Odisha industry body seeks intervention of state Centre to improve coal supply to non-power sector

    Bhubaneswar, Mar 28 (PTI) Claiming that several units in steel, aluminium and other sectors are struggling to run their captive power plants with depleting coal stocks, an industry body in Odisha has sought intervention of the central and state governments to resolve the issue.
    Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) wrote to Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, seeking their intervention to address the coal shortage issue and normalise the fuel supply to the non-power sector.
    UCCI President Brahma Mishra also urged state chief secretary and principal secretary (Industries) to take steps to resolve the ongoing fuel crisis and make sure "resumption of coal supplies to highly power-intensive sectors like aluminium, steel and other CPP-based industries".
    "The coal supply to the non-power sector has significantly declined by 12 per cent from 61 MMT to 58 MMT during the September–February period in FY22, while supplies to power sector increased by 11 per cent from 248 MMT to 305 MMT," the industry body said.
    This also resulted in a huge "backlog of over 2,000 coal rakes", as the non-power sector is getting just 16 rakes per day, merely five per cent of over 300 rakes being supplied from Coal India, it said.
    "This is a massive diversion from the provision of the Coal Auction Linkage Policy for allocation of coal in a proportion of 75 per cent for power and 25 per cent for the non-power sector," the UCCI wrote.
    It also claimed that the prevailing crisis situation has been aggravated by the "recent directions of Coal India and its subsidiaries to stop or curtail the supplies to the non-power sector not only through rail mode but also via roadways".
    The coal supplies to the non-power sector have been curtailed from 3.6 lakh tonne per day to 2.75 LTPD, which widens the demand-supply gap and creates a deficit for industries, Mishra said.
    "Coal India's ad hoc decision without prior notice has brought the industries to a standstill and left with no time to devise any mitigation plan to continue sustainable operations," he stated.
    The aluminium industry, the largest non-power coal consumer, requires uninterrupted quality power supply through in-house captive plants, he said, adding that the sector invested over Rs 50,000 crore to set up CPPs near the coal mine pit heads, which are designed to operate on domestic coal.
    One tonne of aluminium production requires 14,500 units of continuous power, which is 15 times of what is required for steel.
    The coal demand for these CPPs cannot be met by imports, he said.
    "There is no alternative means to meet intense power demand, as the state Discom’s (distribution company's) network is also unable to cater to the high power requirement.
    "CPP-based industries are highly dependent on uninterrupted coal supply which is vital for sustainable operations and cost-competitiveness. Any production curtailment by this sector will have a cascading effect on consumption and downstream supply chain, resulting in increased prices of finished products and burden on end consumers, thereby adversely impacting the nation's GDP growth," Mishra said.
    The UCCI also suggested earmarking at least 25-30 rakes per day and enhancement of coal supplies through roadways for sustainable operations. PTI AAM
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)