‘Higher stocks at coal mines’
NEW DELHI : The stock of coal at mines and transit has increased 39% over last year, coal minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday, amid concerns over stocks being too low to meet the power demand. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), the minister said state-owned Coal India Ltd’s production has increased 12.8% so far in the July-September quarter to 123.4 million tonnes. In the first quarter of the fiscal, its production stood at 175.5 million tonne, 9.8% higher compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.
“Record coal production and record coal supplies in the country have helped us maintain sufficient coal stock during the monsoons. As a result, coal stock at mine end and in transit have increased by 39% over last year," he said. He also said that production at Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has increased 12.4% in the July-September quarter so far to 29.6 million tonnes.
During the same period last year, it’s production stood at 26.3 million tonnes. The minister further said that the growth momentum will be sustained and the coal stock would increase in the coming months. Growth in production comes at a time when power demand in the country has touched new highs.
The peak power demand has touched a new record of 239.9 GW, against the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) estimate of 230 GW this year. On 1 September, the peak power demand neared 240 GW, and the peak shortage shot up to 10.75 GW. The power ministry had recently directed all coal-based power generating companies to blend 4% imported coal till March 2024.
Read more on livemint.com
