Page 3 - Coal Sector

Punjab's power plants running at reduced capacity, power cuts imposed

Severe coal shortage at thermal power plants in Punjab has forced power utility PSPCL to cut down power generation and impose rotational load shedding at several places in the state. Coal-fired power plants are running at a reduced capacity because of the shortage of coal, said an official of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) on Saturday. With the power situation turning grim, power plants in the state are left with coal stock of up to five days, a PSPCL official said. "Plants are running at a reduced capacity," said the official adding that they were not being run at full capacity to conserve coal. The demand for power at present is about 9,000 megawatts (MW) in the state. Officials said besides the demand for power from the agriculture sector, high temperatures in the day is also adding to the power requirements in the state. Though the PSPCL officials claimed minimal load shedding, there were reports of power cuts in the range of two-three hours at many places in the

Auction process for 40 new coal mines to begin next week: Govt

The government on Friday said it will begin next week the next round of auction process for 40 new blocks for the sale of coal

Coal ministry says in process of finalising mine closure framework

The ministry is in consultation with the World Bank for obtaining support and assistance in this programme

Coal stocks at thermal power plants to increase in next 2-3 days

Coal stocks at thermal power plants will start increasing in another two to three days, according to an official in the coal ministry. The remarks come at a time when the country's power plants are grappling with coal shortage. "The situation has started improving from yesterday. In the next two to three days, coal stocks will stop depleting at the power plants and will start going up," the official said on the condition of anonymity. A Coal India official also said the company is making efforts to ramp up its supply to power sector with 1.5 million tonne per day in another few days from present 1.4 million tonne. Coal India Ltd (CIL) accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. He further said power plants did not pick up coal from CIL from October last year till February this year. "Power plants used their coal stocks and did not replenish them. They even did not adhere to the CEA guidelines of stocking the coal for 22 days. With rise in power demand, the demand for f

Govt amends rules to allow 50% sale of coal from captive mines

Move to benefit over 100 captive coal and lignite blocks with over 500 million tonnes per annum peak rated capacity

Coal crunch: 64 power plants left with less than 4 days of dry fuel stocks

Power Minister R K Singh had reportedly termed the coal shortage as way beyond normal

Coal ministry wraps up agenda document for sectoral reforms, sustainability

The coal ministry on Monday said it has finalised an agenda document for the ongoing fiscal which broadly focuses on areas like reforms, transition and sustainability in the coal sector.

Coal India supply to power sector grows by 12% to 118 MT in Sep qtr

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

Coal ministry sets up panel to review timelines for project execution

The Coal Ministry on Friday said it has constituted a panel to review and benchmark the timelines in project execution, including tendering process by examining tenders having a value of more than Rs 300 crore of CIL, its subsidiaries and other PSUs. The committee has been set up with a view to suggest a robust and efficient set of timelines and whether statutory clearances may be obtained prior to issuing tender, the coal ministry said in a statement. "The Ministry of Coal has set up a committee today under the chairmanship of Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor comprising of representatives from NTPC, IOCL, PGCIL and Director (T), ECL as member secretary for review and benchmarking the timelines in project execution including tendering process by examining tenders having value of more than Rs 300 crore of CIL (Coal India), its subsidiaries and other PSUs," the statement said. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. The company is eyeing one billion ...

Explainer: Why is India facing a massive coal supply shortage?

Coal accounts for over 70% of India's electricity output, and utilities account for about 75% of India's coal consumption.

China's end to overseas coal financing could free $130 bn for clean energy

China's pledge to end overseas coal financing will impact 44 coal plants totalling 42,220 megawatts (MW) of capacity, according to Global Energy Monitor's updated Global Coal Public Finance Tracker

Water stress poses credit risks for coal, mining and power sectors: Moody's

Water management is among the top environmental risks for countries and sectors in Asia, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Coal India warned government of coal shortage in February, documents show

India, which has the world's fourth largest coal reserves, is facing a shortage of the fuel and has urged utilities to import coal as supplies at several plants run low.

CIL steps up supply coal to power sector; per-day average 20% higher

State-owned CIL on Friday said it has stepped up the supply of coal to the power sector in the first eight days of the current month, with an average of 1.39 million tonnes (MT) per day

BHEL demonstrates tech to create methanol from high ash coal

State-run engineering firm BHEL has successfully demonstrated a facility to create methanol from high ash Indian coal, an official statement said on Thursday.

Centre regulates coal stocks at plants having more than 15 days buffer

Frees up 177,000 tonnes coal from 26 stations

Difficult for CIL to give 50% wage hike to workers, CMD tells union

Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal has said it will be difficult for the PSU to give 50 per cent wage hike to workers, as demanded by the unions, due to financial constraints facing the company

Power Mech bags Rs 9,294 crore contract from Central Coalfields

Power Mech Projects Ltd on Monday said it has bagged a Rs 9,294 crore contract from Coal India arm CCL to develop and operate a mine. The project has been awarded to a consortium of Power Mech and AMR India Ltd. Power Mech is the consortium leader with 74 per cent equity stake and AMR India will hold 26 per cent stake. "Power Mech...has been awarded a Mine Development & Operation (MDO) project from Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, aggregating to Rs 9,294 crore over the contract period," Power Mech said in a statement. The contract will comprise mine infrastructure development, removal of overburden and extraction of coking coal, processing, crushing and transportation of coal up to washery of CCL, carrying out R&R activities and any other activities incidental to mining as per the project document at Kotre Basantpur Pachmo OCP located in Ramgarh and Bokaro districts of Jharkhand. The project has total coal extraction capacity of 105 million tonne .

Coal India's $5 billion annual wage bill set to rise amid rocky outlook

The state-owned company is expected to begin talks this month that could result in paychecks climbing 20% or more.

Coal India firms up Rs 40,000-crore domestic coal evacuation plan

Coal handling capacity of these 35 projects is estimated to be close to 405 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by FY24