CIL banks on supplies to non-power sector to expand sales

PSU miner Coal India (CIL) is reorienting its marketing plans since the demand from the power sector, its main consumer, is yet to fully resurge. “We are concentrating our efforts on non-power consumers to expand our sales volume. Till there is demand resurgence from power sector we shall follow this, which is helping us,” said a senior executive of the company.

The non-power consumers are showing a tendency to lift more coal. CIL’s supply to this sector has risen to 12.3 million tonnes in November this fiscal compared to 8.4 mts during November last fiscal, registering a 46% growth. The non-power sector’s lifting accounted for 24% of the month’s total despatch at 51.3 mts. The non-power sector predominantly consisting of cement, sponge iron, captive power plants and a host of other industries, progressively consumed 80.6 mts up to November, a growth by 14%.

The average loading per day to the non-power sector during the month marked a steep 59% growth at 40 rakes per day against 25 rakes the same month last year. The total rake loading during the referred month went up by 20% as CIL loaded 264 rakes per day against 220 rakes during November last fiscal.

The power plants are regulating their lifting and are not adhering to their earlier placed programme for rakes. Around 83 power plants have regulated lifting of coal in November, of which 26 have considerably reduced their programme placed for rakes against their entitlement. The remaining 57 have not filed their programme for rakes leading to a demand stagnation for the month, a CIL spokesperson said.

The country’s power sector is stocked with 37.4 mts of coal, sufficient for 22 days. But CIL is riding on a stockpile of 53.5 mts, which means a combined stock of 91 mts is available in the system, sufficient to meet any demand surge. After a 14% spurt in October, supplies to the power sector has come down to flat growth in November at 39.1 mts.

However, CIL’s overall off-take went up by 8% during November this fiscal compared to the same month year ago.

The PSU’s offtake at 51.3 mts in November this fiscal was a 3.8 mts increase compared to 47.5 mts during the same month last fiscal. Production at 51.7 mts during the referred month clocked a growth of 3.3% with 1.7 mts uptick in absolute terms. Mahanadi Coalfields with 19.7% growth and Central Coalfield with 10.3% growth led CIL’s overall growth for the month.