Team News Riveting
Raipur, October 1
Even as efforts are on to enhance coal production and ramp up supply to the power plants, state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) had reported a drop in the output in September compared to previous month.
According to the data released by the CIL, the state-run miner had produced 40.07 million tonne of (MT) coal in September that was about 4.5 per cent less compared to the output recorded in the month of August. The CIL had produced 42.6 MT in August.
Last month’s production was marginally high by 0.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
The figure will certainly put the authorities in a fix as the production could not be enhanced despite all efforts. The CIL and its subsidiaries had taken a slew of measures to increase the production and offtake. But the physical performance contested the campaign.
This comes in the backdrop of depleted coal stocks at thermal power plants due to an increase in electricity demand following the revival in economic activity and lower generation from other sources.
According to CIL officials, the sudden spike in power generation in the second week of August led to the coal shortage, as demand outpaced supplies, it led to depletion of stocks at power utilities.
The union coal ministry has set up a committee for reviewing and benchmarking the timelines in project execution including the tendering process of CIL, its subsidiaries, and other public sector units.
News Agency Reuters citing Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data two days ago said that 16 of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants had zero coal stocks while over half of the plants had stocks that would last fewer than three days, while over 80 per cent had less than a week’s stock left.
