Coal Supply is more than Consumption. Strategy in place to Ensure Normal Production during Festival Season. Coal Ministry Ensures Close Coordination with Railways & Power Sector

Pursuant to the most recent data, the country’s coal production increased by 12.73 per cent  from the same time last year to October 21, 2023, the end of the current fiscal year. The production increase for Coal India Ltd. (CIL) is 11.8 per cent, for SCCL it is 8.45 per cent, and for captive and commercial mines it is 20.50 per cent. Total coal stock as of 21.10.2023, which includes coal at the pithead, transit, and thermal power plants, is 71.35 million tonnes (MT), up from 60.44 MT at the same time the previous year, an increase of 18.05 per cent.

It ought to be noted as well that the amount of coal imported for blending purposes decreased by 35 per cent during this time, from 20.8 MT to 13.5 MT during the comparable period last year. Production has increased over the past ten days after a prolonged period of rain in the coal-producing states during early October. 26.57 lakh tonnes per day were produced overall during the past 10 days, an extraordinarily higher rate. The pattern of coal stocks at the end of thermal power plants has changed during the past week. There is a trend of coal stock accretion, and the daily supply of coal now exceeds the daily average demand.

Since the summer and monsoon seasons dominate the first half of the year, there is less manufacturing and less transportation in H1. Since production circumstances are good after the monsoon, stock at pithead and at thermal power plants records depletion in H1 and accretion in the second half of the year. Because the supply is more than the demand during H2, there is an increase in coal stock at power stations and mine pitheads during the second half of the year.

The Ministry of Coal has kept enough coal available at all of the nation’s thermal power plants despite the extremely high demand for electricity. The Ministry  has also worked out strategy for ensuring normal production of coal during festival season by way of offering higher wages to the contractual workers during the season.  This has resulted in 21 lakh tonnes coal production by CIL on Maha Astmi i.e. equal to any normal day. It also has planned to ensure 40 million tonnes of closing stock at pithead plants of thermal power and more than 75 million tonnes at mine end as on 31st March, 2024.