Coal India offers record 35 MT

Coal India Limited (CIL) on Friday announced several measures to boost availability of coal for non-regulated sector (NRS) consumers and improve operational flexibility as part of efforts to reduce import dependence and meet growing industrial demand.

The state miner said in a statement that it will offer a record 35 million tonnes of coal under the linkage auction window to be held on June 12, targeting high-end coal consumers such as the sponge iron sector. The move is expected to curb imports of coal with high gross calorific value.

CIL has also allowed steel producers in the coking coal sector to sell the middle portion of coal – a by-product of washed coal – in the open market if it is not used for captive power generation. This provision has been enabled under the ongoing Tranche-X linkage auction that began on June 3.

The company said it has offered 13.75 million tonnes of coal to the steel (coking) sub-sector in the current tranche and increased the flexibility of consortium change during the contract period to five times from two earlier.

In another change, consumers in the deregulated sector setting up greenfield or brownfield projects will now be allowed to secure coal linkage before commissioning, allowing supply within three years of allotment, a move aimed at easing project financing and improving fuel security.

For the power sector, CIL said it continues to meet the demand through multiple auction windows, offering 57.8 million tonnes under the short-term Window-II auction and 69.2 million tonnes under the medium and long-term Window-I auction between January and May of the current financial year.

The company said the slight decline in coal stock levels at power plants during peak summer demand is not a cause for concern, citing stable production and replenishment.

CIL will also conduct the next round of short-term auction under the Shakti policy on June 8, in which about 34 million tonnes of coal will be offered to power producers.

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