Coal

The state-owned miner needs to raise prices but it is caught between the political constraints on its major buyer, electricity producers and close decision-making control by the coal and power

At the same time, coal dispatches increased by 7.49 per cent to 83.18 million tonnes from 77.38 million tonnes during March 2023 as compared to March 2022

Output from plants running on fossil fuels rose 11.2 per cent, the quickest growth in over three decades, thanks to a 12.4 per cent surge in electricity production from coal

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Wednesday said it is aiming to supply 610 million tonne coal to power plants in the current fiscal. In the just concluded financial year 2022-23, the miner supplied a record 586.6 million tonne (MT) dry fuel to coal-fired power plants. "CIL supply to the power sector is pegged at 610 MT to meet the demand of coal fired plants in 2023-24. This is 23.4 MT more or 4 per cent higher than the record 586.6 MT supplied in FY23," the company said in a statement. In the wake of forecasts that a hot summer may push up coal demand, CIL said it is gearing itself to meet the requirement on the back of adequate coal stocks at its pitheads and increased production in the first quarter of FY24. In FY23, CIL surpassed its target of 700 MT for the fiscal and produced 703.20 MT of coal, 13 per cent higher from 622.63 MT in 2021-22. "With increasing production and adequate coal stock of 69 MT at our pitheads, we aim to meet the projected target with our best shot a

Unless finances are proportionate to the need, the transition to clean energy is a tough proposition, especially in countries where energy affordability is critical

The ministry has also signed agreements for 29 coal mines auctioned under the sixth round of commercial coal mines auction

Growth in bulk segments, but grey clouds hover over container cargo

Miner needs to be 'adequately compensated'; stakeholders being consulted before a decision

India's power consumption surged 10 per cent to 1375.57 billion units (BU) during April-February this fiscal year and has already surpassed the level of electricity supplied in entire 2021-22. The government data showed that power consumption in April-February 2021-22 was 1245.54 BU. In entire fiscal year 2021-22, power consumption was 1374.02 BU, which is less than 1375.57 BU recorded during April 2022 to February 2023 period. Experts say power consumption is expected to grow in double digits in the coming months in view of forecasts of unprecedented high demand, especially in summer. The power ministry has estimated peak power demand in the country at 229 GW during April this year, which is higher than 215.88 GW recorded in the same month a year ago. The ministry has taken many steps to meet high power demand and also asked state utilities to not go for power cuts or load shedding. The ministry has also asked all imported coal-based power plants to run on full capacity from Mar

The fear of disruptions to mine output when monsoon rains begin a couple of months later is also a factor

In the past three years, SECL's coal production has decreased

An earlier projection by the coal ministry had pegged the coal supply to be around 205 mt during Q1

Record summer heat has sent electricity demand soaring. Despite the focus on renewables, thermal power will meet additional demand, sending sustainability targets for a toss

A rapid addition of solar farms has helped India avert daytime supply gaps, but a shortage of coal-fired and hydropower capacity risks exposing millions to widespread outages at night

Combining renewable subsidies and higher tariffs on coal would lower the emissions by nearly one-third in India by 2030 compared to the current policies, according to a study carried out by two IMF economists. The study, conducted by Margaux MacDonald and John Spray, notes that the two steps would also decrease coal imports by 14 per cent by 2030, thus increasing resilience to global changes in energy prices and improving energy security. Released on Tuesday, the study observes that India has made significant progress towards meeting its emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement, but with current policies total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would nonetheless increase by more than 40 per cent by 2030. While a modest increase in short-term emissions may be necessary to meet poverty reduction and energy security goals, a more rapid scaling up of current policies could help lower emissions considerably over the medium term and bring India closer to a path to net zero by 207

Proposal aimed to ease pressure on rail network, improve coal dispatch during peak demand summer months

Coal is bad, and so is natural gas, when it comes to climate change. Then why is it that the Western world, which has to date built its economy on dirty coal, is now wedded to gas as its dream fuel?

Coal production grew by 16 per cent touching 698 mn tonnes during April-January period of the current fiscal, against 601 mn tonnes production recorded during the corresponding period of last year

Move to make it a must for units running on imported coal to remain fully functional comes amid 50-80% spike in global coal price

Financial mismanagement of the pension scheme has depleted corpus meant for pensioners of public sector mines