India’s largest coal miner-Coal India Ltd (CIL) has stepped up its coal production in Feb’22 as it almost attained the output levels of Jan’22 despite having lesser number of working days in the period under review.
The company produced 64.26 mnt of coal in Feb’22, slightly lower compared the output of 64.49 mnt recorded in Jan’22.
However, the average production increased to 2.3 mnt/day in Feb’22 against 2.08 mnt in Jan’22. Also, it was 4% higher on the year compared to 2.21 mnt/day in Feb’21.
Indicating the similar trend to the past fiscals, the company has elevated its production volume significantly in the second-half of the current fiscal. This became more important this year due to the abnormal rise in demand driven by the revival in coal-fired power generation.
Moreover, the increased production helped CIL in replenishing its inventory levels to maintain adequate stock going forward. Notably, coal inventory at pit-head mines have rose to a 5-month high of 42.5 mnt at the end of Feb’22, which had witnessed a steady fall up till Dec’21 this fiscal.
Dispatches grew but at a slower pace
CIL’s coal off-take recorded a strong 12% y-o-y growth at 57.4 mnt in Feb’22, but it was lower than the monthly production for the second month in a row.
On its part, in FY’22 (till Feb’22), the company has already surpassed the dispatch levels of the previous fiscal with cumulative dispatches at 599.87 mnt, which are 5% higher compared to the total dispatches of 573.5 mnt in FY’21.
Nevertheless, in view of the low stock position at the power plants, there is need for further enhancement in coal supplies with peak summer season around the corner.
Data provided by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) indicates that coal stock at power plants was down 19% y-o-y to 25.97 mnt as on 27 Feb’22. This comes at a time when the restocking pace has gradually slowed down, with a mere 0.66 mnt coal added to the power plant’s inventory since the end of Jan’22.
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