give priority supplies to all the TPPs having critical stock levels and to focus on stock liquidation from the mines having high stock levels. He has further directed that in case of availability issues at linked mines alternative sources be allocated for the smooth running of the plant. The despatches are being aligned with the advisories of the Power Ministry.

Coal India Limited (CIL) has stepped up its coal supplies vigorously during the last five days of August 2021 consistently clocking 1.7 million tonnes (MTs) per day. Augmenting supplies to coal-fired power plants, CIL is pumping 1.36 MTs of coal per day. The last three-day average loading to the power sector has touched 1.4 MTs. The coal supplies to TPPs has picked up only in July and have been at a historic high since then.

All efforts are being made in cooperation with Railway authorities to enhance despatch to meet the unprecedented growth in demand for coal-based power. The subsidiaries of CIL have upped their loading commensurate with the prevailing demand scenario. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in a record performance has despatched 102 rakes on August 30 and Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) has dispatched the highest ever coal of 3.87 lakh tonnes in a single day on August 27. CIL has registered the highest ever loading since July' 21of 285 rakes in a single day on 30th August from CIL sidings. The depletion rate of coal stocks in TPPs has now much reduced.

In the coming days, the supplies from the coal companies to the power plants is expected to improve further to stand by the nation in these critical monsoon months and meet the demand of the power sector. It is expected that in the next few days, the coal stock at TPPs will stabilise and start rising thereafter.

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