22 Million Tonnes Of Coal Available With Thermal Power Plants: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Amid growing concerns about coal shortage at power plants in some states, Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said that at present, 72.50 Million Ton (MT) of coal is available at different sources of Coal India Ltd (CIL), Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), coal washeries etc.

The minister further said that 22.01 MT of coal is available with Thermal Power Plants (TPP).

Stating that there is sufficient coal availability in the country, Joshi said that the same would last for a month, and availability is replenished daily with record production.

As per the provisional data of the Ministry of Coal, the total coal production during the financial year 2021-22 has touched 777.23 MT compared to 716 MT during 2020-21, recording a growth of 8.55 per cent.

While Coal India Ltd (CIL) production has gone up by 4.43 per cent from 596.24 MT in 2020-21 to 622.64 MT during the financial year 2021-22, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has recorded a growth of 28.55 per cent producing 65.02 MT during 2021-22 compared to 50.58 MT the previous year.

At the same time, coal production of captive mines has gone up to 89.57 MT. During 2020-21 it was only 69.18 MT.

“Total coal dispatch during 2021-22 touched the figure of 818.04 MT against the figure of 690.71 MT the previous year, an increase of 18.43 per cent. During the period, CIL dispatched 661.85 MT coal against the 2020-21 figure of 573.80 MT,” the Ministry of Coal said.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Power has asked power generation companies (GENCOS) to import coal for blending up to 10 per cent.

The ministry has fixed state-wise and GENCOS wise targets for coal blending to make sure the imported coal supply is in place ahead of the monsoon as domestic coal supply gets affected during the rainy season.