Power sector dues payable to Coal India down by 18% to Rs 12,272.41 crore

• Power sector dues payable to Coal India stood at Rs 15,037.32 crore at the end of February
• As demand for coal from the power sector increases, it is likely that the decrease in dues may get reversed in the months that follow, said an industry expert

New Delhi: The total outstanding dues payable by the power sector to state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL), which had been hovering around Rs 15,000 crore for the past several months, has come down by 18.4 percent to settle at Rs 12,272.41 crore at the end of FY22 (March 2022), government data showed. The figure stood at Rs 15,037.32 crore at the end of February. The figures assume significance in the backdrop of an increased demand for coal from the power sector. In 2021, when India faced an energy crisis, coal supplies to the power sector was also affected due to non-payment of outstanding dues. 

At the end of January, the total outstanding dues payable by the power sector stood at Rs 15,097.01 crore. In 2021, the figure was at Rs 15,088.42 crore at the end of December, Rs 15,243.26 crore at the end of November and at Rs 14,598.58 crore at the end of October. At the end of September 2021, the dues owed by power sector stood at Rs 16,028.41 crore.

'Power sector dues down, but not in line with expectation'

A source, who spoke to PSU Watch, said that although dues have come down but the expectation was that it would come down to nearly Rs 10,000 crore by the end of FY22, which didn't happen. "We expected dues to come down to the range of Rs 10,000 crore by FY22. But that didn't happen because some states have sought more time for making payments."

As demand for coal from the power sector increases, it is likely that the decrease in dues may get reversed in the months that follow, said an industry expert. 

Backdrop

Amid fast spiralling power demand, Coal India has raised its supplies to thermal power stations by 14.2 percent during the first half of April as compared to the same period last year. CIL's coal supplies have hit 1.64 Million Tonnes (MTs) per day during this period against 1.43 MTs recorded in the same period in April 2021. The country's total power generation has seen a tremendous growth as demand for power rises on account of a rise in temperatures. Bulk of the demand for coal from the power sector is being met by CIL.

In FY22, CIL's supplies to the power sector soared to a record 540.4 MT with a whopping 95.4 MT volume increase and it is slated to scale another record in the month of April.

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