Coal news and updates

APP urges CIL to sell unused coal stock to private power plants

May 6: Buoyed by reports that Coal India Ltd (CIL) is finding it difficult to liquidate its coal stocks due to weak finances of some state utilities, captive and private power producers have urged CIL to sell the same to them.

In a letter written to the coal ministry, Association of Power Producers (APP) has said "This gives an impression of reduced demand from all power generating utilities leading to a surplus coal availability scenario. However, our interaction with private generators clearly shows that in many cases they have not been receiving adequate coal quantities as per the 65% level decided by CCEA."

Noting that many private sector players, including captive power plants, have been receiving progressively reducing quantity of coal from CIL, the association requested the ministry to initiate measures so that CIL diverts the unused stock to feed such plants.

India's pithead vendible coal stocks stood at 56.04 million tons (mt) as on the last day of March 2014.