Coal India Unlikely to Import Coal in “Immediate Short Term”

Mining Weekly reported that as a result of excess coal at thermal power plants and “low plant load factors ranging between 60% and 65%,” Coal India Ltd. (BSE:533278) is not likely to import any coal in the immediate short term.

That’s in contrast to a plan made last year to import 5 million tonnes of the fuel by March.

As quoted in the market news:

About ten thermal power plants across the country, with aggregate generating capacity of 15 200 MW have stopped lifting coal from CIL, forcing the miner to adjust production levels even though it has missed total monthly and annual production targets.

‘CIL is now faced with falling short of targets and now with depletion in demand, the gap between production and target will increase,’ CIL chairperson S Narsing Rao said.

‘Ground stocks are comfortable at 40-million tonnes for February and CIL is ideally in a position to ramp up supplies to meet offtake targets. But with lower power demand in many provinces and coal stocks brimming over at power plants, offtake has been further dampened,’ he said.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.