January, 2020 Price: 40/W H E R E S E R V I C E A N D D E D I C AT I O N J O I N H A N D S
Interview with H.E. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, Ambassador of Republic of Indinesia to India
Vol. XLVIII No. 10 Published on : 28.01.2020
JINDAL STEEL & POWER LIMITED PARALLEL FLANGE BEAMS & COLUMNS | PLATES | RAILS ANGLES | CHANNELS | COILS | TMT REBARS CUT & BEND BARS | WELDED WIRE MESH | WIRE RODS CRANE RAILS | FABRICATED STRUCTURAL STEEL
JSPL DEVELOPS HEAVY CRANE RAILS OF UPTO 150 KG PER METER
RAIL TRACKS
PARALLEL FLANGE BEAMS & COLUMNS
ANGLES
PLATES
FABRICATED SECTIONS
TMT REBARS
CUT & BEND
HOT ROLLED COILS
Our wide range of products demonstrates our capability to consistently add value in line with evolving customer aspirations, and be a part of the nation’s socio-economic development. Our products are a result of pioneering initiatives that have been made possible by deploying futuristic technologies blended with a culture of consistent innovation.
2 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter December 2019 jsplcorporate
Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
jsplcorporate
jsplcorporate
CCAI Monthly Newsletter December 2019
|3
From the Editor’s Desk
Ending months’ speculation, Centre introduced the much anticipated ‘commercial mining’ in coal this month, handing the sector a fresh leas e of life by throwing open mining to non-coal com panies while removing previou s restrictions on enduse of the fossil fuel. The Union Cabinet on Jan uary 8, 2020, promulgated the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 202 0 to amend the Mines and Min erals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and the Coal Mines (Special Provisio ns) Act, 2015 to ease up the mining laws and allow global players to enter the coal sector. Besides enabling the provisio ns for auction of mines for sale of coal in the open market, the new ordinance allows 100% Foreign Direct Investment under automatic route including associated processing infrastr ucture. It also allows auction of unexplored and par tially explored coal blocks for excavation through prospecting license-cum-min ing Lease. The new chapter in country’s mining has raised expectation s to lower the coal imports. Shortly after the ann ouncement, Minister for coa l and mines Pralhad Joshi said the country wishes to reduce its dependence on imported coal and is looking to replace up to 135 million tonnes of annual coal imports with domestic output. Total coal import for FY 2018-19 stood at 235 mt. Senior officials from the sect or have termed the move a significant step in modernising the coal industr y by bringing in competitiv eness, efficiency while reducing the demand-supply gap in the country’s coal sect or. The auctions for commercial coal mining will be held in multiple tranches, the first of which is expected to be conducted before the end of the current fiscal. Meanwhile, after a sluggish per iod, the domestic coal produc tion in the country is showing signs of encourage ment as Coal India, world’s largest producer of the fossil fuel, shown steady growth in both production and offtake since the last few months. The coal behemoth ended December with 58. 02 MT of coal, registering a 7.2% growth against 54.14 MT produced during the sam e month a year ago. As a result, country’s power plants, which went through a critical stock situation during September-October per iod in 2019, have been able to create an 18-day stock at the beginning of the year. The plants have curren tly stocked 31.63 million tonne (MT) of coal, whi ch is more than twice the stoc k these units had during the same period last year.
The country’s clean energy cap acity is also growing at com mendable pace with 50 GW plus of new capacity coming into the grid in the last five years. India’s cumulative clean energy capacit y crossed 85, 000 MW in Dec ember 2019. However, the sector is facing headwinds because of the long delays in payments made by State distribution utilities. The centre is plannin g to introduce a bill to amend the Electricity Act to prevent states from renegin g on power pacts, par ticularly renewable energy contracts. As India aims to overcome the current economic slump and grow at a higher rate, the new initiatives and reforms in the coal and pow er sector are expected to play a crucial par t in it.
4 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Content Vol. XLVIII No. 10 January, 2020
06
Interview: H.E. Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, Ambassador of Republic of Indinesia to India
Official Organ of the Coal Consumers’ Association of India. Disseminates News and Views on Coal and all other sources of Energy. 4, India Exchange Place - 7th Floor Kolkata - 700 001 Landline : +91 33 22304488 / 22621516 E-mail : sec.ccai@gmail.com Website : www.ccai.co.in Editor : Subhasri Nandi Annual Subscription Rs. 400/(including postage) MO/DD to be made in favour of “Coal Consumers’ Association of India”
08
Consumers' Page
12
Power
18
Domestic
24
Global
CCAI do not necessarily share or support the views expressed in this Publication.
28 In Parliament 33 Overall Domestic Coal Scenario 34 Monthly Summary Of Domestic Coal 35 Energy Generation Report 36 Monthly Summary Of
Imported Coal &Petcoke
38
Production And Offtake Performance Of Cil And Subsidiary Companies CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
|5
H.E. SIDHARTO REZA SURYODIPURO AMBASSADOR OF INDONESIA TO INDIA
Talks on pertinent coal issues According to recent reports, Coal reference price in Indonesia has fallen, making local market more attractive. Also, the domestic demand in the Indonesian power sector has been boosted. Can this change your country’s focus in coal export? While Indonesia continues to be a significant player in the global mining industry, with substantial production and export of thermal coal, it is also a rising coal consumer and became the world’s 6th largest thermal coal consumer in 2018, with consumption of approximately 107.6 million tons (IEA, 2019). In October 2014, when President Joko Widodo took office for the first time, a new target to electrify the nation was set. First and foremost to support the projected growth for power demand of 7.8% per year until 2022, the Government of Indonesia announced a target to develop 35GW of new capacity. Consequently, the rise in domestic coal demand will absorb a much higher share of national production than in the past and may limit the availability of Indonesia’s coal for the export market. The government therefore has to finely balance between domestic consumption and exports. In 2019, Indonesia’s coal export to Japan and S. Korea have edged lower. Export to China has also showed lowered growth rate as compared to previous years
due to China’s restriction on coal import. If the current scenario prevails, will Indonesia increase its focus on India as its most prominent coal export market? Indonesian thermal coal export growth has slowed in 2019 but continued to account for most of the overall rise in global supply. The slow export growth is in part also due to the increase of domestic coal consumption for electricity production. In the Mid-Term Development
Plan (RPJMN) 2015-2019, annual coal production is set to be 400 million tons in 2019, 60% of which is consumed domestically. Coal companies are obliged to supply a certain percentage of their production to domestic buyers, known as Domestic Market Obligation (DMO). As the mining industry continues to be an important contributor to the economy,
6 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Indonesia is committed to expanding its coal industry, not only through trade but also by increasing its coal downstream processing capabilities. Indonesia opens its door to all friendly nations to support coal downstreaming process in Indonesia. This opportunity is wide open for India with its vast experience and expertise in coal downstreaming. Indonesia provided more than 61 percent of India’s thermal coal imports. What new initiative is the Indonesian government planning to take to further bolster the bilateral coal trade? Coal holds a large but shrinking share as an energy source, accounting for 27% of global primary energy consumption. Due to the non-renewable nature of coal resources, Indonesia needs a new strategy of using coal, including working on gasification technology to raise the efficiency of coal-fired power plants, even as it develops solar, geothermal and other renewable resources. The government’s focus is also on strengthening Indonesia’s coal downstream processing capabilities. One example is the making of Dimethyl Ether (DME) or coal-processed compounds into gas. DME has the potential to be a substitute for LPG. Besides being beneficial for coal entrepreneurs to maximize the potential of lowcalorie coal which is not sold in the market, DME can also help to reduce LPG imports dependence. The government welcomes the participation of foreign investors, including India to support this development of coal downstream processing. As the process will require business transformation, the government is introducing various incentives, including tax and royalty payment reduction up to 0%.
Resources of Indonesia with Indian Institutes like IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, IIT Kharagpur and IIT (BHU); c) Exchange of best practices in the following areas of Coal Mining: India is introducing commercial mining and allowing 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment in the mining sector, would this move invoke investment interests from the Indonesian coal miners? India’s move to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment in coal mining is a positive step and the Indonesian government supports not only inbound investment from foreign countries, but also outbound investment abroad, including in the coal mining sector. The government encourages Indonesian coal mining companies to invest in India. Although the characteristics of the mining site and terrain are very different from of Indonesia, there are numerous potentials in India, including long term energy resources and needs. In your opinion, what are the steps to be taken by the Indian government to further strengthen coal trade and movement between the two countries? The 4th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Coal between India and Indonesia, was held on 20th April 2017 in Jakarta, whereas both sides agreed that technology and science are crucial in mining industry in order to have sustainable, scientific, safe and environmental friendly mining. Pursuant to the JWG, the areas agreed for future cooperation, include:
•
Mine Planning and design,
•
Satellite monitoring of mined out areas for reclamation,
•
IT enabled solutions for vehicle movement monitoring,
•
Environmental of Coal Mines;
management
Change (UNFCCC) and supporter of the global climate agreement. In the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, President Joko Widodo was committed to reducing Indonesia’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission. The government of Indonesia ratified Paris Agreement and submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2016. Under the NDC, the government pledged to reduce GHG emission by 29% of the BAU scenario in 2030 unconditionally, and additionally, 12% more with international supports. GHG emission from energy sector is to be reduced by 11% unconditionally (or 14% conditionally).
d) Lab to lab cooperation between Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) of India and R&D agency of MEMR of Indonesia to conduct research on coal gassification, mine water treatment technology and clinker formation as a result of blending. We look forward to future cooperation, not only in trade but also in technological and innovation aspects of the coal sector.
a) Geological exploration between CMPDI, India and Geological Agency of Indonesia;
Indonesia’s energy consumption growth is among the fastest in the world, and the government is relying mostly on coal-fired plants to feed the demand. It is also the second largest coal exporter in the world. What steps is the country mulling to take to meet the target of Paris climate agreement?
b) Capacity Building between the Ministry of Energy and Mining
Indonesia is a party to the United Nations Framework on Climate
Indonesia’s energy policy evolves over time, but it emphasizes on diversification, intensification and conservation of energy sources. Since Indonesia possesses abundant of coal and renewable resources, energy diversification strategy is aimed at maximizing these resources, including the use of vegetable oil, mainly crude palm oil (CPO) as biofuel feedstock to reduce oil import. Coal share is expected to be reduced in the national energy mix and replaced by renewable energy sources. As specified in the General Planning on National Energy (RUEN) issued in 2017, the target is to have renewable energy share of 23% by 2025 and 31% by 2050. Under RUEN, the government is set to limit domestic coal production at 400 million tons per year starting 2019, unless domestic demands exceeds this amount
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
|7
CONSUMERS’ PAGE Present Coal Scenario Total coal production achieved by CIL was 63.11 million tonnes in January 2020, a growth of 10.3% compared to 57.21 million tonnes in January 2019. For the period of April 2019 January 2020, the miner has produced 451.52 million tonnes, lower by 3.9% compared to 469.65 million tonnes in the corresponding period of previous year. Total offtake was 56.05 million tonnes in January 2020, a growth of 6.9% compared to 52.44 million tonnes in January 2019. For the period of April 2019 – January 2020, the coal offtake was lower by 4.8% at 473.31 million tonnes compared to 497.07 million tonnes in the corresponding period of previous year.
Consumers’ Concern 1. Coal Stock Position Thermal power plants of the country were adequately stocked with 34.25 MT of coal as of January 26, 2020, sufficient for 19 days consumption and up by 77% as against 19.36 million tonnes, equivalent to 12 days’ consumption at the same time last year. Supply to the Non-power sector has improved a lot and arrear of pending rakes has also reduced.
08 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
2. Non-receipt of Referee Analysis Report, reconciliation and credit notes from different CIL Subsidiaries and request for formulation of a suitable policy for all Subsidiaries In spite of depositing the required amount to the Referee Laboratory for analysing the samples consumers have challenged, they have not received Referee Analysis Reports since long. Due to non-receipt of these reports entire reconciliation procedure is held up at different Subsidiary Coal Companies resulting in enormous delay in issuance of credit notes by the Subsidiaries. CIL has been requested for formulation of a suitable policy so that such situation does not arise in future.
3. Compensation for the large size Stones supplied with Coal There is a provision under FSA (IPPs) signed with Coal Companies to provide compensation against stones (>250mm) supplied with coal through a joint inspection. This compensation should be restricted upto 0.75% of the annual coal supplied as per the Agreement. The FSA condition is also restricted only to the coal supplied through RAIL mode whereas many customers are sourcing coal through Road mode. Consumers have requested for modification of FSA documents.
4. Request for implementation of IRLC mechanism by CIL Subsidiaries Though IRLC mechanism is embedded in FSAs of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and provision is provided for the same but Coal Companies should provide the same relief especially to those IPPs who would like to avail the mode of payment through IRLC.
Understanding the constraints of working capital of the industries being stuck up for so many months though Coal India Limited has also
considered the request of Non-regulated sector consumers for allowing sale of coal through IRLC except road mode but no notification has been received by the consumers so far from the Coal Companies in this regard. Therefore, consumers have requested for compliance of the IRLC mechanism at the earliest. 5. Delay in Royalty Payment by Subsidiaries to the State Government Some of the successful bidders of other tranches of NRS Linkage Auction could not procure coal due to non-materialisation of their FSAs or their FSAs got terminated or are on the verge of termination for various reasons. These consumers have requested for allowing them to participate in the upcoming NRS Linkage Auction Tranche V with sufficient quantity for smooth functioning of their plants.
6. Request for inter group transfer of coal for CPPs Interplant transfer of coal has been allowed initially for the State Gencos and later on for Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Consumers in the CPP Sector have requested for the same facility to be extended for Captive Power Producers (CPPs) as well in order to reduce the cost of power generation, ensure coal availability round the clock at the plants and to reduce consumption of imported coal.
7. Request for extension of validity period of RDOs issued for the month of October2019 under Linkage Auction for a period of 15 days up to 29th February, 2020 Companies are facing problem due to erratic supply of G-8 grade coal from Chirimiri OCP of South SECL by road from early January 2020. In spite of having valid RDOs, consumers are unable to lift coal which may eventually lapse on 14th February 2020.
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 09
Therefore, they have requested for extension of RDO validity from Chirimiri open cast mine till 29th February 2020 or SECL may take necessary steps so that they may lift monthly quantity within the stipulated period
Number of rakes to the industries (including CPPs) have been cancelled from different Sidings of SECL and WCL as the loading did not commence within stipulated time due to nonavailability of coal.
8. Performance Incentive Invoices is- Railways are also charging wagon registration fees from the consumers for cancellation of sued by SECL for pending rakes these rakes.
Consumers in the CPP sector have stated that they are in receipt of Performance Incentive (PI) invoice from SECL based on assumed quantity to be delivered against pending allotments for the year 2018-19. As per the terms of FSA, PI is to be charged by the coal company on actual delivered quantity. Therefore, consumers have requested SECL to issue fresh PI Invoices based on actual number of rakes delivered against that Financial Year.
— RAILWAYS — 9. Cancellation of rakes due to non-availability of coal from SECL & WCL and charging of wagon registration fees by Railways
10 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Consumers have requested for formulating a suitable policy so that the cancelled rakes are revalidated and seniority of such long awaited rakes do not get lapsed. Wagon registration fees should not be charged by the Central Railways as well for no fault at the consumers’ end.
10. Shortage of coal quantity in rakes Consumers both in the power and non-power sectors have witnessed shortage of 2 to 6% coal quantity in the rakes received by them from almost all the CIL Subsidiaries. In a few rakes, shortages have gone up to even higher. Authorities should intervene into the matter in order to resolve it.
CCAI CCAI Monthly Monthly Newsletter Newsletter November January 2019 2020
| 11
POWER Govt may extend safeguard duty on Chinese solar power equipment The government is planning to extend the safeguard duty imposed on imported solar power equipment from China, sources said. Domestic solar equipment manufacturers have met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and suggested the duty be retained. This comes at a time when the safeguard duty impacted addition in solar power generation capacity over the past two years. The domestic manufacturing industry has argued China was actively looking to divert major export flows en-route to India after major buyers from the US cancelled bulk orders. The Donald Trump administration has ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese imports, especially in the electronics space, with Washington DC threatening in December that more restrictions might follow soon.
12 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
In 2018, the government announced imposition of safeguards duty on solar cells and modules for two years — 25 per cent in the first year, 20 per cent for six months and, thereafter, 15 per cent. Apart from Malaysia, the duty specifically impacted the exports coming from China, as more than 85 per cent of India’s solar capacity is built on Chinese panels. In the past one and a half years, imports of solar cells and modules have come down drastically. Imports of cells, pegged at $2.15 billion in 201819, have gone down to $1.4 billion in the current financial year up to November. Cell imports had peaked at $3.83 billion in 2017-18. The paper recently reported India’s solar power target took a back seat because of imposition of safeguard duty on imported solar panels. Due to the uncertainty over the panel cost and final rates of power sale from their projects, many developers stalled the purchase of imported panels.
Power sector’s NPAs worth Rs coal plants to install emission one lakh crore may land in bank- cutting tools ruptcy courts India's federal power ministry has proposed a As the January 7 deadline to resolve non-performing assets (NPAs) in the power sector has passed, around Rs 1 lakh crore of bad debt in the sector remains unresolved, according to banking sources. The banks may refer Coastal Energen, Rattan India (Nashik), Emco Energy, GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib), Simhapuri Thermal and Jaiprakash Power Ventures to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Lenders have already referred KSK Mahanadi and Meenakshi Energy to NCLT. The banks signed inter-creditor agreements (ICAs) to resolve power companies under Reserve Bank of India’s June 7 circular. However, only three power companies- Prayagraj Power, Rattan India (Amravati) and GMR Chhattisgarh was able to reach an out of court settlement. Interestingly, banks have also written to the Reserve Bank of India asking it to extend the deadline for signing ICAs by another three months to buy some more time for resolution. The resolutions in some cases have been stalled because some banks have not yet signed the ICA and disagreed on the terms. After the successful resolution of Rattan India (Amravati), banks were hoping to close deal for Rattan India (Nashik) as well. However, no resolution could be finalised. Earlier, a consortium of lenders, led by Power Finance Corporation (PFC), had agreed to take a 38% haircut against their exposure of Rs 6,575 crore to Rattan India Power’s 1,350-MW Amravati plant. Some banks are also looking to sell their exposure in power NPAs. Union Bank has invited bids to sell its exposure of Rs 444 crore in GVK Power Goindwal Saheb. The subsidiary was unable to run the plant at optimal capacity during 2017-18 and 2018-19, primarily on account of low availability of fuel and, hence, defaulted on the repayment of dues to lenders.
Power Min seeks more time for
new deadline for coal-fired power plants around New Delhi to install equipment to reduce emissions, a government official said.
The ministry has said that the power plants be given deadlines starting July 2020 and ending December 2021 to install the equipment. The last deadline for installing such equipment ended on Dec. 31, 2019, with just one out of the 11 utilities in the national capital region having installed the equipment. The utilities could not meet the emissions standards of December 2017, which was then extended by another 2 years. The environment ministry will take the final call on the power ministry's proposal. On Dec. 30 Reuters citing documents reported Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office has proposed waiving a tax on coal to help finance pollution-curbing equipment.The official said that the finance ministry is considering waiving about $6 per ton of carbon tax on coal.
Private electricity generators object to the latest coal linkage auction Private electricity generators have expressed their concern over the latest auction for coal linkage being conducted by Coal India (CIL) for power plants without power purchase agreements (PPAs). In a letter to Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi, the Association of Power Producers (APP) has claimed that the auction methodology is not in line with the recommendations of the high-level empowered committee (HLEC) which was constituted to address issues of stressed thermal power projects. Power producers claim that there are “high risk” factors associated with the two-step auction process as only plants which manage to secure PPAs within two years after the auction will receive coal. There is a minimal possibility of any private power plant getting access to the coal awarded in this auction since there are no visCCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 13
ibility of PPAs in the near horizon. The last major bid for long term PPA was held in 2016 by Telangana. Power producers also said that the auction involves high risk of forfeiture of bid security, which is about Rs 1 crore per lakh tonne. A 600 MW coal-based plant, at 85% PLF, roughly uses 26-28 lakh tonne of coal every year. Union power minister RK Singh had earlier mentioned that such auctions is not a workable solution amid such dearth of PPAs. The industry also warned that the auction design “seeks to maximise the possibility of squeezing out irrational bids from developers who are desperate for coal to run their stranded projects”. The HLEC had recommended that “that for incremental coal production, the generator should be required to bid only once, for the procurement of PPA and the linkage may be granted at the notified price without any further bidding”.
Government cancels coal block allotted for power project in Jharkhand The government has cancelled the allotment of a coal block for the power project in Jharkhand, as even after a decade of allotment no significant progress was made to operationalise it. The coal block was allotted in 2009, to Karanpura Energy Ltd -- an SPV of erstwhile Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB). Due to long delays in development of coal block, show cause notices were served by the coal ministry to the company in December 2013, and September and October, 2019. The company in its reply to the ministry in November, 2019 cited non-availability of land, water and resistance from the local inhabitants as impediments in development of the coal block. The coal ministry, however, said that the reply “was not found satisfactory“. As per the allocation letter, the ministry said, the mining lease of the block may be cancelled on the grounds, including unsatisfactory progress in the development of coal mining project and breach of any of the conditions of allocation.
14 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Electricity Act may be amended to ensure discoms honour power pacts The government is planning to introduce a bill to amend the Electricity Act to prevent states from reneging on power pacts, particularly renewable energy contracts, and distribution companies from defaulting on bills. It wants to ensure that renewable energy tariffs are not changed after execution of contracts, and electricity regulatory commissions have more teeth to enforce power purchase agreements between projects and distribution companies (discom), a senior government official said. Power minister RK Singh and top officials of his ministries have been asking Andhra Pradesh to refrain from renegotiating renewable power pacts to avoid sending wrong signals to domestic and global investors. Earlier, the power ministry was considering promulgating an ordinance as discom dues to power generating companies have swelled to `82,000 crore. The bill is likely to be introduced in the later part of the budget session once cleared by the Union Cabinet. The amendments propose to alter the relevant sections of the legislation to ensure that parties to the contracts do not stop supplying or offtaking electricity even in case of a dispute, till the time it is settled. The Centre also proposes to address delays in tariff adoption by state and central electricity regulators. If concerned regulators do not adopt tariffs in two months, the power producers or the distribution companies will have the right to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. Proposal to set up a separate dispute resolution court to resolve issues between discoms and power generating companies in a time-bound manner is also being considered.
ICRA downgrades renewable energy sector to negative on rising headwinds
ICRA has revised the year-end outlook for the renewable energy (RE) sector, from stable to negative. The sector is facing headwinds because of the long delays in payments made by State distribution utilities, execution delays for projects bid out over the past two years due to challenges in completion, land acquisition difficulties, securing transmission connectivity and; financing in a timely manner. Given the challenges, ICRA expects renewable energy capacity addition to remain at about 8.59 GW for FY2020, which is similar to the capacity added in FY2019. The capacity addition would be primarily driven by the solar power segment. The share of renewable energy based generation in the overall generation mix at all India level is rising, as seen from an increase from 5.6 per cent in FY2015 to 9.2 per cent in FY2019. The share of renewable energy is expected to reach closer to 10 per cent in FY2020. This is owing to the large sized capacity addition witnessed in the wind and solar power segments during this period, driven by policy support from central and state governments as well as the significantly improved tariff competitiveness of wind and solar power vis-a-vis conventional power sources.
Clean power push: Govt adds over 50,000 MW in 5 years The renewable energy sector has made rapid strides under the Modi government with 50 GW plus of new capacity coming into the grid in the last five years despite the doubts being raised over the government’s target of achieving of 175 GW by 2022. The December quarter of 2019 saw India’s cumulative clean energy capacity cross 85,000 MW, of which more than 50,000 MW of new capacity addition was achieved in the past five years. As on December 31, 2019, the total grid-connected installed renewable power capacity in India stood at 85,908 MW.
Though the wind segment is still leading now with a total installed capacity of 37,505 MW as of now, solar is fast growing and is likely to overtake the wind sector in the next fiscal. The solar segment’s (which includes ground-mounted and rooftop) total capacity was 33,730 MW. During April-December 2019 period, the renewable energy segment added 7,592 MW of new capacity when compared with 5,002 MW of new capacity in the year-ago period, an increase of 52 per cent. The solar energy segment continues to be the key driver of new capacity growth with an addition of 5,013 MW of new capacity through ground-mounted projects and 537 MW of capacity by way of rooftop projects. The wind sector doubled its addition to capacity at 1,879 MW when compared with 993 MW. The MNRE has fixed a total capacity addition target of 11,802 MW for 2019-20 (15,602 MW in 2018-19) and solar is expected to be the highest contributor with about 8,500 MW followed by wind (3,000 MW), biomass (250 MW) and small hydro (50 MW).
Some SE Asian nations dither on joining India-based solar alliance The India-headquartered International Solar Alliance’s (ISA’s) drive to co-opt countries from South-East Asia is facing problems with some countries holding back because of New Delhi’s decision to not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal, said two people aware of the development. Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, and Laos are yet to become a signatory of the ISA, the first treatybased international government organization headquartered in India. Myanmar has signed and ratified the agreement, while Cambodia is yet to ratify it and has the status of observer. This comes against the backdrop of China’s attempts to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative, a programme to CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 15
invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including railways, ports and power grids, across Asia, Africa and Europe. As many as 84 countries have signed the framework ISA agreement, of these 63 have ratified it. The ISA has become India’s calling card on climate change and is increasingly seen as a foreign policy tool. ISA was termed as a political project by France at the solar alliance’s second general assembly held in New Delhi from 30 October to 2 November last year.
wind and solar auctions for the time being due to under subscription in the previous two.
Railways push to green energy to cut carbon footprint The Railways is accelerating its efforts to install and use renewable energy as part of its objective to reduce carbon its footprint and cut power costs. It aims to source about 1,000 MW of solar power and about 200 MW of wind power by 202122.
Initially, ISA envisaged 121 sunshine countries situated between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn as its members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later announced the “universalization" of membership with India moving the proposal to make all United Nations members eligible for ISA membership.
Currently, it consumes 200 MW of clean energy. The Railways’ total power requirement is estimated at about 2000 MW.
Proposed carbon tax waiver on coal may pose risks to India's renewables growth: Fitch
Railways is planning to install 500-MW solar plants on the roof top of railway buildings through the public-private partnership mode with 25-years agreements, which will be used to meet non-traction loads at railway stations.
Fitch Solutions on Monday said that the centre's proposed carbon tax waiver on coal may pose substantial downside risks to India's renewable sector growth. In a bid to alleviate significant debt levels in the power industry, India has proposed to waive carbon taxes on coal (Rs 400 rupees/tonne), it said. This comes at a time where aggressive bidding and rapid fall in tariff prices in country's renewable power auctions have squeezed profit margins for project developers and threatened the economic feasibility of the project pipeline in the renewables sector. The proposed carbon tax waiver on coal will "weigh on renewables growth," Fitch Solutions said, adding that the carbon tax waiver was likely to make coal-fired power cheaper, increasing the use of coal. Most notably, Tamil Nadu, one of India's largest renewable energy states, has decided to cease
16 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Railways is working on solar rooftop, groundmounted and wind power projects on railway buildings, stations, hospitals and vacant railway land lying with different zones.
Of this, 96.84 MW of solar plants have already been installed and 16 stations have been declared green railway stations across zones. These green stations meet their entire energy needs either through solar or wind power. Work is in progress in about 111 MW Solar plants, while tenders for 93 MW solar plants have recently been awarded by REMCL. It is also planning about 500 MW groundmounted solar plants to meet traction and nontraction requirements. Of this about 3 MW has already been installed at the Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareilly. In the wind energy sector, the Railways has already installed 103.4 MW of the targeted capacity of 200 MW. Windmill plants of 21 MW (for non-traction) capacity in Tamil Nadu, 26 MW (for traction) capacity in Rajasthan, 6 MW (for non-traction) and 50.4 MW (for traction) capacity in Maharashtra have been installed.
With Best Compliments From:
Sharda Ma
( )
COAL MERCHANTS, IMPORTERS & HANDLING AGENTS INDIA SOUTH AFRICA INDONESIA SINGAPORE HONG KONG NIGERIA
UGF 1& 2, Kanchenjunga Building, 18 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi-110001, India P : +91 11 23354046/47 F : +91-11-23354047 E : corporate@shardamaa.com W : www.shardamaa.com
DOMESTIC Coal mining may be opened up to all sectors before next auction Coal mining may be opened up to firms other than those in steel and power sectors through a legal amendment. The coal ministry is considering amending the law, possibly through an ordinance, ahead of the first commercial mining auctions expected this month. At present, companies other than steel, power and coal washing services firms are barred from bidding for coal blocks. The Centre proposes to open it up to all firms with offices registered in India. As per section 11A of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the Centre can auction coal and lignite mining licences to companies engaged in iron and steel, power and coal washing sectors. The official said the clause can impede the
18 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
endeavour to open up the sector through commercial mining. “The clause was earlier kept to ensure only serious players enter the sector, which was then restricted to only captive mining firms. We have to remove the condition mandating bidders to be already engaged in coal mining operations in India, to open up the sector in the true sense,� said the official The first tranche of coal auctions for commercial sale is likely to begin this financial year, with about 40 blocks with peak mining capacity in the range of one million tonnes to 50 million tonnes per annum, to cater to needs of all coal consumers. The coal ministry is expected to issue bidding rules for commercial mine auctions and hold stakeholder consultations this month. The government hopes to stop coal imports by power plants by 2024
Govt earmarks Rs 937 cr for exploration of non-CIL blocks in FY'20 The Ministry of Coal aims to issue the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) documents before the end of the current financial year to begin the process of commercial coal mining auctions. Centre decided to allow private companies to mine coal for commercial use in February 2018 and planned to begin auctioning coal mines with no end use restrictions by December 2019. But according to officials in the know, a change in law needs to be effected to allow private players sell coal in the open market. The earlier timeline to begin offering blocks for 100 per cent commercial coal mining was December 2019. The base price for auctions was defined based on the Coal India notified price for the particular grade of coal that dominates the geology of the mine on offer. But industry watchers say that the Coal India notified price builds in the inefficiencies in production that the public sector undertaking is criticised for. After an inadequate response in bid rounds for end-use linked mining, the Centre decided to offer an added incentive and the winners have been allowed to sell up to 25 per cent of the total coal produced in the open market.
Cabinet okays Ordinance removing end-use restrictions in coal mine auctions In a bid to attract investments and boost domestic coal production, the government on Wednesday approved promulgation of an ordinance to open up coal mining in the country to non-coal companies while removing restrictions on end-use of the fuel. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also gave its nod for concluding auction of iron ore and other mineral mines before the expiry of their current mining lease on March 31, so as to avoid disruption in production.
Briefing reporters, Coal and Mines Minister Prahlad Joshi said the Cabinet has approved promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to amend Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015. The ordinance will amend the current provision in the law that allows only companies in coal mining to bid for coal mines. Any company meeting the minimum criteria will now be allowed to bid for coal mines, the first auction of which under the liberalised rules will open within this month, Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain said. As many as 40 coal blocks will be put up for auction in the new round, he said.
Centre begins commercial coal auction process The government on Wednesday said it is initiating the process of coal auctions and the first round of sale of blocks under commercial mining is proposed to be launched in the ongoing fiscal. The announcement comes days after the government approved an ordinance to ease mining laws that will allow global players to enter the coal sector. A company or a joint venture company incorporated in India is eligible to participate in commercial coal auctions, the coal ministry said in a statement. “Moving ahead after the recent amendments in MMDR Act 1957 and the CMSP Act 2015, the Ministry of Coal is initiating the process for auction of coal mines for sale of coal. Expected to be held in multiple tranches, the first tranche is proposed to be launched in the current financial year,� it said. The bidders would be required to bid for a percentage share of revenue payable to the government. The floor price shall be four per cent of the revenue share, the statement added. The government has released a list of 74 mines which it plans to auction under commercial mining. The ministry said it has urged interested stakeholders to view the discussion paper and the mine specific details and submit their views/suggestions, indicate their preferences for the mines to be considered for auction under CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 19
the first tranche. The ordinance approved by the Cabinet last week also enables auction of unexplored and partially explored coal blocks for mining through prospecting license-cum-mining lease.
Coal India production bounces back to growth, miner creates 18day stock for power plants Coal India Ltd (CIL), the world’s largest producer of the fossil fuel, has been able to create an 18day stock at the country’s power plants at the beginning of the year, a significant improvement from that of a critical stock situation during September-October period. The period saw 47 thermal power plants with 6-day stock, 12 plants with 2-day stock and eight plants had a stock of barely one day. These power plants currently are flushed with 31.63 million tonne (MT) of coal, which is more than twice the stock which these units had during the same period a year ago. Although from CIL’s perspective, the stock situation during September-October was never critical since it supplied 90% of the assured contract quantity (ACQ) to some thermal power generators and 75% of the ACQ to most thermal generators, the power producers faced a shortage since it consumed more coal than the quantity meant to be supplied during a certain period calculated on a pro rata basis. CIL ended December with 58.02 MT of coal, a 7.2% growth, against 54.14 MT produced during the same month a year ago. This was the highest production for December since its inception and the month’s production witnessed 16% growth month on month, against 54.13 MT produced in November. Two of CIL’s best producing firms, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), have come back strongly in December with production growth of 11.3% and 10.1%, respectively.
India looks to replace up to 135 mil mt of coal imports with domestic output: minister 20 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
India's domestic coal sector continues to undergo reform as the country looks to meet its growing energy demand with thermal coal, while simultaneously replacing imports with domestic production, union ministers said. Minister for coal and mines Pralhad Joshi discussed state-owned producer Coal India's ambitious production targets as well as the recent move to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's coal blocks -- a first for the country. Joshi described the act as a "historic decision" which would "ramp up coal production and drastically reduce the coal imports over time." India's plan for its coal industry is to reduce the dependence in imports, Joshi said of the 235 million mt of coal, of which only 100 million mt was "non-substitutable." India is already the world's second-largest coal importer, behind only China, and is playing an increasingly pivotal role in the global seaborne market given solid import growth in recent years as Chinese import demand appears to have peaked.
Coal India’s 2019 shipments drop for first time in six years; key reasons Coal India posted the first decline in annual shipments in at least six years as demand from power producers weakened and its production was hit by heavy rains earlier in 2019. Shipments fell 3.8% in 2019 from a year ago to 580.8 million tons. On a monthly basis, shipments rose 1.9% in December from last year to 53.63 million tons. Output climbed 7.2% to 58.02 million tons. Coal India is the biggest coal-producing company in the world. India’s power generation from coal is poised to shrink in 2019 for the first time in at least 14 years. The decline mirrors a global trend as nations embrace cleaner forms of energy in a bid to cut emissions and reduce air pollution. Further sapping India’s coal consumption is an industrial slowdown, which caused electricity use to slump for four consecutive months. Prolonged rains have also pushed up output from
hydroelectric dams while curbing demand for air conditioning and irrigation.
Environment Ministry clears 10 coal mining projects The environment ministry has cleared 10 coal mining projects with a total capacity of 160 million tonnes a year and four washeries that can handle 31 million tonnes annually. These include Coal India s projects for seven mines and two washeries with an annual capacity of 141 million tonnes and 15 million tonnes respectively. This is likely to help Coal India meet its targets of producing 750 million tonnes next fiscal requiring achievement of a 14% growth over current year’s 660 million tonnes target, and one billion tonnes target by 2024, a senior company executive said. The largest project cleared by the ministry was for Coal India subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields’ Kusmunda opencast coal mine in Chhattisgarh, which will touch 62.5 million tonnes at its peak capacity. Eastern Coalfields received clearance for the Rajmahal opencast coal mine project in Jharkhand with an annual production capacity of nearly 24 million tonnes. Other large projects of Coal India that received clearances from the environment ministry include subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields’ Lakhanpur opencast project in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district. It has been allowed to produce 21 million tonnes of coal a year for 30 years to 2050.
Ease of mining coal needs to be accompanied by regulatory overhaul In an effort to boost domestic coal output and curb imports, the Cabinet has resolved to throw open coal mining auctions to all entities, as against permitting only entities already invested in coal. To facilitate wider participation, it has done away with so-called end-use restrictions, or the condition that coal be mined for specific uses, such as making power or steel. Therefore, commercial mining is expected to
receive a boost, with foreign majors who are not invested in coal in the country being able to mine coal for the purpose of sale to other parties. The backdrop to this push for investment in coal comes from the fact, as mentioned at Wednesday’s Cabinet meet, that coal imports in 2018-19 were 235 million tonnes (₹1.71 lakh crore), of which 130 million tonnes were substitutable in nature — in other words, of a calorific content readily available in India. At the same time, of the 204 coal block licences that were cancelled by the Supreme Court in 2014, only 29 have been auctioned, with the Minister for Coal attributing this disinterest to end-user restrictions. Meanwhile, public sector Coal India, which employs about three lakh people, has been given an output target of one billion tonnes by 2023-24, against its current level of about 650 million tonnes. However, to invite investor interest in coal, a regulator for the sector is essential, overseeing issues such as pricing, conduct of auctions and allocations to government entities. Mining practices need an overhaul, and hazardous mines should be shut down.
India is in talks with Mongolia and Russia for importing coking coal: Pradhan Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said India is in talks with Mongolia and Russia for importing coking coal to reduce dependence on few countries for supplies of the commodity. The minister said the Centre is looking to import coking coal, a raw material for making steel, at a reasonable price as the country has set a target to produce 300 million tonne of the metal by 2030-31. "India has been importing coal from Australia, which is good, but high-quality coking coal is also available in Mongolia. We are looking to bring that coal at a reasonable price. We are in talks with the Mongolian government," Pradhan said at a programme here on Saturday evening. In 2016, a delegation comprising senior officials of the Steel Ministry and state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) went to Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar for securing a deal with the east Asian country for importing of coking coal. CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 21
The initial plan was to bring the fuel through Chinese ports but it could not be materialised, sources said, adding that the Centre is trying to bring coal through Russia's Vostochny Port which is known for handling the commodity.
RAILWAYS Key Jharkhand rail link lies almost idle as CIL fails to implement peripheral project For decades, Coal India Ltd (CIL) officials blamed the Railways for not laying a key rail link in Jharkhand that could help unlock the country’s richest coal reserves. The Narendra Modi government gave it a push. The 44-km Tori-Shivpur electrified double-line was completed more than a year ago, at roughly Rs. 1,500 crore, to facilitate two mega mines — Magadh and Amrapali — which can together produce up to 100 million tonnes (mt) of coal. But the coal is not moving. The Modi government completed two more key links to ensure the optimal utilisation of domestic reserves. The 53-km single-track Sardega-Barpali-Jharsuguda rail link was rolled out in September 2018 for the evacuation of 20-25 mt of coal annually from the resource-rich Ib Valley area in Odisha. Per project estimates, the Rs. 1,000-crore raillink was expected to boost production from the Basundhara and Siarmal project areas of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a Sambalpur-based subsidiary of CIL, by over three times, from 10 mt to 34 mt. As of December 2019, the line was underutilised with barely six rakes (approximately 8.5 mt) moving daily. This is largely due to a delay in implementing a mega project, with a peak capacity of75 mt a year, at Siarmal. The third critical rail project, from Kharsia to Dharamjaygarh in Chhattisgarh, which will unlock new areas of the Korba reserves, is half way through. The 44-km line between Kharsia and Korichapar was opened for commercial use last October. The rail link will help evacuate coal from the vast Mand Raigarh fields. The project is implemented by East Rail Corridor, a special
22 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
purpose vehicle of CIL’s Bilaspur-based subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (64 per cent), the Chhattisgarh government (10 per cent) and IRCON (26 per cent).
STEEL
Steel Ministry looks at $ 70 bn investments in eastern region Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Steel Ministry is looking at an aggregate investment of $70 billion in the eastern region of the country through accelerated development of the sector. Launching the ‘Purvodaya’ programme here, Pradhan said the underdeveloped districts in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha have to be taken forward for development of the steel sector. The eastern region with rich mineral resources has a great potential for development of the steel industry, he said, adding that Bihar needs to be included in the list. According to the National Steel Policy announced in 2017, the government is aiming at a total production capacity of 300 million tonne by 2030 and out of which, around 200 million tonne is envisaged from the five eastern states, he said. Addressing an event organised by CII, Pradhan, minister of petroleum, natural gas and steel, said the region has rich deposits of coal, iron ore and bauxite. “As much as 90 million tonne of steel is produced in the east, out of the total production volume of 140 million tonne in the country,” he said. SAIL chairman A K Chaudhary said the company has a strong presence in the east with five steel plants having production volume of 20 million tonnes while Indian Oil Corporation chairman Sanjiv Singh said the expansion of the gas and oil pipelines will boost demand for steel consumption.
Steel producers raise prices by Rs 1,000-1,500 a tonne as demand perks up
Responding to cost pressure and greater demand, domestic steel producers have raised prices by Rs 1,000-1,500 a tonne across products for January. “Iron ore miners have increased prices by Rs 600 per tonne and so this increases the cost of production by Rs 1,000 a tonne,” V R Sharma, managing director, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL), said. With this, domestic steel players have raised prices for the fourth consecutive month in a market in which consumption is expected to pick up after the government announced a mega push for infrastructure projects. JSPL recorded 30 per cent sales growth in the December quarter at 1.66 million tonnes compared with the same period in the previous financial year. “We are most likely to cross our production guidance of 6.5 million tonnes for FY20 and produce around 7 million tonnes,” said Sharma. Demand for domestic iron ore has gone up after the increase in global ore prices, said industry officials. Domestic iron ore prices are estimated at around $65 a tonne as against $85-90 a tonne for imported ore. Odisha-based miners have raised iron ore prices by around 10 per cent even as supply from the state hit an all-time high as steelmakers stocked the mineral in anticipation of a disruption when multiple mine leases expire at the end of this financial year.
Higher local demand may hurt steel exports in FY21 India’s steel exports are likely to decline in the next fiscal year starting April 1 on higher domestic demand from automotive and infrastructure companies, analysts said. Exports of finished steel during the April-December period of the ongoing fiscal year increased marginally to 6.5 million tonnes from 6.36 mt in the same period last year, according to provisional figures released by the Joint Plant Committee, an authoritative and independent source of information about the Indian iron and steel industry. In December, however, steel exports fell 11.5% to 767,000 tonnes, according to the report.
Iron ore exports grew 132% in April-December to 26 mt, according to the JPC data. Analysts, however, said the numbers are likely to come down marginally this year. Iron ore exports should fall in FY2021 because of an interim disruption due to license expiry and auctions of iron ore mines in Odisha, Nevatia said. “A tight domestic market should elevate domestic iron ore prices and inflate costs for steel companies,” he added.
CEMENT
Cement demand may rise by up to 6% on govt’s mega infra push As India seeks to build infrastructure that can undergird its ambitions of expanding into a $5-trillion economy by the middle of this decade, consumption of cement is set to increase by up to 6% immediately in the country which is the world’s second biggest market for the primary building material. The Centre’s proposal to invest Rs 102 lakh crore to build ports, airports, motorways or irrigation canals is expected to drive demand for the commodity, of which India is also the world’s second-biggest producer after China but trails the global average in per capita consumption. Data over the past two decades show that cement volumes are roughly 1.2-1.3 times the rate of percentage increase in gross domestic product (GDP). Data over the past two decades show that cement volumes are roughly 1.2-1.3 times the rate of percentage increase in gross domestic product (GDP). Last year witnessed flat growth, but better monsoons this year could help revive demand from the rural hinterland, which contributes significantly to the industry’s IHB (individual home builder) segment. CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 23
GLOBAL Coal seen to remain key part of global electricity generation mix Forecasts that demand for coal will continue to represent a significant part of the global electricity generation mix signal the need to reconcile what is real and what is ideal, according to the World Coal Association (WCA).WCA was reacting to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the use of coal for power generation would be stable, at least in the next five years, despite calls by environmentalists for governments and corporations to ditch the fossil fuel and go for renewable energy sources instead. Coal demand projections are “a reminder that coal and coal use is a reality,” WCA chief ex-
24 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
ecutive Michelle Manook said in a statement. Forecasts that demand for coal will continue to represent a significant part of the global electricity generation mix signal the need to reconcile what is real and what is ideal, according to the World Coal Association (WCA). Coal demand projections are “a reminder that coal and coal use is a reality,” WCA chief executive Michelle Manook said in a statement. “It’s time for a sensible discussion and collaboration to bridge the gap between the real and ideological worlds,” Manook said and expressed concern about anti-coal groups perpetuating the idea that coal cannot be part of the low-carbon solution.
Coal Isn’t Dying. It Moved to Asia In the United States, coal, that supervillain of fossil-fuels, is in a death spiral. But on a global scale, there’s no spiral, just an arrow pointing to Asia. Turns out coal is not dying; it’s moving. A report from the International Energy Association reveals the extent to which coal has provided the power for Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam as their economic growth pulls millions out of poverty. The world burns 65 percent more coal today than it did in 2000, according to the IEA’s new report. Coal accounts for 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. The report shows that natural gas and renewables are killing so many coal plants in the United States and Europe that worldwide coal consumption should be falling … if it weren’t for China and India. There, as well as in smaller Asian countries, coal use is rising fast enough to erase the effect of closures elsewhere. That drove up pollution of carbon and the particulates that have famously choked cities like Delhi and Jakarta. It also fueled economic growth, lifting people out of poverty and helping countries prepare for the disasters made worse by climate change. For instance, despite an increase in cyclones, Bangladesh has dramatically reduced cyclonerelated deaths by building shelters, fostering the growth of coastal forests, and developing systems for evacuation and cleanup. Just as Europe and the United States relied on coal to turn on electric lights in the late 19th Century, countries like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines are now doing the same.
China’s coking coal imports rise China’s imports of coking coal saw steady growth in November 2019, according to data from General Administration of Customs. Customs data showed that in November 2019, Chinese imports of coking coal increased 16% y/y to 6.18 million t. The import turnover reached US$7.89 million, decreasing 3.9% y/y. From January to November, a total of 72.8 mil-
lion t of coking coal was imported, up 17% from the previous year, according to the GAC.The main use of coking coal is to refine coke, material for making steel.
China must cancel new coal plants to achieve climate goals: study China must end the construction of all new coalfired power plants in order to meet long-term climate goals in the most economically feasible manner, according to a study co-authored by a government-backed research institute. China’s energy strategy over the next decade is under close scrutiny as it aims to bring climate warming carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and fulfill a pledge made as part of the 2015 Paris agreement. Beijing is capable of phasing out coal to help meet a global target to keep temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, but only if it embarks on a “structured and sustainable” closure strategy to minimize the economic impact, according to the study. The report, which evaluated more than 1,000 existing coal-fired power plants, said China must first end new construction and then rapidly close older and inefficient plants. As much as 112 gigawatts (GW) does not meet environmental standards and could be shut down immediately, it said. China currently has over 1,000 GW of coal-fired power, accounting for about 60% of the country’s total installed generation capacity..
US power generators set for another big year in coal plant closures in 2020 U.S. coal consumption is likely to decline sharply again in 2020, though the current roster of planned and completed coal plant retirements suggests the year may not be quite as rough as the past two. At 13,703 MW, 2019 marks the highest level of annual coal capacity retirements
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 25
in the U.S. since 2015, a new S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of federal data shows. The amount of coal capacity planned for retirement in 2020 is expected to exceed the amount retired in each of 2014, 2016 and 2017. Another retirement has already been announced. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. said Jan. 9 that it was closing its 247-MW Escalante power plant in New Mexico by the end of 2020. Since 2014, U.S. power generators retired nearly 62,000 MW of coal-fired generation capacity, with another 26,947 MW of retirements teed up through 2025. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC forecast in a December 2019 report that about 70,000 MW to as much as 190,000 MW of coal-fired generation is "economically at risk" from the deployment of a "second wave of renewables" in the U.S. The research firm said these projections exclude about 24,000 MW of coal generation already set to shut down. U.S. domestic coal consumption for power is estimated to fall another 5% in 2020, said Matt Preston, Wood Mackenzie's research director of North America coal markets. Coal plant operators in the PJM Interconnection have retired more than 18,800 MW of coal capacity since 2014 with more than 3,100 MW of shuttered coal plants on the horizon.
In US Renewables primed to pass coal power For American coal, 2019 was bad, 2020 will be worse, and in 2021, renewables will surpass coal in electricity generation for the first time ever, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA's latest short-term energy outlook yesterday showcased U.S. coal companies' dire predicament: Coal-fired power plants keep closing, and exports will no longer help fill the void. Trends in the coal industry have defied President Trump's promises and his administration's regulatory attempts to save the industry. More than 90% of U.S. coal continues to go to electricity generation. But by 2021, coal consumption will have dropped by one-quarter. Coal will be used to generate just 21% of American electric-
26 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
ity — half what it was a decade ago. By 2021, renewables will surpass coal and produce 24% of U.S. electricity. Exports helped coal companies make up for lost power plants in past years, but no longer, according to EIA. Exports fell 20% in 2019 and are expected to drop again in 2020. In 2019, 36% of U.S. coal exports went to Germany, Portugal and other nations in the European Union taking concerted steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Despite that, Aldina said U.S. coal companies will continue to ship coal to growing markets in Asia. In 2019, India became the largest single importer of U.S. coal. EIA expects exports to stabilize around 83 million tons in 2021.
BHP eyes India for coal growth as China demand flatlines Australia's largest miner, BHP, believes the longterm trajectory of the emerging economy of India and the acceleration of its steelmaking output could help offset the flattening demand from China feared in the 2020s. China's immense appetite for the steelmaking commodities iron ore and coal – Australia's two top exports – helped deliver a windfall to the leading miners in 2019 as well as a timely boost to the Morrison government's federal budget. But the latest industry and government modelling projects Chinese demand to ease in the face of lower margins, a weakening in global growth and the continuing US-China trade war. Australian exporters of metallurgical coal – the coal used to make steel – are increasingly looking to the rapid growth of India's steel sector to help to fill the looming demand gap and cushion the blow. In its December resources report, the federal government said India was expected to become the "key source" of import growth for metallurgical coal, "offsetting a gradual easing in demand from China". According to projections from BHP, Indian steelmaking is on course to grow by 7 per cent a year
over the 2020s. With yearly output of more than 100 million tonnes of steel, India recently surpassed Japan to become the world's secondbiggest steelmaking country. India's government is forecasting its metallurgical coal demand to more than double in 10 years as the country plans to increase its crude steel production to 300 million tonnes by 2030.
Indonesia to curb coal output to protect price The authorities in Jakarta have set a production target at 550 million tonnes for 2020, 9.8 per cent lower than the 610 million tonnes produced last year. Energy minister Arifin Tasrif said domestic consumption of the dirtiest fossil fuel rose by 12 per cent to 155 million tonnes. The minister insisted that producers must stick to the limits as the government “doesn’t want coal production to be too massive and drive prices lower and cause government revenue to drop. We will implement the domestic market obligation as well.” Coal firms are required to sell 25 per cent of their output domestically at a fixed price,” he said. The Indonesian government said it was motivated by financial concerns rather than any obligation to cut carbon emissions.
Vietnam and regional neighbors push for low-grade coal Demand for low-grade coal with lower combustion efficiency is growing amid economic growth in Vietnam and other emerging Asian countries, placing another hurdle in the global race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While prices of high-grade coal with higher power generation efficiency have fallen by more than 30% over the past year as developed countries have been reducing coal consumption, prices of low-grade coal have fallen more slowly. The price difference between the two categories of coal has shrunk to one-third the level of a year ago.
Of thermal coal produced in Australia, which serves as a benchmark of thermal coal prices in Asia, high-grade coal with a calorific value of 6,000 kilocalories per kilogram is currently traded at about $65 per ton, down 34% from December of last year.The price decline reflects slowing demand for coal for use in power generation. Meanwhile, prices of low-grade coal with lower calorific value, at 5,500 kcal per kg, stay at around $50 per ton, down about 15% over the past year. Cheaper low-grade coal is imported mainly by emerging countries, such as China and Vietnam. The price drop for low-grade coal has been smaller than for high-grade coal, although the coal market is weak overall amid fears of a slowdown in the global economy and falling prices of alternative fuels. The supply of low-grade coal is not increasing in line with demand, because coal prices that have remained low for a long time have adversely impacted mining companies' earnings. The change in supply-demand balance for highgrade coal and low-grade coal will highlight the difference in attitude toward coal between developed countries and emerging countries.
Ukraine produced over 31 mln tonnes of coal in 2019 The Coal Miners Union of Ukraine reported this on January 8 with a reference to the data provided by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection. "In 2019, coal mining enterprises of Ukraine of all forms of ownership produced 31,212,753 tonnes of coal, which is 1,881,347 tonnes less than planned,” reads the report. In particular, the mines subordinated to the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection produced 3,565,336 tonnes of coal, which is 871,664 tonnes less than the target plan. As reported, Ukraine produced 33.29 million tonnes of coal in 2018, which was 286,900 tonnes (0.9%) more than in the previous year. CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 27
IN PARLIAMENT GOVT. OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA Q. No. 3727. IMPACT OF COAL MINES ON ENVIRONMENT 11.12.2019
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL: SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR: SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA: SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH: SHRIMATI RATHVA GITABEN VAJESINGBHAI:
MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY COAL AND MINES
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER AFFAIRS,
(SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)
(a) the impact of various coal mines on environment;
(a): Coal mining, like any other developmental activity, does have impacts on Environment. However, such impacts in case of coal mining is generally contained within the project area itself.
(b) whether the Government has issued any directives to minimize the adverse effects of coal mines on environment;
(b) to (d): In order to minimize the adverse effect of coal mining on environment, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:
28 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
has notified the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, as amended from time to time, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 which deals with the process to grant Environmental Clearance. The projects of Coal Sector, as per schedule in the EIA Notification, 2006, require prior environmental clearance. The environmental clearance is a process which involves four stages which are: Stage (1) – Screening; Stage (2) – Scoping i.e. prescribing Terms of Reference (TOR) for undertaking detailed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Studies; Stage (3) – Public Consultation to be conducted by the respective State/ UT Pollution Control Board/ Committee and Stage (4)Appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) as per the provisions prescribed in the EIA Notification, 2006 notified under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. While according environmental clearance, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC)/ State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) examined the EIA/EMP report which are prepared by accredited consultants and further the EAC/SEAC stipulate necessary conditions for safe-guarding the environment and other mitigation measures to protect the environment. The status of compliance of stipulated conditions of the environmental clearance of different projects, including mining projects, is monitored by ten Regional Offices of MoEFCC in the Country.
Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation; (d) the details of coal mine productivity in other major coal producing countries of the world, country-wise and the manner in which this could be compared with India; and (e) the reasons for India’s low coal productivity when compared to other countries?
ANSWER MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI) (a): M/s KPMG Advisory Services, which was appointed for this purpose by Coal India Limited (CIL), has prepared a document on ‘Vision 2030 for Coal Sector’ in the country. (b): CIL had commissioned this study to ascertain the long term prospects of the coal sector, evaluate future strategies and provide a long term vision up to 2030. Key highlights of the Vision document are as follows: i. Demand and Supply scenario of coal. ii. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of coal sector. iii. Technology for the coal & Lignite sector. iv. Advancement in coal and Lignite mining.
Q. No. 3836. COAL VISION 11.12.2019
v. Action Plan and Recommendations.
SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:
(d): Information on coal productivity in countries producing coal is not available.
Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state: (a) whether CIL has come out with a study called Coal Vision, 2030; (b) if so, the details of the Coal Vision,2030;
(c): No new coal block has been discovered in Andhra Pradesh.
(e): Information on coal productivity at all India level is not available. However, coal productivity (Output per Manshift (OMS)) of Coal India Limited has continuously increased during last ten years from 4.48 in 2009-10 to 8.51 in 2018-19.
(c) the details of special vision that the Ministry has on the newly discovered coal fields in CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 29
RAJYA SABHA Q. No. 2247. IMPLEMENTATION OF SHAKTI SCHEME 09.12.2019 SHRI AKHILESH PRASAD SINGH: Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state: (a) the salient features of the Shakti Scheme and details of its implementation in the country; (b) the list of eligible States under the scheme, at present; (c) whether State of Bihar is eligible under the scheme, at present; and (d) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI) (a) to (d): The Government approved the fading away of the existing Letter of Assurance (LoA) - Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) regime and introduced Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India (SHAKTI), 2017, which was issued by the Ministry of Coal on 22.05.2017. The Government also approved amendments to the SHAKTI Policy, 2017, which was issued by the Ministry of Coal on 25.03.2019. All the States and Union Territories, including the State of Bihar, are eligible under SHAKTI policy, subject to terms and conditions mentioned in the policy. Salient features of the
30 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
SHAKTI policy, as amended, are as under: A. FSA may be signed with pending LoA holders after ensuring that the plants are commissioned, respective milestones met, all specified conditions of the LoA fulfilled within specified time frame and where nothing adverse is detected against the LoA holder. Further, it has allowed continuation of the existing coal supply to the capacities of about 68,000 MW at the rate of 75% of Annual Contracted Quantity (ACQ), which may further be increased in future, based on coal availability. The policy has enabled coal supplies at 75% of ACQ against FSA to about 19,000 MW capacities, which have been delayed in commissioning, provided these plants are commissioned within 31.03.2022. The medium term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to be concluded in future against bids invited by DISCOMS have also been made eligible for linkage coal supply. B (i). The Coal India Limited (CIL)/ the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) may grant coal linkages to State/Central Gencos/Joint Ventures at notified price on the recommendations of the Ministry of Power. B (ii). Linkages to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), having Long Term PPAs based on domestic coal, where IPPs, participating in auction, will bid for discount on the tariff (in paise/ unit). The bidders, who could not participate in the linkage auction under B (ii) due to any reason, may be allowed to participate in the B (ii) auctions of this policy. Further, the bidders, who could not secure linkage for full ACQ, may obtain linkage for the balance quantity by participating in future auctions at a later stage under B (ii) after bench marking discount.
B (iii). Linkages to IPPs/ Power Producers without PPAs shall be on auction basis. B (iv). Coal linkages may also be earmarked for fresh PPAs, by pre-declaring the availability of coal linkage with description, to the States. The States may indicate these linkages to DISCOMS/State Designated Agencies (SDAs). B (v). Power requirement of group of States can also be aggregated and procurement of such aggregated power can be made by an agency, designated by the Ministry of Power or authorized by such States on the basis of tariff based bidding. B (vi). Linkages shall be granted for full normative quantity to Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated by nominated agency for setting up Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) under Central Government initiative through tariff based competitive bidding under the guidelines for determination of tariff, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Power. B (vii). The Ministry of Coal, in consultation with the Ministry of Power, may formulate a detailed methodology of a transparent bidding process for allocating coal linkages to IPPs, having PPAs, based on imported coal with full pass through of cost savings to the consumers. B (viii). (a) Power plants with no PPAs are allowed coal linkage under B (iii) & B (iv) for a period of minimum 3 months upto a maximum of 1 year for sale of power generated through the linkage in Day Ahead Market (DAM) through power exchanges or in short term through Discovery of Efficient Energy Price (DEEP) portal. (b) Use of the existing coal linkage for sale of power through short term PPAs using DEEP portal or power exchange by the generator, which terminates PPA in case of default in payment by
the DISCOM for a maximum period of 2 years or until they find another buyer of power under long /medium term PPA, whichever is earlier. (c) Coal linkage under B (v) is also applicable in cases, where the nodal agency designated by the Ministry of Power aggregates/procures the power requirement for a group of States even without requisition from such States. (d) Central and State generating companies can act as an aggregator of power of stressed power assets. (e) Mechanism to ensure servicing of debt. As of now, coal linkages to the following capacities have been granted under various Para of the policy: • A(i): Clearance has been given for signing of FSA for 10 power plants with a total capacity of 6,550 MW. • B(i): 20 Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) have been granted linkage for a total capacity of 23,360 MW. • B(ii): First round of linkage auction under B(ii) of SHAKTI policy was conducted in September, 2017, whereby 27.18 Million Tonne (MT) of annual coal linkage was booked by ten successful bidders for about 9,045 MW capacity. Second round of B (ii) auction has been concluded by CIL on 24.05.2019. During this second round quantity of 2.97 MT of annual linkage has been booked by eight bidders for about 874.9 MW capacity. • B(iv): Coal linkage granted from CIL for the States of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for a capacity of 4000 MW, 1600 MW and2640 MW respectively. • B(v): Coal linkage granted from CIL for a capacity of 2500 MW.
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 31
OVERALL DOMESTIC COAL SCENARIO Coal Production (in MT) Company
December, 2019
December, 2018
CIL
58.02
SCCL
5.71
% Growth
April - Dec, 2019
April - Dec, 2018
% Growth
54.14
7.2%
388.41
412.44
-5.8%
6.0
-5.4%
46.7
45.6
2.6%
% Growth
April - Dec, 2019
April - Dec, 2018
% Growth
Overall Offtake (in MT) Company
December, 2019
December, 2018
CIL
53.63
52.61
1.9%
417.26
444.63
-6.2%
SCCL
5.59
6.07
-8.0%
46.37
49.11
-5.6%
Coal Despatch to Power (Coal and Coal Products) (in MT) Company
December, 2019
December, 2018
% Growth
April - Dec, 2019
April - Dec, 2018
% Growth
CIL
42.10
42.91
-1.9%
334.27
363.61
-8.1%
SCCL
4.88
4.96
-1.5%
39.33
40.0
-1.7%
Company
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2018
Increase over notified price
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2018
Increase over notified price
CIL
5.07
3.42
67%
21.25
22.26
66%
Spot E-auction of Coal (in MT)
Special Forward E-auction for Power (in MT) Company
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated December 2018
Increase over notified price
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2018
Increase over notified price
CIL
0.51
-
15%
17.46
21.91
32%
Exclusive E-auction for Non- Power (in MT) Company
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2018
Increase over notified price
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2018
Increase over notified price
CIL
0.51
-
15%
17.46
21.91
32%
Company
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated December, 2018
Increase Over notified price
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec 2019
Coal Qty. Allocated April - Dec, 2018
Increase Over notified price
CIL
0.51
-
15%
17.46
21.91
32%
Special Spot E-auction (in MT)
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 33
MONTHLY SUMMARY OF DOMESTIC COAL Comparative Price of Domestic Coal: Power/Non-power. *The price shown in the Chart below is without: (a) Surface Transportation Charges. (b) State specific taxes. (c) Coal company or area wise charges if any. (d) Evacuation Facility Charges INR 50 per tonne w.e.f. 00:00 of 20.12.2017 GCV (Kcal/kg) (Mid-value)
G3-6400-6700
G5-5800-6100
G7-5200-5500
G10-4300-4600
G11-4000-4300
G12-3700-4000
Basic ROM price (Rs./te)
3144/ 3144
2737/2737
1926/2311
1024/1228
955/1145
886/1063
Tentative Ex-Mine Price*
4447/4447
3941/3941
2932/3411
1809/2063
1724/1959
1638/1858
COAL * The government is apparently going the whole hog in removing the impediments to investments in coal mining. Close on the heels of a Cabinet decision earlier this month to remove end-use restrictions on miners in the sector that virtually abolished the concept of captive coal mining, the Union coal ministry has now floated a discussion paper that proposes to do away with the requirement of prior experience for prospective bidders for coal blocks. * Indian Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi has announced that the government plans to stop the substitutable import of coal within the next three to four years. Joshi said that the government may conduct an auction of 100 fully explored blocks. The government recently introduced an ordinance to amend regulations to open up coal mining to other firms outside of the steel and power sectors.
RAILWAYS * To increase its share of freight from the automobile sector, the Railways has designed wagons that can carry not just cars, but also trucks and tractors, a senior official of the national transporter said. The detailed drawing of the "higher automobile carrier wagons" is in the final stages, Member, Rolling Stock, Railway Board, Rajesh Agarwal, said.
POWER * India’s electricity grid operators will have to install firewalls and other measures used by companies to avert an attack on their information technology systems and check rising hacking incidents of power networks across the world. Grid operators and regulatory agencies will need to have a continuity plan handy in the event of a cyber attack, according to draft rules published by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
34 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
* India is all set to cross the 100-GW renewable energy capacity mark in 2020 and can make rapid strides towards the ambitious 175-GW clean energy target by 2022, provided the government keeps a close eye on key issues and deals with those well in time. The government however needs to promote storage to ensure 24×7 clean energy supply as coalfired thermal power still remains the base load in the country.
CEMENT * Growth of Indian cement demand fell short of expectations in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20 and no major recovery is expected until after the 2020 monsoon, according to analysts. The sector is expected to end both the calendar as well as the financial year with flat demand growth, which is well below expectations for 5 to 6 per cent growth forecasts at the start of the year. * As India seeks to build infrastructure that can undergird its ambitions of expanding into a $5-trillion economy by the middle of this decade, consumption of cement is set to increase by up to 6% immediately in the country which is the world’s second biggest market for the primary building material.
STEEL * Domestic prices of steel, of which India is among the three top global producers, are expected to climb 10-12 per cent this year, with the government’s measures to revamp infrastructure and consumption likely reviving demand for the alloy from carmakers and construction companies. * Driven by 'Make in India' initiative, slashing imports, keeping a tab on domestic prices and exploring alternate overseas sources for coking coal are set to top the government's agenda for the steel sector in 2020 while players expect a "break out year" for the industry.
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 35
59.43
74.13
66.59
57.61
14
13
JAN- 2020
1330000.00
6218.00
ACTUAL*
NUCLEAR
Source CEA
44720.00
136932.00
PROGRAM
282832.29
THERMAL
Category
TOTAL
0.00
HYDRO
BHUTAN IMP
6780.00
45399.22
NUCLEAR
2
1142130.00
1
230653.07
Target Apr 2019 to Mar 2020
Monitored Capacity (MW)
THERMAL
Category
SUMMARY- ALL INDIA
61.85
59.65
15
ACTUAL SAME MONTH 2018-19
5
12.8
7366.69
3120.11
90349.24
102879.08 100848.84
140.97
8621.1
3358.82
90758.19
4
ACTUAL*
94.38
41.83
123.67
82.53
92.97
73.91
59.43
16
78.66
56.03
17
PROGRAM ACTUAL*
6
% OF PROGRAM (4/3)
63.42
60.08
18
ACTUAL SAME PERIOD 2018-19
APRIL 2019 - JAN 2020
PLANT LOAD FACTOR (%)
109001.00
337.00
6971.00
4070.00
97623.00
3
PROGRAM
ACTUAL SAME MONTH 2018-19
JAN-2020
AN OVERVIEW
102.01
1101.33
117.03
107.65
100.45
7
% OF LAST YEAR (4/5)
5655.47
138199.40
39166.65
870590.05
9
ACTUAL*
4334.92
119086.14
31577.65
895782.76
10
ACTUAL SAME PERIOD 2018-19
PERIOD : JANUARY, 2020
94.45
98.00
113.84
106.88
91.47
11
100.27
130.46
116.05
124.03
97.19
12
% OF LAST % OF PROGRAM YEAR (9/10) (9/8)
APRIL 2019 -JAN 2020
1115554.00 1053611.57 1050781.47
5771.00
121393.00
36646.00
951744.00
8
PROGRAM
GENERATION (GWH)
ENERGY GENERATION REPORT
MONTHLY SUMMARY OF IMPORTED COAL & PETCOKE Coal Price Index COAL
(kcal/kg)
Monthly Price - FOB
Monthly Price - FOB
Monthly Change (USD)
South Africa
6000 NAR
USD 84.98
INR 6066
2.50
South Africa
5500 NAR
USD 64.66
INR 4616
3.81
Australia
5500 NAR
USD 55.52
INR 3963
2.64
Indonesia
5000 GAR
USD 50.25
INR 3587
0.60
Indonesia
4200 GAR
USD 34.93
INR 2494
0.67
USA
6900 NAR
USD 52.81
INR 3769
- 0.94
PET COKE
Sulphur
Price
India-RIL(Ex-Ref.)
-5%
INR 6172
Saudi Arabia (CIF)
+ 8.5%
INR 4832 ($68)
USA (CIF)
- 6.5%
INR 5018 ($70)
Exchange Rate
Change (Monthly)
USD/INR 71.38
0.21
Coking Coal Price: Premium Low Vol
FOB Aus CFR China 149.15
160.05
HCC 64 MID Vol
Semi Soft
Low Vol PCI
Mid Tier PCI
MET COKE 62% CSR
FOB Aus
CFR China
FOB Aus
FOB Aus
FOB Aus
CFR India
FOB N China
128.82
140.80
79.27
89.17
85.87
268.10
278.10
South Africa: * One of the major coal exporters, South Africa is now having to rely more on markets like the ones in the Indian Subcontinent, especially India, in a bid to find buyers for its product. South Africa hasn’t managed to penetrate Far East Asian markets, but it’s faring better in the Subcontinent, where demand is booming.
36 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
Australian Coal News:
* A weaker Australian dollar is shielding domestic thermal coal mining firms from the worst effects of rising costs and weaker prices, but margins are still under pressure, with the big four producers all forecasting falls in 2020. Key producers Glencore, Yancoal, BHP and Whitehaven have all said they expect margin compression in 2020, even at $80/t fob Newcastle, which is above the current spot price for 6,000 kcal/kg coal.
Indonesian Coal News:
* Indonesia started 2020 with two important policies in the mining sector - the ban on nickel ore exports and the requirement that coal companies export coal using local ships. As the country is a top exporter of both commodities, the policies will have a significant impact on the global market. * Indonesian government set its coal benchmark price (HBA) for January at $65.93 per tonne, slightly lower than December’s price, energy ministry spokesman Agung Pribadi told reporters. The HBA stood at $66.30 per tonne in December. The benchmark fell slightly in January because “coal imports by main Asian buyers such as China, India, Japan and South Korea continue to drop,” Pribadi said.
US Coal News:
* For American coal, 2019 was bad, 2020 will be worse, and in 2021, renewables will surpass coal in electricity generation for the first time ever, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. EIA's latest short-term energy outlook showcased U.S. coal companies' dire predicament: Coal-fired power plants keep closing, and exports will no longer help fill the void. * Declining natural gas prices continue to drive coal demand down, leading to projections of US coal production totaling near 500 million st in 2020, S&P Global Platts Analytics said in a report.
Pet Coke News: *The Green Petroleum Coke & Calcined Petroleum Coke are expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.84% from 24.11 billion USD in 2018 to reach 33.58 million USD by 2025 in global market; its actual sales are137.7 million metric tons in 2018. * Indian petcoke trading activities remained thin into the New Year though pockets of buying inquiries were heard from the cement producers. A west India-based trader reported indicative bids for US 7,500 kcal/kg NAR petcoke with 6.5% sulfur at $70/mt CFR India East.
Shipping Update: * The day is not too far off when cargo from Assam travels all the way down south and viceversa via Inland Waterways Transport (ITW) and coastal shipping. In the last couple of years, the Centre has given tremendous impetus to both coastal shipping and IWT in an attempt to reduce logistics cost to less than 10 per cent of GDP — on par with developed countries such as Germany — from the present 13 percent. * Russian long-haul coal exports to Asia from the Baltic Sea surged more than 30% year on year in 2019 due largely to insufficient European demand, more attractive Pacific-basin prices and low freight costs. Exports of predominantly thermal coal from Russia’s main European export hub of Ust-Luga, near St Petersburg, to Asian destinations totalled 5.42m tonnes, according to vessel-tracking data, provided by Arrow Shipbroking Group.
CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
| 37
PRODUCTION AND OFFTAKE PERFORMANCE OF CIL AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES COAL PRODUCTION (Figs in Mill Te) SUB CO.
JAN'20
APR'19 - JAN'20
ACTUAL ACTUAL THIS SAME % YEAR PERIOD GROWTH LAST YEAR
ACTUAL THIS YEAR
ACTUAL SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR
% GROWTH
ECL
5.18
5.17
0.2
38.5
38.09
1.1
BCCL
2.73
2.97
-7.9
21.38
24.45
-12.6
CCL
7.82
6.86
13.9
47.03
48.51
-3
NCL
9.53
9.22
3.4
89.11
83.87
6.2
WCL
6.55
6.08
7.8
39.6
38.24
3.6
SECL
15.52
13.58
14.3
110.69
124.33
-11
MCL
15.69
13.23
18.6
104.91
111.61
-6
NEC
0.08
0.1
-23.5
0.29
0.55
-47.5
CIL
63.11
57.21
10.3
451.52
469.65
-3.9
OFFTAKE (Figs in Mill Te) SUB CO.
JAN'20
APR'19 - JAN'20
ACTUAL ACTUAL THIS SAME % YEAR PERIOD GROWTH LAST YEAR
ACTUAL THIS YEAR
ACTUAL SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR
% GROWTH
ECL
4.86
5.06
-3.8
39.35
39.78
-1.1
BCCL
2.64
2.79
-5.4
23.29
27.34
-14.8
CCL
6.01
6.17
-2.6
55.4
55.16
0.4
NCL
9.91
8.85
12
89.81
84.71
6
WCL
5.23
5.12
2.1
42.14
44.89
-6.1
SECL
13.88
12.77
8.6
115.25
128.21
-10.1
MCL
13.46
11.59
16.1
107.69
116.45
-7.5
NEC
0.07
0.1
-28.9
0.37
0.54
-32.7
CIL
56.05
52.44
6.9
473.31
497.07
-4.8
38 | CCAI Monthly Newsletter January 2020
CCAI Monthly Newsletter December 2019
| 39
REGISTERED
40