Coal news and updates

Coal stocks at power plants have dipped to their lowest level in 25 years as supplies from Coal India has continuously been falling short of target, latest data from Central Electricity Authority shows. 

 

Fuel stocks at 103 coal-fired generating plants fell to 7.2 million tonne, the lowest since 2010 when stocks had plummeted to 7.8 million tonne, the data shows. 

 

This 7.2 million tonnes comprise 6.58 million tonnes of indigenous coal and 7.06 lakh (rpt 7.06 lakh) tonnes of imported fuel. 

 

 

NTPC, the country's largest generation utility, has "nil" to one day's stock at several units. The company's Indira Gandhi thermal plant in Haryana, Rihand, Singrauli and Tanda in UP and Vindhayachal in Madhya Pradesh have no buffer stock. NTPC is spinning these plants at bare minimum rate on daily coal feeds, wherever possible. 

 

NTPC's plants are among 61 units facing "critical" coal stocks of less than a week's requirement. Some 36 stations have less than four days' stocks. 

 

Last month the government had said the plants were using up coal stocks faster than usual as they were spinning at full capacity to make up for increased summer demand and shortfall in generation by hydel plants. The extended dry spell at the beginning of the monsoon had hit hydel plants as reservoir levels fell due to reduced inflows. 

 

The situation, it is hoped, would ease soon in the month leading to winter when demand normally goes down before rising at peak winter. But winter brings its own problem of fog which disrupts rail communication and supply to power stations. 

 

But generators hold Coal India's failure to meet production target as the main problem behind low stocks. This is amplified by choke points in the railway system and shortage of locomotives and wagons. 

 

Poor quality of supplied coal is another problem as impurities - earth and rocks - in coal supplied by some of Coal India's subsidiaries reduce the effective usable quantity. 

 

On the back of shortage, coal imports rose 18.47% to 110.15 million tonne in the April-September period against 92.98 million tonne during the corresponding period of 2013-14.

 

 

Source: ToI