Coal stocks at thermal power plants at comfortable 55 MT enough for 24 days Govt

New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) Coal inventories at thermal power plants remained comfortable around 55 million tonnes as of Tuesday, sufficient for 24 days of uninterrupted power generation based on the average consumption over the last seven days, a senior coal ministry official said.
     The stock levels indicate "absolute no deficit" on the power generation side, coal Joint Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Kassi emphasised, allaying concerns over potential shortages amid rising summer demand.
     "Coal stock at the power plants is around 55 million tonnes as of yesterday (Tuesday), adequate for 24 days of uninterrupted power generation based on the average consumption of last seven days. So we have absolutely no deficit at the power generation side," he said at an inter-ministerial briefing on the developments in West Asia.
     The domestic coal production is matching consumption levels, the official said.
     "Further... people think there is coal lasting for only 24 days. That is not the case. It will last 24-odd days only when coal supply is totally stopped," the official clarified.
     The official highlighted the assured support for coal offtake by Indian Railways.
     With proactive planning and timely actions taken by the coal sector, adequate stock of fossil fuel has been built at the power plant well before the West Asia conflict.
     "As of now as we see we have sufficient coal stocks available in the country at mines, power plants, port and transits and it can be made available to the consumer at a very short notice. We have Indian railways with us for helping us in this transportation," he explained.
     In addition to stocks at power plants, there are reserves at Coal India mines, captive mines and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) mines, totalling nearly 170 million tonnes, he said.
     "So in all, we have almost 220 million tonnes of coal available in the country," he said.
     He said directions have been given to coal companies to allocate higher quantity of coal to state governments and ensure increasing quantity of coal in e-auctions so that everybody is at ease and the uninterrupted supply chain is maintained.
     "This has resulted into an optimised coal supply mechanism for the small medium and other consumers," he said, adding that the coal e-auction frequency has also been increased.
     "Normally in a month, (the number of) auctions by the Coal India under e-auction category is 15-20. We are doing almost 30 auctions," the official said.
     Coal India and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd have absorbed steep rises in explosives and diesel costs and did not increase the price of the dry fuel to ensure affordability-focused approach for consumers on account of rise in input costs, the official said.
     Coal India, he said, did not increase the reserve price in the e-auction. Rather, they decreased the reserve price by certain extent so that the affordability is maintained.
     Coal India Ltd accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)