The supply of coal to the power sector by state-owned Coal India Ltd. increased 3.4% to 294.8 million tonne in the first six months of the current fiscal even as the demand for electricity touched record highs in the past two months, the maharatna firm said on Monday.
The total amount of coal supplied was 1.8 MT more than the 293 MT demand projected for this period, Coal India said in a statement.
"Compared to the high base of same period last fiscal, the volume increase was 9.7 MT, or 3.4%. This could have been higher if the logistics were eased out and intake not regulated by few consumers," CIL said in a statement.
"We were given a supply target of 610 MT to the power sector for FY24. This is about 4% higher than the record 586.6 MT supplied in FY23. We met the prorated demand of coal-fired plants till September-end and expect to meet the annual demand as well," a senior CIL official said.
Coal is the largest source of electricity in the country and CIL produces over 80% of coal in India.
"We were given a target to supply 610 MT coal to the power sector for FY24. This is about 4% higher than the record level of 586.6 MT supplied in FY23. We met the prorated demand of coal-fired plants till September-end and expect to meet the annual demand as well," the official said.
CIL's total supplies shot up to 360.7 MT during the April-September period as against 332 MT in the year-ago period.
Coal supplies by CIL to the non-power sector during the first six months of FY24 peaked at 65.7 MT, registering a growth of 40%.
As of September-end, the coal stock at CIL's pitheads was 41.6 MT. CIL reported a 12.6% year-on-year rise in coal production at 51.4 MT last month.
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