CIL's coal allocation for non-power sector jumps to 6 MT in April-May

This growth comes amid Coal India looking to tap the non-power sector for consumption of its coal in the wake of a slump in demand for the dry fuel

Coal India's fuel allocation under the exclusive e-auction scheme for non-power consumers like steel and cement jumped five-fold to 6.10 million tonnes (MT) in the last two months.

The state-owned company had allocated 1.20 MT of coal to non-power consumers under the scheme in April-May 2019, as per latest government data.

This growth comes amid Coal India Ltd (CIL) looking to tap the non-power sector for consumption of its coal in the wake of a slump in demand for the dry fuel.

Under the scheme, CIL allocated 2.19 MT of coal last month, against no fuel allocated by the PSU in May 2019, the data said.

For the entire fiscal 2019-20, the PSU's coal allocation under the scheme dropped to 8.03 MT from 11.36 MT in the previous year.

The scheme was launched in 2015-16 to make coal available to non-power consumers, including captive power plants.

CIL had earlier said it continues to face tepid demand for coal, with most of its customers, like the power sector, shying away from lifting adequate quantities.
 

The power sector, which accounts for close to 80 per cent of CIL's total supplies, is brimming over with nearly 50 MT of coal stock, sufficient for 29 days of consumption, as at May-end, the PSU had said.

Many plants have started restricting supplies from CIL further, shrinking coal despatches, it had said.

During May, the power sector lifted 30.15 MT of coal from CIL sources, down 25 per cent from 40.38 MT in the same month last year.

To find avenues for expanding its supplies, CIL is focusing on non-power sector consumers like sponge iron, cement, fertilisers and steel companies, persuading them to replace their imported coal with domestic supply.