Coal Industry

India continued to send mixed signals about its future coal use, as new plant commissioning slowed to their lowest in years, but plans for new projects persist and no clear retirement plans

The burning of coal for electricity, cement, steel and other uses went up in 2022 despite global promises to phase down the fuel that's the biggest source of planet-warming gases in the atmosphere, a report Wednesday found. The coal fleet grew by 19.5 gigawatts last year, enough to light up around 15 million homes, with nearly all newly commissioned coal projects in China, according to a report by Global Energy Monitor, an organisation that tracks a variety of energy projects around the globe. That 1 per cent increase comes at a time when the world needs to retire its coal fleet four and a half times faster to meet climate goals, the report said. In 2021, countries around the world promised to phase down the use of coal to help achieve the goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). The more new coal projects come online, the steeper the cuts and commitments need to be in the future, said Flora Champenois, the report's lead author and the project manager for GEM's

Six of eight key infrastructure industries report sequential deceleration

Coal India last achieved its annual production target in 2006, when it produced 343.4 million tonnes against a plan to produce 343 million tonnes

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday launched the seventh round of auctions for commercial mining of coal blocks, putting 106 mines under the hammer. Of the total mines offered under the seventh round, 61 blocks are partially explored and 45 mines are fully explored. As many as 95 non-coking coal mines, 10 lignite mines and one coking coal mine are being offered in the latest round of auction. In his address, Singh said coal is considered black gold which plays an important role in strengthening the economy of the country. "Our energy consumption has grown in the last few years and will continue to grow. And to meet this need we will have to start taking efforts from today," he said. The ongoing auctions of coal blocks are a step towards energy security, Singh said. Details of the mines, auction terms, timelines etc. can be accessed on the MSTC auction platform. The auction shall be held online through a transparent two-stage process, on the basis of percentage revenue sha

Increase in outstanding dues of the coal mining public sector undertakings impacts the working capital and cash flow position of coal companies

Amid early onset of summer and a pick-up in industrial demand for electricity, state-owned CIL on Tuesday said it is geared up to meet the demand of dry fuel from the power sector. The public sector coal producer also expressed hope to supply 156 million tonnes of coal to the power sector during April-June quarter of FY24. This would be 25.6 per cent of the enhanced annual dispatch target of 610 million tonnes (MT) slated for the sector in 2023-24. "Coal India Limited (CIL) is optimistic about supplying 156 million tonnes of coal to power sector during April-June '23 quarter amid concerns over spike in coal demand," the coal behemoth said. CIL, which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, is a major supplier of dry fuel to the electricity generating plants. Factors in favour of CIL are a strong 68 MT coal stock build-up expected at its pitheads by the end of current fiscal, which as of Monday was 57.3 MT. Also, the maharatna firm will scale up its production into a

Expecting a surge in demand for coal by power plants during the summer, the railways increased its coal transportation by 11.92 per cent in terms of tonnage by the end of February, the national transporter said in a statement on Thursday. It also said keeping in view the rising demand in the next few years, comprehensive planning of an energy corridor has been done with planned investment of Rs 1 lakh crore for over around 100 projects. Loading of rakes for the power sector from various sources in the current fiscal -- from April till February -- is 408 rakes a day against 344 rakes a day in last year, an increase of 64 rakes a day, the railways said. In February, 426.3 rakes a day have been loaded for power houses against 399 rakes a day in February last year, an increase of 27.3 rakes, it said. In order to meet the projected demand for rakes by the power sector in the coming fiscal, the railways has taken various steps, including higher induction of coal carrying wagons. From ap

Coal India Ltd (CIL) reported production of 619.70 million tonnes up to February 2023 as compared to 542.38 million tonnes during the same period of the last fiscal, an increase of 14.26 per cent

The output of core sectors had increased by 4% in January 2022 and by 7% in December 2022.

An association of producers and suppliers of metallurgical coke has sought imposition of a 30 per cent anti-dumping duty on met coke to protect the local industry from cheap imports. The Indian Metallurgical Coke Manufacturers Association (IMCOM) stated that there is a dire need to protect the domestic industry with adequate policy measures as India is turning out to be a dumping ground for imported met coke. "Rather, anti-dumping duties should be applicable to all countries irrespective of FTAs, which will help protect domestic manufacturers," IMCOM said in a statement. The move will protect the domestic industry and give a fillip to the government's vision of a 'self-reliant' India, the association stated. The merchant coke industry majorly caters to foundries, ferroalloys and the chemical sector among others. Though the merchant coke capacity in the country is around seven million tonnes, the current capacity utilisation is only around 30 per cent, and this is mainly due to ...

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has seized Rs 1.4 crore in cash from the premise of a Kolkata-based company and has identified a person who was "handling illegal cash of a minister" allegedly generated from coal smuggling. The federal probe agency issued a statement saying it raided the premises of the Gajraj Group at Earle Street in West Bengal's capital Kolkata on Wednesday. The action, the ED said, was undertaken on the basis of a "specific" intelligence input that a "highly influential political person" was making an attempt to launder the proceeds of crime originating from coal smuggling through his "close confidant" Manjit Singh Grewal alias Jitti Bhai. The seized cash of Rs 1.4 crore was "unaccounted", part of the total cash payment of approximately Rs 9 crore, for a property called Salasar guest house at an "under-valued" price, it said. "The market value of this property is more than Rs 12 crore. However, deed value of the same is shown around Rs 3 ...

Demand for coal is estimated to reach 1,087 million tonne in the ongoing financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. As against the increased coal demand, domestic production of the fossil fuel has also increased. "For the current year 2022-23, coal demand has been assessed by the Ministry (coal) to reach 1,087 MT," Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The actual demand for coal increased to 1,027.92 million tonne (MT) in FY22 from 906.13 MT in FY21. In FY22, the domestic coal production increased 8.67 per cent to 778.19 MT from 716.08 MT in FY21, the minister said. Several steps have been taken by the government to increase the production of coal in the country. These include identification and development of new coal blocks, including through captive and commercial route and single window clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. Being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve

Coal imports cannot be reduced to zero as several thermal power projects in India are designed to utilise the imported dry fuel for its high calorific value and blending it with domestic coal is also needed to maintain fuel stocks, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. "The power plants designed for utilizing high Gross Calorific Value (GCV) non-coking coal, and cement, sponge iron, aluminum customers are utilizing high-ranked low ash coal. The coal requirement for such category of consumers cannot be substituted by domestic coal. Thus, import of coal cannot be reduced to zero," Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Singh said thermal power plants have been importing coal for blending since 2009. During 2022-23 (till January 2023), Coal India Ltd despatched 485.99 million tonne (provisional) coal to the power sector as compared to 440.05 MT during the same period a year ago, registering a growth of about 10 per cent. However, he stated that with the ris

Chairman of the Lanka Coal Company Shehan Sumanasekara told media on Saturday that he has asked the money from Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera

The country's coal production increased by 12.94 per cent to 89.96 million tonnes in January 2023. The country's coal output stood at 79.65 million tonnes (MT) in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. As per provisional data of the coal ministry, Coal India Ltd (CIL) registered a production growth of 11.44 per cent in January, whereas SCCL and captive mines, and others posted a growth of 13.93 per cent and 22.89 per cent, respectively. Of the top 37 coal producing mines, production of 28 was more than 100 per cent, while the output of three mines stood between 80 and 100 per cent during last month. At the same time, coal despatch increased by 8.54 per cent to 81.91 MT last month compared to 75.47 MT in January last fiscal. "The power utilities despatch has increased by 8.01 per cent to 67.72 MT during Jan'23 as compared to 62.70 MT in Jan'22," it said. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

India plans to evoke an emergency law next month which would force power plants running on imported coal to generate power, two government sources

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said that it has attached 51 immovable properties worth Rs 17.48 crore in the illegal coal levy extortion scam in Chhattisgarh

'It is advised to all power utilities not to retire any thermal units till 2030 and ensure availability of units after carrying out renovation and modernisation activities if required'

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, is looking to diversify into power generation, and plans to set up a Rs 12,000 crore power plant in Odisha