CIL’s supply to power sector up to 294.8 MT in H1

NEW DELHI: Supply of coal to the power sector by state-owned Coal India increased 3.4 per cent to 294.8 million tonnes 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 Ltd (CIL) said in a statement. “Compared to the high base of same period last fiscal, the volume increase was 9.7 MT, or 3.4 per cent. 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 per cent 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 per cent of coal in India. “We were given a target to supply 610 MT coal to the power sector for FY24. This is about 4 per cent 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 per cent. As of September-end, the coal stock at CIL’s pitheads was 41.6 MT. CIL reported a 12.6 per cent year-on-year rise in coal production at 51.4 MT last month.

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Power consumption grows 10.7% to 140.49 billion units in Sept

NEW DELHI: The country’s power consumption grew 10.7 per cent to 140.49 billion units in September mainly due to increased use of cooling appliances amid unusually humid weather conditions. In the year-ago period, power consumption stood at 126.91 Billion Units (BU), higher than 112.43 billion units in September 2021, according to government data. The peak power demand met — the highest supply in a day — rose to 239.97 GW in September. The peak power supply stood at 199.50 GW in September 2022 and 180.73 GW in September 2021. The power ministry had estimated the country’s electricity demand to touch 229 GW during summer. The demand did not reach the projected level in April-July due to unseasonal rain. The peak supply, however, touched a new high of 224.1 GW in June and before dropping to 209.03 GW in July. Peak demand touched 238.19 GW in August.