- CIL despatches rise 35%; Singareni production increases 42%
- Low plant stocks and evening shortages demand sustained supplies
Coal India Limited (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) increased production and supplies sharply during 1-7 October 2026, indicating a strong operational response to pressure on India’s coal supply chain.
Official figures show CIL’s despatches exceeding its first-week target, while Singareni surpassed both production and despatch targets. However, CIL continues to supply more coal than it produces, indicating continued reliance on mine inventories.
The improvement comes at a critical time. Power shortages persist during non-solar hours, while coal receipts at domestic-coal-based plants remain below consumption.
Why the supply response is urgent
Grid India reported non-solar-hour shortages of 4.82 GW on 6 October and 4.26 GW on 7 October, even as coal generation exceeded 4 billion units on both days. Meanwhile, CEA reports show stocks at domestic-coal-based plants falling from 18.60 mnt on 1 October to 18.07 mnt on 6 October, including imported coal held at these stations. Stocks were only 31% of normative requirements, with 84 plants classified as critical.
This is an urgent fuel-security and electricity-supply problem: the system needs dependable generation after solar output falls, but many plants have limited coal buffers. Higher domestic production must therefore be matched by faster despatches, sufficient railway rakes and road deliveries. Selective imports can provide additional support where plant specifications, blending capability and delivery times make them suitable. Imports complement this response; they cannot replace the need to deliver available domestic coal promptly.
CIL’s recovery is strong, but production remains below target
CIL produced 14.56 mnt during the first seven days, averaging approximately 2.08 mnt/day. The dashboard reports an increase of approximately 4.01 mnt over the corresponding period last year.
Nevertheless, output remained approximately 1.08 mnt below the first-week target. Strong growth against last year has therefore not yet brought production up to October’s planned level. To achieve the monthly target of 69.28 mnt, CIL needs approximately 2.28 mnt/day over the remaining 24 days — almost 10% above its first-week average.
Despatches lead the response
CIL supplied 15.27 mnt, exceeding its first-week target by approximately 0.39 mnt. Average despatches reached 2.18 mnt/day, with reported year-on-year growth of 35%.
South Eastern Coalfields (SECL), Central Coalfields (CCL) and Western Coalfields (WCL) recorded the largest reported increases, adding approximately 1.12 mnt, 0.93 mnt and 0.67 mnt, respectively. These figures demonstrate stronger coal movement out of mines. However, they include power and non-power consumers and should not be interpreted entirely as deliveries to electricity generators.
Inventories continue to bridge the gap
CIL’s first-week despatches exceeded production by approximately 0.71 mnt, equivalent to roughly 0.10 mnt/day.
This implies continued inventory drawdown on a simple production-minus-despatch basis. It is an estimated flow balance rather than an officially verified closing-stock change, which can also reflect adjustments and other movements. The implication is clear: higher supplies remain partly supported by previously mined coal. Production must rise further to sustain despatches without continuing to reduce the inventory cushion.
The recovery differs across subsidiaries
Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) and SECL provided the largest reported production increases, adding approximately 1.28 mnt and 0.90 mnt. Together, they accounted for more than half of CIL’s increase. Both nevertheless remained below production targets. MCL achieved approximately 94% and SECL 90%, while CCL achieved only 83%. Eastern Coalfields exceeded its target.
Northern Coalfields (NCL) was the main exception to the broader recovery. Production increased less than 1% year-on-year, while despatches declined 2.8% and achieved only 85.5% of target. Additional supplies elsewhere may help, but individual plants’ requirements also depend on coal quality, supply arrangements and transport routes.
Singareni exceeds both targets
Singareni produced 1.266 mnt, up 42.2% year-on-year and 8.6% above target. Despatches increased 40.5% to 1.255 mnt, exceeding target by 2.7%. Production was marginally ahead of supplies, leaving a difference of only about 11,000 t across the week. This suggests broadly balanced flows rather than substantial inventory rebuilding.
On 7 October, production reached 185,000 t against a target of 167,000 t, but despatches were 173,000 t against a target of 175,000 t. This illustrates why higher mine output must be accompanied by consistent evacuation.
Outlook
Both companies are responding to supply pressure, but the power-plant reports show that the response has not yet reversed stock depletion.
The immediate requirement is a coordinated increase in production, loading and delivery, prioritising plants with the thinnest buffers. Suitable imports can supplement domestic supplies where they offer timely relief.
The decisive test is whether plant receipts consistently exceed consumption. Until inventories rebuild and evening supply shortages ease, October’s stronger mining performance represents meaningful progress towards stabilisation rather than confirmation that the pressure has ended.
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