Coal ministry augments fuel supply to states with critical stocks

30 October 2017

The coal ministry has drafted a coal supply augmentation plan to supply 730,000 tonne of fuel on a priority basis to multiple states in a bid to tackle shortages at thermal power plants.

As per the plan, it has been decided to supply 220,000 tonne coal to Uttar Pradesh (UP), 129,000 tonne coal to Madhya Pradesh, 56,000 tonne to Gujarat, 52,000 tonne to Rajasthan, 187,000 tonne to Maharashtra and 84,000 tonne coal to Tamil Nadu on a daily basis.

“The coal requirement of the TPPs had suddenly increased due to reduction in hydro, nuclear and wind power. The implementation of this mutually agreed plan has assured that sufficient coal was available to the generating companies in these states,” coal secretary Sushil Kumar told ETEnergyworld.

Many states have recently complained of coal shortages leading to disrupted power supply. Following a review meeting last month, the ministry had decided to increase coal loading through railway rakes to 250 rakes per day by Coal India Limited (CIL) of which 225 rakes per day were to be supplied to the power sector.

Kumar said there has been heavy rain this month in the coal belt areas of the eastern parts of the country which had an impact on production at CIL subsidiaries Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), and Central Coalfields Limited (CC).

“There have also been festive occasions of Durga Puja, Diwali, Chath Puja etc. Despite these constraints, the average rake loading has been about 221 per day which was 6 per cent higher than the rake loading in the month of October, 2016,” he said. The overall loading of railway rakes stood at 214.6 per day in the current calendar year so far, 4 per cent higher than the loading during the same period last year, Kumar said.

In October, the average loading has increased to 209 rakes per day as compared to 173 rakes in October last year. Also, the power sector’s share in coal loading has grown to 94.6 per cent in the current month as compared to 82.8 per cent in October 2016.

The power ministry had last week said it is coordinating with its coal and railways counterparts to address the issue of temporary shortages due to the rise in demand for thermal power.

Source: ET