State-owned Coal India Ltd's (CIL) supplies to the power sector stood at 243.3 million tonne (MT), achieving 108 percent of the annual action plan (AAP) target of 225.4 MT, progressive till August FY'23. Supplies overshot the target by nearly 18 MT.

Share Market Live

NSE

Also, the company breached its AAP target of 276 MT for total off-take achieving 102.5 percent satisfaction. Total supplies have risen sharply to 283 MT, during the period under reference with a jump of 7 MT over the target.

CIL's supplies of 243.3 MT to the power sector during April-August 2022 were 38.1 MT more compared to the same period last year posting a double-digit growth of 18.6 percent. Supplies were 205.2 MT for the same period last year.

Also Read: Reliance buys brands from Campa maker Pure Drinks Group

At 283 MT, the total coal off-take of the company, progressive till August 2022 of the current fiscal, increased by 23.6 MT in volume terms against 259.4 MT last year. The growth is 9.1 percent.

Diminishing fears of coal shortage, coal stock at power plants are close to 30 MT, including imported coal, ending August 29, 2022. This is substantially higher than 12.8 MT of August 2021 when the stock plummeted by 11.2 MT in a month.

Improved supplies from CIL helped the stock stabilising at power plants. Closing stock for the month of August 2022 is a six-year high barring 2020 when the pandemic fuelled a slowdown and saw the stock at 37.7 MT.

Also Read: Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan step downs for new opportunity in the US

Producing 253.3 MT of coal from April to August 2022, CIL logged a double-digit year-on-year growth of 21 percent. This is a strong 44.1 MT increase in absolute terms against 209.2 MT of last year’s same period.

This level of increase was achieved despite increased downpours across all the areas of Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL). WCL on average received 54 percent more rainfall from June 1 till August end during the ongoing fiscal, than a similar period of last year, while the rainfall was 57 percent more in the areas of MCL.

Amidst this, CIL's production for August 2022 posted 8.5 percent growth at 46.2 MT. This is a jump of 3.6 MT compared to 42.6 MT as of August 2021.

Total coal off-take of 51.1 MT for the month of August 2022 has also surpassed the AAP target of 47.5 MT which is an achievement of 108 percent. Compared to 48.6 MT of August 2021 the growth is 5 percent. In August 2022, CIL supplied 43.8 MT of coal to thermal power plants posting 16 percent growth against last year’s 37.8 MT.

Also Read: Tata Motors completes Rs 99.96-cr buyout of Tata Marcopolo

With coal stock of 31 MT at CIL's pitheads, around 30 MT stock at power plants, and a little over 10 MT at CIL's sidings, goods sheds, private washeries, ports, and captive plants there is sufficient availability of coal in the system.