Coal-based power generation rises 6 pc to 674 BU in Apr-Dec

The coal-based power generation increased by six per cent to 674.4 billion units (BU) during the April-December period of the ongoing fiscal, Parliament was informed today.
"During the period of April to December 2016, the coal-based power generation grew by 6.18 per cent to 674.492 BU as compared to the same period in the previous year," Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
The dispatch of coal by state-owned CIL to power sector in October last year was at 31.91 million tonnes (MT) as against 34.50 MT during the same month in 2015, the minister said.

"Keeping this in view, the decline can be attributed primarily to regulated lifted by power plants which preferred to consume from their stocks apart from heavy rains in coalfields in August, 2016 and September, 2016," the minister said.
Coal India (CIL) which supplies majority of its coal to the power sector is eyeing 598.6 MT of production in the ongoing fiscal.
In 2015-16 the CIL's output was at 538.7 MT. In 2013-14 the CIL's output was at 462.4 MT and in 2014-15 it was 494.2 MT.
There is a continuous annual growth in coal output by CIL, the minister said.