Page 13 - Coal Industry

Domestic coal prices match international trends without raising power bills

Linkage policy gives power plants assured supply of the fuel while giving them more scope to sell electricity in exchange market

Chhattisgarh-based SECL records fastest 100 mt output since inception

The company joined the 100 mt club on November 18 and achieved the target in the shortest period since it came into being in 1985

Uttar Pradesh govt to invest Rs 18K crore in coal-fired power plant

This comes amid the rep­orts that the Government of India is looking at facilitating easier funding for new coal-fired thermal power plants in the wake of a sharp jump in electricity demand

Coal India's e-auction volume projected to double in second half of FY24

Coal India is likely to e-auction approximately 60 million tonnes of coal in the second half of the current fiscal year, according to estimates indicated by the management. This represents a significant increase from the 32 million tonnes sold in the first two quarters of the year, officials said. Coal India informed analysts that it aims to sell 15 per cent of its production in the second half of the current fiscal (September 2023-March 2024) through e-auctions, which currently command a premium of around 90 per cent over the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) price. "We are expecting 15 per cent of production to be e-auctioned in the second half," Coal India chairman PM Prasad said. In the first half of the year, Coal India produced 360 million tonne and the miner remained confident to produce 780 million tonne this fiscal. Coal India also informed of its plans to raise e-auction share of production from 10 to 15 per cent in the current fiscal year and further increase it to 20 per cen

Govt to add up to 60 GW coal-based capacity in addition to 27 GW: R K Singh

The government has decided to start work to have up to 60 GW of coal-based generation capacity in addition to the 27 GW already under construction, amid rising demand for electricity, according Union Power Minister R K Singh. Singh held an interaction with stakeholders in the power sector here on Tuesday to review the thermal power capacity addition and facilitate the industry to overcome any problems. "We have 27 GW under construction, and we had thought that we will add another 25 GW. But we have decided that we will start work on at least 55-60 GW of thermal capacity. As demand keeps accelerating, we will keep adding this capacity," Singh said at the meeting. According to the projections of National Electricity Plan for 2022-32, the required coal- and lignite-based installed capacity will be 283 GW by 2031-2032 as against the present installed capacity of 214 GW, the power ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The minister shared the government's decision to add about 80 GW

India needs to add 80 GW coal power by 2030 to meet demand: Union minister

India needs to add thermal coal-based power generation capacity of 80 GW against the 27 GW currently under construction as the peak power demand in the country would spike to 335 GW by 2030 from 241 GW at present, Union Power Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday. Singh presided over a review meeting on thermal power capacity addition in the country where independent power producers and state-owned generators NTPC, SJVN, NHPC, DVC, THDCIL, and NLCIL participated virtually and in physical mode on Tuesday. Besides energy secretaries of 13 major states were also invited for deliberations. Addressing the review meeting, Singh said India's peak power demand would touch 335 GW in 2029-30 from the present level of 241 GW. Peak power demand had touched all-time high of 241 GW in September, reflecting rise in electricity consumption in the country with expansion of economic activities as well as per capita usage. The minister said India needs 80 GW of coal-based thermal power generation capac

Future of coal bright in India with right tech support, says FutureCoal

The future of coal in India is bright as there are technologies available which can help the country extract, use and combust the dry fuel far more sustainably, FutureCoal on Monday said. Coal is considered to be the biggest contributor to climate change with thermal electricity being responsible for nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. "The future of coal in India is bright......we believe that there are technologies that are available which can help India extract coal far more sustainably, use it far more sustainably, combust it far more sustainably, and post combustion treatment to coal can reduce Co2 emissions by as much as 99 per cent," FutureCoal Board member Sunil Chaturvedi said. The FutreCoal Global Alliance is an organisation representing the entire value chain and is dedicated to raising awareness on the contribution of the fossil fuel. He further said 70 per cent of electricity generation comes from coal. India has moved from last 15 years to ...

Ministry of Coal launches 8th round of commercial coal mines auction

Launching the auction virtually, Union Minister for Coal Pralhad Joshi said that all efforts are on to stop coal import by 2025-26.

India's coal import surged 4% in September to 20.61 million tonnes

India's coal import increased by 4.3 per cent to 20.61 million tonnes (MT) in September compared to that of the corresponding month of previous fiscal. The country had imported 19.75 MT of coal in September last fiscal, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce firm mjunction services limited. Of the total imports in September, non-coking coal imports stood at 13.89 MT, against 12.08 MT imported in September last financial year. Coking coal imports dropped to 4.59 MT from 4.88 MT imported in September FY23. However, the coal import in the April-September period of the current financial year declined to 124.53 MT from 135.68 MT in the year-ago period. During April-September period of FY24, non-coking coal import was at 77.65 MT, lower than 92.72 MT imported during the same period last financial year. Coking coal import was at 29.44 MT during April-September 2023-24, up against 28.05 MT recorded in the corresponding period last financial year. Commenting on the coal import tren

National Coal Index increases to 143.91 points in September: Coal Ministry

The National Coal Index (NCI), which reflects the change in price of coal, has increased by 3.83 points to 143.91 points in September 2023, an official statement said. This increase was on account of a temporary rise of coal prices in global markets, Ministry of Coal said in a statement. "The NCI is marginally up by 3.83 points to 143.91 in September 2023, the first time increase since April 2023. The NCI is used to determine the premium on a per tonne basis or revenue share (on a percentage basis) based on a market-based mechanism," the ministry said. The National Coal Index (NCI) had been rolled out on June 4, 2020 by the Ministry of Coal and it is a price index which reflects the change in price of coal in a particular month relative to the fixed base year. The index is meant to encompass all transactions of raw coal in the Indian market. This includes coking and non-coking of various grades transacted in the regulated (power and fertilizer) and non-regulated sectors. The ...

Notable growth in coal sector due to rise in output of fossil fuel: Govt

The Centre on Thursday said the significant growth in the coal sector is due to a rise in production of the fossil fuel during September. The production of coal in September 2023 increased to 67.27 million tonne (MT), against 58.04 MT in the year-ago period. As per the index of eight core industries for September 2023 released by Ministry of Commerce & Industries, the index of coal sector showed a year-on-year growth of 16.1 per cent to 148.1 points. This is the highest growth in last 14 months except for August 2023, the coal ministry said in a statement. The latest data indicates that the combined index of eight core industries has shown a noteworthy increase of 8.1 per cent (provisional) in September 2023, compared to the same period in the previous year. The Centre has played a crucial role in driving this growth through various strategic initiatives like amendment of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2021, allowing captive mines to sell coal or lignite

SECL achieves record 100 MT of coal dispatch with 17.5% growth in FY23

South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) announced on Sunday that it had surpassed 100 million tonnes of coal dispatched for the current fiscal year, achieving a growth of 17.65 per cent over the previous year when the Coal India subsidiary dispatched 85 million tonnes of dry fuel. Of the total dispatch, more than 80 per cent went to the power sector, with the company sending around 81 million tonnes of coal to thermal power plants across the country, according to company officials. "This is the fastest 100 MT coal dispatch achieved by the company since its inception. The company's mega projects Gevra, Dipka, and Kusmunda, located in Korba district (of Chhattisgarh), have made significant contributions to the total dispatch of 100 million tonnes of coal," said SECL Chairman and Managing Director Prem Sagar Mishra. SECL's Gevra mine, currently the largest coal mine in the country, contributed 30.3 million tonnes, while Dipka and Kusmunda contributed 19.1 MT and 25.1 MT of coal, ...

Coal ministry asks DFS to classify coal under infrastructure sector

The coal ministry on Saturday said it has requested the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to consider classifying coal under infrastructure sector, a move which will ensure financing of commercial coal mines. This reclassification would allow banks and financial institutions to formulate policies more effectively to meet the increasing requirements of the coal sector in a time-bound manner, the ministry said while noting that coal is likely to remain a primary source of energy in the foreseeable future. "Banks have expressed their willingness to finance coal mines, provided project viability and equity infusion visibility were demonstrated through detailed business plans," the ministry said in a statement. The government has also invited response from companies having coal mines to determine the quantum of financing imperative towards mine development and operationalization, along with the associated timelines meeting the requirement. This collated information has been shared .

AIPEF demands withdrawal of ministry's order extending coal import deadline

The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) on Thursday demanded withdrawal of the power ministry's order extending coal imports till June 30, 2024, saying there is no shortage of the dry fuel in the country. In an October 23 notification, the government asked imported coal-based power plants to operate at full capacity until June 30, 2024, amid a surge in electricity demand and inadequate domestic coal supplies. Earlier, the directive was extended till October 31, 2023. The government in March this year issued the first directive under Section 11 of the Electricity Act to ISB (imported-coal based) plants. AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey demanded that the power ministry's directive be withdrawn and the more economic indigenous coal be utilized instead as there is no shortage of indigenous coal. The body said if at all any coal is to be imported, the ministry should bear the extra cost of that coal since the more economic alternative of Indian coal was already available in stoc

Centre extends mandate on coal import; blending to continue till March 2024

The ministry has invoked Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 again to direct all the ICBs with a cumulative capacity of 17 Gigawatt (Gw) to operate and generate power to their full capacity

NLC targetting 17 GW capacity by 2030, to invest Rs 82,700 cr: CMD

NLC India plans to invest Rs 82,700 crore by 2030 to scale up its power generation capacity capacity to 17 GW, the company's CMD Prasanna Kumar Motupalli said. Out of the 17 GW, 6 GW will be renewable-based capacity and the balance 11 GW from conventional sources, he told PTI in an interaction. "NLC is having a target of 17 GW by 2030. Based on that we have envisaged a capex of Rs 82,700 crore," Motupalli said in reply to a question on the ongoing and future investment plans of the company. At present, NLC has an installed power generation capacity of 6 GW which comprises 1.4 GW from green sources, the CMD said. The company has set a capex target of Rs 2,480 crore for the ongoing 2023-24 fiscal, he said adding NLC will achieve 80 per cent capex utilisation by December as the target set by the Ministry of Coal. Sharing the details of the ongoing projects he said a 3x660 MW thermal power plant is being set up at Ghatampur in Uttar Pradesh. The Rs 19,406 crore project is being set u

Domestic coal companies supply 500 million tonnes coal in H1 FY24

The ministry said as the rate of production and dispatch is normally higher than the first half of the year, the dispatch of coal would exceed the 1 billion tonne mark during this fiscal year

More than Rs 3.85 trillion spent on coal imports last year: Govt data

The country spent more than Rs 3.85 lakh crore on coal imports last year, the government said on Thursday. Though the share of coal import in total consumption came down from 26 per cent to 21 per cent in the last five years, India is importing more than 200 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel every year, incurring huge foreign exchange outflow. "The goal of coal ministry is to enhance coal production to ensure adequate availability of coal for fast growing economy of the country. As a result of efforts of the ministry, the share of imports in total consumption reduced from 26 per cent to to 21 per cent during last 5 years," it said. Meanwhile, the ministry said it is deeply concerned about protecting forests and no coal mine has been auctioned by ignoring suggestions of the environment ministry. For example, it said, the plea of Chhattisgarh to de-notify coal mines falling under Lemru Elephant Corridor has been accepted. Areas beyond Lemru Elephant Corridor have also been considered

Coal dispatch may exceed one billion tonnes this fiscal: Coal ministry

The coal ministry on Thursday said the dispatch of coal is likely to exceed one billion tonnes in the current financial year. The coal ministry has set a target to produce and dispatch 1,012 million tonnes (MT) of coal to consumers during the ongoing fiscal. "During the second half of the year, the rate of production and dispatch is normally higher than the first half of the year. It is, therefore, expected that this year's dispatch of coal would exceed the one billion tonne mark," the coal ministry said in a statement. During the last financial year, coal dispatch of 500 MT happened as on November 9. During the current year, the 500 MT dispatch mark has been achieved 23 days in advance. "Achieving record high performance, the Ministry has been able to dispatch 500 MT coal as on October 17 2023. Dispatch of 500 MT of coal in 200 days, despite the monsoon season, in the first half of the year, is an outstanding achievement," it said. Out of 500 MT of coal dispatch, 416.57 MT has be

Global coal industry expected to layoff over 400,000 miners by 2035: Report

The coal industry is expected to shed more than four lakh mining jobs, equivalent to nearly 100 workers per day, by 2035, even without climate pledges or policies to phase out coal, with China and India likely to be the hardest hit, according to a new report. The primary reason will be the market shift toward cheaper wind and solar power generation and a lack of planning to manage a transition to a post-coal economy, said the report compiled by Global Energy Monitor, a US-based NGO that analyses the evolving international energy landscape. The report suggests that 9,90,200 coal-mining jobs will cease to exist at operating mines given the foreseeable closures of coal facilities, potentially laying off more than one-third (37 per cent) of the existing workforce. China and India are expected to be the hardest hit. China's Shanxi province would witness the largest number of job losses globally -- 2,41,900 by 2050 -- while Coal India is the producer facing the largest potential job cuts