Coal dispatches to power sector rise 18 pc in October

New Delhi: Coal dispatches from state-run miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) to power sector improved by 18 per cent to 39.9 million tonnes in October, official data showed.

The power ministry earlier this month had also stated that coal stocks at power plants were "much better" and dry fuel inventories had started building up at the plants.

Coal India had supplied 33.8 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel to power producers in October 2016.

The dispatches by the world's largest coal miner rose by 9.6 per cent to 248.9 MT in the April-October period of this fiscal, over 227 MT in the year-ago period.

The supply of coal by Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), a state-owned coal mining company, also registered an increase of 5 per cent to 4.2 MT, over 4 million in the same month of previous fiscal.

Power Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla had earlier in the month said that the number plants facing acute coal shortage had come down to 12-13.

The coal ministry earlier had blamed power producers for low stocks of dry fuel at their plants.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had last month asked the Centre to ensure adequate supply of coal and early allocation of a coal block situated in Odisha to meet the severe fuel shortage being faced by power units in his state.

Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam in September had said that power generation at thermal power stations reduced by 2,700 MW due to shortage of coal, forcing it to resort to load shedding in the state.