Coal India Ltd.

In order to fulfill its obligation of supplying 80% of fuel to power producers under long-term supply pacts, public sector miner Coal India (CIL) has agreed to import 18-20 million tonnes (mt) of coal this year, provided these producers agree to share among themselves the cost of buying coal overseas and shipping it to India.  With the current production capacity, the company would be able to fulfill only 65% of the total domestic fuel needs, while the remaining 15% of the fuel needs would have to be imported.

According to industry lobby, Association of Power Producers (APP), the import of coal will result in 8-10 paise per unit (kilowatt-hour) hike in generation cost, but will enable power utilities to generate an additional 32 billion units in the current year and an additional 44 billion units next year.

Coal India (CIL) has registered a growth of 5.6% in coal production during April-May, 2012 period. The company has produced 69.38 MT (million tonne) coal compared to 65.67 MT during same period of last year. The company has also surpassed the target during the period which was of 68.82 MT.

Besides, during April-May, 2012 period, the Coal Off-Take and Overburden Removal also exceeded the target. Coal Off-Take during the period was 76.53 MT registering a growth of 6.3%, compared to 72.08 MT during the corresponding period of last year. Overburden Removal during April-May, 2012 was 137.52 MCuM registering a growth of 10.3%, compared to 124.72 MCuM for the same period last year.

Coal India is the largest coal producing company in the world. The company also produces non-coking coal and coking coal of various grades for diverse applications.