No shortage of coal; 23 days stock available for power plants

New Delhi: There is no shortage of coal in the country and coal stock for 23 days is available with thermal power stations, Lok Sabha was informed Thursday.

"Multi-dimensional efforts are underway by Coal India Limited to substantially enhance coal production to meet the coal requirement. As on August 8, 2016, coal stock for 23 days is available with thermal power stations," Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said during question hour.

Making it clear that there was no shortage of coal anywhere in the country, he said a special window of e-auction exclusively for power sector has been opened to make coal available to those power plants which are stressed or in short supply as they do not have coal blocks or linkages or long-term Power Purchase Agreements.

"In 2015-16, 13.79 million tonne and in 2016-17, 12.448 MT of coal was made available through auction in special forward e-auction for power sector," he said.

Goyal said coal supplies to power utility sector was monitored regularly by an inter-ministerial sub-group comprising representatives of Ministries of Power, Coal and Railways constituted by the Infrastructure Constraints Review Committee of the Cabinet Secretariat.

"The sub-group takes various operational decisions for meeting any contingent situations relating to the power sector including critical coal stock position", besides several other measures to ensure regular coal supply to the thermal power plants, he said.