Coal news and updates

NTPC may give imported coal the short shrift in 2016-17

Having significantly reduced its procurement of imported coal in 2015-16 due to sufficient availability of the domestic material, NTPC Ltd, India’s biggest power generation company, may not use imported coal at all in 2016-17, industry sources feel.

However, others feel the company may import around 3 million tons (mt) of coal in 2016-17, significantly lower compared to around 16 mt imported in 2014-15 and around 7 mt likely to be imported in 2015-16.

“My expectation is that NTPC may not import more than 3 mt coal in 2016-17 and even resorting to zero imports is possible,” said officials of at least two leading suppliers of imported coal.

According to them, NTPC may decide not to use imported coal because most of the plants are at the pithead and currently there is sufficient availability of domestic coal.