The government today asked coal companies, including major producer Coal India (CIL), to step up supply to power stations facing shortage of the dry fuel to ensure that the power generation remains uninterrupted.
The development follows an emergency meeting by Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal with senior officials today to take a stock of coal availability at the power stations against the backdrop of less supplies due to festivals and strike by CIL workers yesterday.
"It is expected that movement of coal to power sector will improve to 145 rakes/day from the current level of 107 rakes/day by October 14, 2011. This will ensure necessary stock build-up at Northern India Power Stations before Diwali," an official statement said.
The minister directed the officials to increase immediately loading of coal from 153 rakes to 180 rakes, out of which 145 rakes should be supplied to the power sector.
In the case of North India Power Stations where the average dispatch of coal has been around 36 rakes a day during the current month, Jaiswal directed officials to increase it to 49 rakes per day.
It was decided that out of this, Badarpur Thermal Power Station (TPS) and Panipat TPS in Haryana will get more than the contracted quantity of 3 rakes and 5 rakes a day. Besides, power houses in Uttar Pradesh will also get enhanced supply.
Despatch of coal to firms received setback during August and September due to heavy rains in all the coalfields, adversely affecting production and transportation of coal from mines to railway sidings.
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Average monsoon rainfall during the current year in the coalfields has been much more than last year, as per CIL officials, and this has resulted in inundation of mines, flash floods in number of rivulets, affecting transportation of coal to sidings.
"Though the situation started normalising from the first week of October, dispatch was again affected on account of festivals and the strike by the Workers’ Union in the coalfields on October 10, 2011," the statement said.
Post Dusshera festival, the loading of rakes picked up to 153 rakes, but was dampened due to the coal workers strike on October 10, 2011, it said, adding this was now likely to increase to around 180 rakes in the next few days.
It was noted in the course of review that till July 2011, CIL had registered a growth of 5% in the despatch of coal to the power stations, which were carrying a comfortable coal stock of 13.2 million tonne as on August 1, 2011, as compared to 11.5 million tonne on the same date last year.