CIL could not fulfill NTPC, Nalco Q1 supply contracts

The Coal Ministry today informed Parliament that state-run power major NTPC and aluminium company Nalco were not supplied the full quantity of coal they contracted from state-run Coal India (CIL) during the April-June, 2011, period.

"CIL has reported that during April-July, 2011, dispatches to Nalco's captive power plant... Were 1.828 million tonne against the pro-rata Annual Contract Quantity (ACQ) of 1.91 metric tonne," Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

"Dispatches to NTPC power stations were 36.622 metric tonne, as against the pro-rata ACQ of 50.126 metric tonne," Patil said.

The Coal Ministry had earlier ruled out any shortfalls in coal supply to power stations.

The minister also said that the coal stock with the power stations increased by 14% to 13 million tonne in July this year from 11.5 metric tonne in the same month last year.

"The coal stock with power stations has increased from 11.517 million tonnes at the end of July, 2010, to 13.164 million tonne at the end of July, 2011," Patil said.

For the current fiscal, the minister said, CIL has offered to supply 447 metric tonne of coal to power utilities, subject to the availability of wagons from the Railways.

Earlier, the ministry had said CIL -- which accounts for more than 80% of domestic coal production -- has been dispatching coal as per the targets fixed in its annual supply plan.

During the last three years, dispatches to power utilities amounted to 102%, 96% and 91%, respectively, of targets, the Coal Ministry had said.

In the current year up to June, dispatches amounted to 94% of the target, the ministry had said.

"Dispatches could have been better but for the frequent law and order problems... (besides) constraints of wagon availability in comparison to indents in certain coal fields in the third and fourth quarter of the previous year," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had said.