Coal India expects demand for coal to remain robust across all sectors as India's peak electricity demand is likely to touch 256.5 GW in 2024 from a record 243 GW in 2023.
Coal India has set a target to produce 838 million tons (MT) of coal in the financial year 2024-25, of which 661 MT will be supplied to the power sector alone, the state-owned company's chairman and managing director (CMD) PM Prasad had said in February 2024.
"Earlier, the target for Coal India was 850 MT. But currently, there are huge coal stocks at thermal power plants (TPPs) because of which the ministry has revised our production target to 838 MT for FY25. That said, if the power demand increases substantially, Coal India will still be in a good position to produce more than the said target," Prasad said in a post- earnings conference call for the third quarter of FY24.
ALSO READ: Coal India Q4 results: Sales volume grows 10% in FY24 to 773.64 MT
Of the 838 MT, 661 MT will be for the power sector (regulated sector),while the balance 177 MT will go to the non-regulated sector.
In April 2024, Coal India achieved production of 61.78 MT (provisional), registering a growth of 7.31 percent compared to the same period last year when it was 57.57 MT.
Additionally, coal production by captive/others last month stood at 11.43 MT (provisional), showing a growth of 12.99 percent from the previous year, which was 10.12 MT.
The country's coal dispatch in April rose to 85.10 MT (provisional) against 80.23 MT in April last fiscal year.
Coal India accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.
India is stepping up coal-fired generation capacity as peak electricity demand is likely to touch 256.5 GW in 2024 from a record 243 GW in 2023. Government officials expect electricity demand to surge to a high of 384 GW in 2031-2032.
To meet the sharp rise in India's power demand, the government has had to rely on imported coal so as to ease the pressure on domestic coal. On December 6, 2023, Singh said despite the country reeling under a shortage of domestic coal, widespread power cuts and blackouts were averted in September 2022 because of the government's mandate of using imported coal for blending at thermal power plants.
On May 2, Coal India's shares on BSE closed trading 0.5 percent lower at Rs 452 apiece.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
