Massive Coal stock at plant is restricting almost 10 thermal power plants to acquire more Coal from Coal India Limited (CIL).
Power plants with combine capacity of 15,200 MW have slashed its power production followed by low demand. Plant seems rigid on acquiring up more Coal from CIL as they already have large amount of Coal inventory. It is expected that low Coal demand & dropped offtake from companies will led CIL to reduce its production, even the company already short on its target.
In a report of CEA, it is noted that five Haryana based and four Punjab based power plants halted on acquiring up more Coal which is to be supplied as per the fuel supply pact. Generating companies have stopped taking Coal from CIL because of low power demand.
CIL official told to media, “Some power producers have made it clear that they are not going to lift any more Coal during the current fiscal.”
Haryana Power Generation Corporation with only 63% of the contracted quantity materialization, is heavily stocked. Power plants in Panipat & Khedar (Hisar) have stockpiles for 41 days, while those in Yamuna Nagar & Jhajhar have stockpiles for 28 days & 24 days, respectively. The Mahatma Gandhi Thermal Power Station at Yamuna Nagar has stocks for 17 days.
Punjab struggles with the same situation with its Bhatinda plant having stocks for 28 days, Lehra for 19 days and Ropar for 20 days. The Kahalgaon Thermal Power Station under NTPC has stocks for 25 days and the Vindyachal Power Station has stocks for 16 days, the CEA report says.
CIL chairman S Narsing Rao told, “The Company was already in short of target and now with depletion in demand the gap between production & target will increase. With comfortable ground stock of around 40.4 MnT as on 28 Feb, 2014, the company is ideally in a position to ramp up supplies in an effort to meet its offtake target. But, lower power demand in many states and Coal brimming over at Coal-fired power plants are restricting the state-owned Coal miners to push up supplies. This has further dampened offtake and production targets of CIL in this fiscal.”
CIL has dispatched around 447 MnT of Coal during FY14 till 13 Mar, 2014.
India’s 46.8% Thermal Power Plant has less than 7 days Coal Stocks
CEA reported last week, under its monitoring system around 46.8% thermal power plants had below 7 days Coal inventory. Only 29.8% plants have sufficient stock of more than average of 22 days. Whereas, 23.4% plants have even less than 4 days of Coal inventory.
The scarcity in Coal supply is majorly in Southern region of India. Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka are most affected states as the short supplies from CIL (MCL), SCCL and almost all the thermal plants have less than 7 days of fuel available.
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