India's power sector seeks increased coal transports

21 Apr 2022 CW Team

The Indian power utilities struggle with dwindling coal supplies when the power demand has augmented. The government is facing a problem as it is not able to increase the number of railway rakes significantly for coal transportation to power units as it would affect the supply chain of other sectors that witness a pick-up in demand.

As of April 18, in total 81 of 150 power plants that run on domestic coal consisted of critically low coal levels. Also, many of them cited the lack of rakes as a key reason. Additionally, 11 imported coal-based power plants also had critical levels of coal.

In the past three years, power consumption was the same so the production of Coal India did not increase and did not hurt.

However in FY22, the consumption of coal increased by 8%, and production of Coal India has not grown significantly to address that. There is another problem of a severe shortage of rakes available. As much as 60 million tonne of coal lies with Coal India which cannot be transported.

An inter-ministerial sub-group currently monitors the coal situation closely since several states have been forced to undertake power cuts, this situation is likely to make the summer worse as the heat increases. The ministries of coal and power sought help from the Ministry of Railways to manufacture more rakes available to transport coal, however, the railways face the challenge of diverting more capacity towards the power sector without disrupting the supply chain for other sectors.

Image Source

Also read: CIL increases coal supply by 5.57% to thermal power stations

Equipment

12 Dec 2025

Schwing Stetter India Unveils New Innovations at Excon 2025

Schwing Stetter India unveiled more than 20 new machines at Excon 2025, marking one of its most significant showcases and introducing several India-first technologies to the construction equipment sector. The company launched the country’s first 56-metre boom pump designed and manufactured in India, the first fully electric truck mixer, the first CNG mixer variant and the first hybrid boom pump. Executives said the launch portfolio was engineered to support India’s move toward faster, greener and more vertically oriented infrastructure through advanced engineering, clean-energy solutions a..

SEPC Resolves Hindustan Copper Dispute, Wins Rs 725 Mn Order

Engineering, procurement and construction firm SEPC Ltd has recently settled a dispute with Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) and secured a mining infrastructure order valued at Rs 725 million from the state-owned company. SEPC informed the stock exchanges that it has executed a settlement deed with HCL, bringing closure to all inter-se claims and counterclaims arising from arbitration proceedings. As part of the settlement, SEPC will receive Rs 304.5 million as full and final payment, marking the resolution of all pending disputes between the two entities. The company also stated that Hindustan Co..

20% Ethanol Blending Cuts India’s CO2 Emissions by 73.6 Mn Tonnes

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said that India has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 73.6 million metric tonnes due to the adoption of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol. He made the statement while replying to supplementary questions during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. Describing ethanol as a green fuel, the minister said it plays a key role in reducing pollution while also supporting higher incomes for farmers. He underlined that ethanol blending contributes both to environmental sustainability and rural economic growth. Nitin Gadkari also po..