DOMESTIC

Coal stock at power plants 64% higher

The coal stock at the thermal power stations stood at about 35 million tonne (MT) on Sunday, 64% higher than previous year, coal secretary AmritLalMeena said.This allays the fears that coal stocks might fall to precarious levels like last year, leading to power outages in many parts of the country, as the summer peaks.

Even the pithead stocks with Coal India (CIL) was 13.6% higher at 65.65 MT on April 23, up from 57.8 MT last year. Overall stock, comprising of the stocks at coal mine end, thermal pow- er plant end and in transit, is 117.46 MT, which is 37% higher than the corresponding stock of 85.73 MT on April 23, 2022.

The government expects coal production to grow at 11-12% for the next few years. The coal production target for FY24 is set at 1,012 MT, 11% higher than the previous year target of 911 MT, of which 892 MT was achieved. He further stated that the country aims to substitute 90100 MT of imported coal. Of the total 220-230 MT of annual coal imports, 120-130 MT are of those grades that are not available in India and hence will continue to be imported.