Coal India dispatched 30.99 million tonnes of coal to power utilities in April this year, a fall of 6.8 per cent over that in the same month of 2015 which suggest a slowdown in demand for the dry fuel from the power sector.
Company sources told PTI that dispatch of coal and coal products to "power utilities" came down by 2.28 million tonnes (mt) or 6.8 per cent compared to 33.27 mt in the same period of 2015-16.
The dispatch figure for March, however, was marginally lower by 1.8 per cent at 36.1 mt compared with 36.8 mt during the same month a year ago.
Coal India officials said coal-fired power utilities across the country were comfortably sitting over around 36 mt of coal in April 2016 against 29 mt last year.
"Power sector constitutes to around 78 per cent of CIL's overall coal off-take. Brimming over with coal has also led to coal stock piling up at pit-heads - a situation that CIL wants to avoid," officials said.
CIL supplied 407.9 mt of fuel to the power sector in 2015-16, up by 5.8 per cent compared to the previous year's dispatch of 385.4 mt of the fossil fuel in 2014-15.
Total coal dispatch by the miner was 42.46 mt for April, 2016 to its consumers, which is lower by 1.06 mt compared to 43.52 mt in the corresponding month of 2015-16.
Coal production by Coal India was at 40.09 mt for the month under review, a decline of 3.4 per cent over its target, the company informed the bourses.
The company's production grew at 8.5 per cent to 536 mt in 2015-16 but missed the target of 550 mt.
Currently stock lifting is inadequate and CIL's current challenge is to liquidate its stock and the company is pushing the coal through e-auction and proactive marketing measures, CIL officials said.
CIL began the current fiscal with around 57.67 mt coal stock and managed to reduce it to 55.31 mt at end April 2016.
Company officials say ramping up of the production will not be constraint if demand picks up.
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!
