The power sector imported 14.21 million tonnes of coal during the April-June quarter in the current financial year, which is 13 per cent lower than the quantity imported a year-ago, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

“During April–June 2023, coal import by the power sector has decreased to the level of 14.21 mt as compared with 16.36 mt during the corresponding period of last year,” Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written response in Lok Sabha.

The Minister said that coal is kept under the Open General License (OGL) and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice as per their contractual agreement on payment of applicable duty.

Indigenous production

“Most of the requirement of coal in the country is met through indigenous production. The focus of the government is on increasing domestic production of coal and eliminating non-essential import of coal,” he added.

In FY23, coal production increased by about 14.77 per cent over the previous year. During the current year till July 2023, domestic coal production has increased by over 9.2 per cent compared with the same period of last year. The domestic coal production is estimated to increase to more than one billion tonne in FY24, Joshi said.

“The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has reported that the receipt of domestic coal has increased to the power sector from 569.5 mt during FY20 to 731.7 mt during FY23 with compound annual growth rate of 8.6 per cent,” he noted.

Joshi pointed out that according to the Daily Coal Report (DCR) of the CEA, the coal stock available as on August 5, 2023 at Thermal Power Plants is 32.09 mt, which is sufficient for around 16 days.

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