Coal supply to the power sector monitored closely: Coal ministry

NEW DELHI: The ministry of coal on Tuesday said the supply of coal to the power sector is regularly being supervised by the Ministry in close coordination with the ministries of power and railways.

As a result of this coordinated efforts, the closing stock of coal at the domestic coal-based power plants, as on October 31 this year was 25.6 million tonne (mt) which is the highest ever in the month of October except for the Covid year of 2020-21.The domestic coal supply to the power sector is 12 per cent more than the same period of last year which is the highest-ever supply to power sector in the first seven months of any financial year, according to the ministry.

The statement noted that the total domestic coal production is 18 per cent higher than the same period of previous year with Coal India (CIL), achieving a growth of 17.5 per cent. The captive coal blocks produced 58.6 mt in the first seven months, registering a 37.5 per cent growth over the same period of the previous year.

The domestic coal rake loading from all sources of CIL to power sector has been at an all-time high of 296.5 rakes per day which is 19 per cent increase over the same period of the previous year.

With an objective to enhance coal production capacity, the ministry of coal said it had recently put 141 new coal blocks for commercial auction. The Ministry is closely coordinating with state governments and central ministries concerned to operationalise mines auctioned earlier on fast-track.

The Ministry also said it was also taking steps to augment rail connectivity infrastructure for all major mines under PM-Gati Shakti to ensure faster evacuation of coal and the ministry of coal was committed to ensure adequate availability of coal to the power sector.