Coal Shortage Hits Private Sector Hard; It Paid 102 Per Cent More Than Power Stations In 2018

India’s private sector has been paying 102 per cent more than the power stations for getting coal supplies, Zee Business has reported.

Coal India supplies 90 per cent of its coal to power plants at notified prices. The remaining 10 per cent is sold to private players based on auctions. The price of the coal is determined by market forces during these auctions. Cement, steel and aluminium producers have been affected by the high premium for getting coal in the Indian market. The scenario is worse in comparison to the 67 per cent premium paid by the private sector last year.

During September, 2.58 million tonnes of coal was auctioned. This was sold at prices 102 per cent more than the notified prices through e-spot auctions. This jump is due to lower quantity of coal put up for auction. Quantity of coal auctioned was 4.02 million tonnes in 2016 and 3.05 million tonnes in 2017.