Kolkata, March 24 Coal India Ltd (CIL) is likely to register close to 17 per cent growth in coal despatch to customers in the non-regulated sector (NRS) in the fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal, compared to the preceding quarter.

Coal despatch to NRS customers has averaged 3.67 lakh tonnes per day till date in Q4 FY’23. CIL is likely to close the ongoing quarter with 33 million tonnes (mt) supply to this sector. It would mean 4.7 mt more coal to NRS, compared to 28.3 mt supplied in the third quarter of the year.

Metals, cement and other sectors that use coal for captive purposes are typically considered to be the non-regulated sector.

Supplies to NRS during January-March 2023 are expected at 33 mt, which would be 3.1 mt more as against that in the same period last year, representing double-digit growth of 10 per cent. CIL supplied 29.9 mt to the non-regulated sector in the final quarter of FY-22.   

Also read: CIL rules out possible shortage of fuel to meet the power demand surge

The improved supplies to NRS from the quarter beginning January 2023 were fuelled by accretion in the coal inventory at CIL’s pitheads. In the current month (March), the increase in coal stocks at CIL’s end is to the tune of 6 lakh tonnes per day, despite higher supplies to power utilities, said a press statement issued by the company.

CIL’s pithead stock, which was 32 mt in the third quarter ending December 2022, has doubled to a comfortable buffer of 63.8 mt as on March 23. CIL’s stocks are expected to be 68 mt by the end of the current fiscal.

“We are making all efforts to supply higher quantities to NRS customers without affecting supplies to the power sector through increased production,” a senior company official said in the statement.

In the ongoing quarter of FY’23, the company has booked close to 16 mt in e-auctions, which is 1 mt more than 15 mt of the previous quarter. With more auctions lined up in the last week of March, coal booking will rise even higher by the quarter’s end.

The company has the option of placing up to 20 per cent of its total production under the e-auction hammer after fulfilling its fuel supply agreements. Though e-auction sales fetch higher add-on over notified prices, its priority has been to fulfill its FSA commitments and meet the demand surge from the power sector, it said.

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