Coal shortage hits Vedanta, Nalco and other aluminium makers in Odisha

Aluminium producers forced to source coal from outside the state and abroad or resort to power imports, impacting their production cost

Aluminium producers such as Vedanta, Nalco and Hindalco in Odisha, home to 54 per cent of the country's aluminium capacity, are in a bind over acute shortage of coal affecting their operations.  

These metal makers in the state are dependent on Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India (CIL), for their coal requirement to run captive power plants (CPPs) -- a key component in the aluminium making process as energy costs account for 40 per cent of the production cost of the metal.  

In the absence of adequate supply of coal from MCL, the aluminium producers