Coal output rises 28% on strong demand from power sector

New Delhi: India’s coal output soared by 28 per cent to 66.1 million tonnes in April amid high demand from thermal power plants as several parts of the country grappled with power shortage. The overall coal production was at 51.6 million tonnes (MT) in April 2021.

“During the month of April, 2022 India’s total coal production stood at 661.54 lakh tons (66.1 MT),” the coal ministry said in a statement. While Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries produced 53.4 MT of coal, production by Singareni Colleries Company Ltd (SCCL) stood at 5.3 MT and by captive mines at 7.3 MT during the last month.

According to the provisional data of the Ministry of Coal, while the total offtake of the coal sector was 70.8 MT during the month, the power sector offtake touched 61.7 MT in April. At the same time, coal supplies to the power sector from Coal India alone stood at 49.7 MT. Coal supplies to the power sector by CIL were 15.6 per cent higher in the last month on yearly basis in the wake of high demand of the dry fuel from electricity generating plants.

T h e c o a l m i n i s t r y stressed that it is planning to augment its dispatches further. With higher output, CIL is aiming to increase its dispatches further, especially to power plants in the coming months. Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, is one of the major suppliers of fossil fuel to the power sector.

On an average, the PSU supplied 1.66 MT of coal per day to power utilities in April which increased to 1.73 MT during last week. Average supply per day is at par with what was programmed by CIL for this sector during the first quarter of FY23. (PTI)