Coal ministry steps up supplies as rake loading rises 20% in four days

Rake loading to the power sector increased from 370 on September 3 to 444 on September 6, while corrective supply measures were put in place for plants with critical stocks

The Ministry of Coal on Monday said corrective coal-supply measures had been put in place to address the situation at thermal power plants with critical coal stocks, as rake loading to the power sector rose steadily over the past four days to 444 rakes on September 6 from 370 rakes on September 3.

 

The number of critical thermal power plants — those with coal stocks below 25 per cent of their normative requirement — is being closely monitored, the ministry said, adding that corrective supply measures have been put in place to further ease the position at these plants.

 

The ministry’s statement comes a day after Business Standard reported that the number of thermal power plants facing critical coal stock levels had risen to 58 on September 5 from 45 at the beginning of the month.

  

The volume of coal stocks at these plants had also declined to 26.9 million tonnes (MT) from 28.6 MT between September 1 and September 5.

 

At the same time, Coal India Ltd (CIL) continued to hold around 76 MT of coal at its pitheads, indicating that coal availability at the production end remained adequate, with movement and evacuation emerging as a key focus.

 

Data shared by the ministry showed that total rake loading to the power sector increased by 74 rakes per day, or about 20 per cent, between September 3 and September 6.

 

Rake loading increased from 370 on September 3 to 387 on September 4, 413 on September 5 and 444 on September 6. The increase on September 6 alone was 31 rakes over the previous day.

Most coal producers increase rake loading

The improvement was reported across most coal-producing companies.

 

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) recorded the sharpest single-day increase, with loading rising by 12 rakes to 111 on September 6.

 

Captive block loading increased by six rakes to 72, while Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) increased loading by eight rakes to 25.

 

Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) and private washeries and goodsheds each increased loading by three rakes, taking their respective levels to 35 and 42.

 

Central Coalfields Ltd and South Eastern Coalfields Ltd registered increases of two and one rake, taking their loading to 36 and 46, respectively.

 

Eastern Coalfields Ltd and Western Coalfields Ltd maintained their previous day’s loading levels at 23 and 29 rakes.

 

As a result, total CIL siding loading rose to 305 rakes on September 6, an improvement of 26 rakes over the previous day.

CIL offers additional coal through road mode

The increase in rake loading follows measures announced by the ministry last week to augment supplies to power plants.

 

CIL had offered power plants with Fuel Supply Agreements to lift additional quantities of coal, including volumes over and above their applicable Annual Contracted Quantities, through road mode in addition to the existing rail mode.

 

CIL’s average daily dispatch to the power sector had also improved to 1.5 MT on September 4 from around 1.35 MT during the first three days of September, according to the ministry.

 

The higher rake loading comes against the backdrop of strong coal supplies by CIL to the power sector in August.

 

CIL supplied 48.46 MT to the power sector during the month, 4.5 per cent higher than in August 2025. Its overall coal supplies stood at 60.60 MT, up 5.5 per cent year-on-year.