For 1st time since March, coal dispatch by CIL to power sector sees robust 22.4% growth

• In September, CIL dispatched a total of 35.74 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal as opposed to 29.20 MT in the corresponding month of the previous financial year

• The negative growth streak induced by the Covid-19 pandemic in March was interrupted for the first time in August & September marks a substantial improvement over it

New Delhi: For the first time since the Coronavirus pandemic broke out, coal dispatch to the power sector by state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) has recorded a robust 22.4 percent growth in September year-on-year, official data showed. In September, CIL dispatched a total of 35.74 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal as opposed to 29.20 MT in the corresponding month of the previous financial year. This is a huge jump over the figure recorded in the month of August when coal dispatch to the power sector grew by a nominal 1.2 percent year-on-year. 

The negative growth streak induced by the Covid-19 pandemic in March was interrupted for the first time in August. And now, the figure of September marks a substantial improvement over the previous month. This also indicates that power demand is recovering as economic activities have resumed across the country.

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However, for the April-September period, the coal provided to power consumers by Coal India was 10 percent lower than the corresponding figure recorded in the year-ago period. 

SCCL continues to see negative growth

Even though CIL has recorded a robust growth in coal dispatch to power sector in September, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has seen the figure drop by 17.5 percent in September. In the April-September period of the current financial year, coal dispatch by SCCL to the power sector has declined by 40.9 percent when compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

CIL coal production up 31.6%, offtake grows 31.8% in September

According to the data sourced from the Ministry of Coal, coal production at Coal India grew by 31.6 percent in September when compared to the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year. The total output in the month stood at 40.51 MT as opposed to 30.78 MT in September 2019. 

The overall offtake at CIL stood at 46.49 MT in September, registering a growth of 31.8 percent year-on-year. However, the offtake for the April-September period dropped by 7.6 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

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