New Delhi: State-run Coal India Ltd's (CIL) supplies to coal-fired power plants of the country has raced ahead to 441.4 million tonnes (MT) during April-January period of FY22, said the coal miner in a statement. This is a robust volume increase of 83 MT, representing 23 percent growth over the 358.2 MT despatch recorded in the corresponding period of the last year. "CIL's current coal despatch trend to power sector indicates that by the closure of FY22, the company shall comfortably surpass the previous high of 491 MT supplied to thermal power plants in FY19. CIL is also aiming to overtake the ongoing fiscal's off-take target of 548 MTs to the power sector," said the statement.
During the referred period, the company supplied around 80 MT more coal to all its customers as the total offtake evinced a steep increase to 542.4 MT, registering 17 percent year-on-year growth. Total coal offtake during the same period last year was 463 MT.
CIL has produced 478 MT of coal till January of the current financial year, which is a 25 MT jump over the coal production of 453 MT in the same period of the last year, a growth of 5.5 percent. "Our coal output was hampered during the monsoon which was extensive and extended but we still managed to register 25 MT increase till January in absolute terms," said a senior executive of the company.
CIL's total coal supply for the month of January also rose steeply to 60.8 MT, with a double-digit growth of 14 percent. Increase in volume terms was 7.3 MT compared to 53.5 MT in the same month of the last year.
Coal supply to the power sector witnessed a healthy growth of 24 percent in January at 50.7 MT, a 10 MT increase over the corresponding month last year when the despatch was 40.8 MT. CIL's pithead stock was down to 35.6 MT at the end of January as the company managed to liquidate its coal inventory by nearly 64 MT during the 10 months of FY22. CIL began the fiscal saddled with 99 MT of stock pile.
CEA-monitored indigenous coal stock at power plants was 23 MTs as of January 27, with CIL chipping in more than 90 percent of the stock.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)