COAL SHORTAGE Flashcards
WHY IN NEWS?
State-run Coal India, the world’s largest coal miner, will import the fuel for use by utilities, a power ministry letter seen by Reuters showed on Saturday, as shortages raise concerns about renewed power outages.
It would be the first time since 2015 that Coal India has imported the fuel, highlighting efforts by state and federal officials to stock up to avoid a repeat of April, when India faced its worst power cuts in more than six years.
DETAILS
To meet the coal shortage at power plants in 2022-23, the government has firmed up a plan to import around 76 million tonnes (mt) of the dry fuel during the current financial year. State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) will import 15 mt, India’s largest power producer NTPC Ltd and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) will import 23 mt.
In a first ever, Coal India Limited on Wednesday floated an international competitive bidding e-tender, seeking bids for import of 2.416 million tonnes (MTs) of coal,
On April 28, 2022, India canceled several passenger trains to allow for faster movement of coal carriages. The Indian Railways are also planning to add 100,000 more wagons to their fleet and construct dedicated freight corridors to deliver goods faster.
Coal reserves at India’s power plants have declined almost 17 per cent since the start of April 2022 .
At the same time, India also has an increasing power demand. In 2022, the energy demand increased to 132 (billion units) BU per month from 106.6 BU per month in 2019.
The coal shortage has disrupted the power generation of multiple states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The coal crisis comes at a time when India has been trying to reduce its dependency on non-renewable sources of energy to meet climate targets.
COAL INDIA
Coal India Limited (CIL) is an Indian government-owned coal mining and refining corporation, headquartered in Kolkata.It is the largest coal-producer in the world and a Maharatna public sector undertaking (PSU). It is also the seventh largest employer in India with nearly 272,000 employees.
In April 2011, CIL was conferred the Maharatna status by the Government of India, making it one of the seven with that status. As of 14 October 2015, CIL is a PSU owned by the Central Government of India which controls its operations through the Ministry of Coal. As of 14 October 2015, CIL’s market capitalisation stood at ₹2.11 lakh crore (US$26 billion) making it India’s 8th most valuable company.
CIL ranks 8th among the top 20 firms responsible for a third of all global carbon emissions.
Founded 1975; 47 years ago
Key people Pramod Agarwal
(Chairman & MD)
