FIMI seeks resumption of normalizing coal rakes supplies

New Delhi: With no respite in sight to the continued shortage of coal faced by the Non-Regulated Sector, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has written to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) requesting for resumption of normal coal supplies by Coal India Limited (CIL) and availability of railway rakes by Railway Board.

In its letter dated December 9, 2021, FIMI has pointed out that despite the efforts of Ministry of Coal and Coal India Limited, a coal crisis in the country still prevails and continues to affect the business continuity and profitability of industries belonging to the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS), viz Aluminium, Steel, Cement, and other metal industries, that are heavily dependent on domestic coal.

The second quarter of current financial year saw the coal crises unfold due to increased power demand, high import coal prices and lower domestic coal production. At this time, most of the coal meant for NRS was diverted to Power Sector to keep them running with sufficient stocks. This decision by Coal India led the NRS consumers to resort to coal imports and power imports from GRIDs to regulate their production. With the crisis hitting its peak during September-October 2021, the Government witnessed full support of the NRS consumers for diverting maximum quantity of coal to Power Sector. Since then, the situation for the Power Sector has improved to current levels of 10 days stock availability, while on the other hand, the NRS consumers are struggling to get un-interrupted coal supplies and rakes for continued operations, ultimately leading to a coal crunch.