Page 4 - Coal Sector

86 power plants have 25% less coal stocks than normative levels: CEA report

As many as 86 thermal power plants in the country, including six imported dry fuel-based, had critical coal stock levels as of October 18, according to a Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report. The power plants are labelled as having a critical coal stock situation, where the dry fuel is less than 25 per cent of the normative level. According to the daily coal report of the CEA for October 18, 2023, as many as 86 thermal power plants were having critical coal stock situations out of the monitored 181 in the country. There were six imported coal-based plants out of these 86 plants. CEA monitors 181 coal-based thermal power plants in the country with a total installed generation capacity of 206 GW. As per the report, 148 non-pithead domestic coal-based power plants with a total capacity of about 149 GW had 29 per cent less dry fuel stocks than the normative (or ideal) levels. These 148 plants had about 12.77 million tonnes of coal against the normative level of 43.53 million to

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

Coal transition won't lead to job losses if system aptly executed: ISA DG

India won't experience any job losses in coal-dependent regions as it transitions towards renewable energy, provided the country designs its systems correctly, says Ajay Mathur, Director-General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). In an interview with PTI, Mathur also said energy security remains a driving force, especially in view of the Russia-Ukraine war impacting traditional energy sources. While India doesn't intend to fully eliminate coal, the sole dependable energy source in the nation, there is a target to diminish coal's contribution from the existing 50 per cent in the energy mix to around 30 per cent and have 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Addressing concerns about loss of jobs as India moves away from coal, Mathur, who has also been a member of the Indian Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change, said the renewable sector holds promise for employment generation, particularly at the user level. "We need far more trained electricians who

Coal ministry developing logistics policy, national coal evacuation plan

The coal ministry is developing a logistics policy for the sector and a national coal evacuation plan with a view to reducing logistics costs, an official statement said on Saturday. An inter-ministerial meeting on logistics was held to review the progress of implementation of the national logistics policy, the statement said adding that it was convened by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). During the meeting measures taken by different ministries to improve logistics efficiency in the country were also showcased, the commerce and industry ministry said. "A draft coal logistic policy and national coal evacuation plan has been developed by the ministry of coal. In addition, standardization of physical assets (heavy earth moving machines for coal handling) and setting up benchmarks for quality management, is under progress," the statement said. Speaking at the meeting DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh talked about the critical role played by ports i

Coal scam: Delhi court convicts former MP Vijay Darda, ex-coal secy Gupta

A Delhi court on Thursday convicted seven accused, including former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda and ex-coal secretary H C Gupta in a case related to irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. In the 13th conviction in the coal scam, the scandal which rocked the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government, Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also convicted Darda's son Devender Darda, two senior public servants K S Kropha and K C Samria, M/s JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd and its Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal. The court held the accused guilty of criminal conspiracy (punishable under Section 120-B of IPC) and cheating (punishable under section 420 of IPC), and under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The judge will hear argument on quantum of punishment on July 18. The court accepted the submissions made by senior Public Prosecutor A P Singh that the CBI was able to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubts. It had on November 20, 2014 refused to accept the

National Electricity Plan: Coal to fall behind renewables by 2032

Power generation capacity likely to touch 900 Gw

Power play in the coal economy: Tracking Chhattisgarh unofficial levy row

The scandal over an unofficial levy in Chhattisgarh reflects the shortage that is afflicting the economy and a walk-back from market-friendly reforms

Mines ministry in process of identifying mineral blocks in sea: Secretary

The government is in the process of identifying mineral blocks like nickel in the sea and would gradually put them on sale, mines secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on Friday. The mines ministry is amending the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002 and has sought the stakeholders' views on the same. "Because the critical minerals are becoming even more critical, there is this thought that why are we not mining in the oceans...Unfortunately we have not been able to mine the oceans. Now we are amending the Act. It is in public domain, open for comments for the industry, the stakeholders," the mines secretary said during Metal & Metallurgy Expo-2023 organised by CII. The ministry, he said, is in the process of identifying these blocks in the sea and as there are no stakes in there, the auction will be done by the government of India. "That will also be a huge opportunity for industry, a totally new area of operations," he explained. Critical minerals such as ...

Coal India registers highest nine-month growth since pre-Covid level

Compared to the April-December period of 2019, the company's coal production grew by 23 per cent

Coal pensioners protest in capital, demand review of pension scheme

Agitators seek dearness relief as scheme component to ensure equitable pension; want adherence to provisions of CMPS 1998 on review and revision of pension every three years

Railways ferries 124-mt freight in Nov, clocks 5% rise since last year

Officials peg FY23 freight between 1500-1550 mt

Core sector output growth slows to 20-month low of 0.1% in October

Output accelerated by only 0.1% in October; 4 of 8 core industries reported production contraction

Coal import to be stopped by 2024, says Pralhad Joshi

Coal minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said that the import of dry fuel which has declined considerably will be stopped by 2024. Speaking at an event at the office of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India here to release a 'Compendium of Asset Accounts on Mineral and Energy Resources', the minister said commercial coal mine auction which was institutionalised by the present government has made the auctioning process totally transparent. Joshi also complemented CAG's office for bringing out the first ever compendium of asset account on mineral assets of the country. The minister said that the report presents comprehensive picture of the mineral resources spread across different states in the country. He said that the compendium will help in further strengthening sustainable mining process which is of great importance for ecology and future generation. Collating the information of the state asset accounts, the government accounting standards advisory board has prepared the ...

Action plan in place to ensure adequate coal availability during monsoon

The Union coal ministry is confident that till September-end, there will be 9-10 days of coal stock at the power units

Top headlines: Railways-coal sector rift continues, 5G phones for Rs 10,000

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour.

India turns to expensive foreign gas to ease its power supply crunch

While natural gas makes up just a small portion of India's power mix, a scarcity of coal and hot weather has triggered scheduled blackouts, threatening to upend the economy

India sets end-June as coal import target as power crisis mounts

The move can put pressure on the global prices of coal as the utilities rush to avoid a repeat of the electricity crisis in April

Power giant NTPC rushing back to coal as India's energy crisis worsens

NTPC will this month award a contract to construct a 1,320-megawatt plant in Odisha

Decoding the link between coal policy changes and the power crunch in India

Coal supply reforms are medium term, but they have created an immediate surge in demand. The result is a power crisis

Coal stocks at non-pithead plants low at 26% of normative level

The peak power demand met was around 167GW while the peak shortage of electricity was 0.63 GW on April 22, 2021.