Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 06 2023

AsiaElec COAL AsiaElec

India looks to domestic coal

to take place of imports

Coal stocks bouncing back across India, up from 8 days to 12

INDIA INDIA’S domestic coal industry is now forecast The reliance on overseas coal fell even further
to see an annual rate of growth of between 6-7% by the end of 2021-2022, totalling just 27mn tpy.
until at least the end of the decade, according to As the import numbers have fallen over
the nation’s Economic Survey 2022-2023, released the past few years, however, production
last week. across India has in large part failed to keep
Production of coal is already predicted to up.
move well past the 900mn-tonne mark in the “Resultantly, in April 2022, even as coal off-
coming financial year, with further projections take rose to meet higher demand, coal stock with
of in excess of 1bn tonnes by the middle of the power plants, as on April 31, 2022, fell to 8 days
decade. from 12 days a year ago,” the Economic Survey All indications
Domestic coal production between April and said.
December last year saw a 14% rise in year-on- Nationwide, in the months from April to the point towards
year numbers, and a full 21% increase on figures end of December last year, efforts were made
released just ahead of the pandemic in 2019- to rectify this issue at the all-important power around 1.5 bn
2020, the survey said. plants.
At its current rate of growth, all indications As a result, by the end of the calendar year, tonnes being
point towards around 1.5 bn tonnes being mined coal stocks had bounced back. mined annually
annually by 2030. December 30, 2022 saw a reported level
This will in turn greatly reduce the need for of coal stock at the nation’s power plants by 2030.
expensive imports while at the same time help- of “12 days compared to 10 days on June
ing to increase exports of Indian coal to else- 30, 2022 and 8 days a year ago”, the survey
where in Asia and the surrounding region. continued.
Imports were already falling during the Much of this increase was attributed to
pandemic with efforts prior to COVID regional power generation companies being
hitting the country seeing numbers drop told to import 10% of their total coal needs by
from around 69mn tonnes of imports in the central government.
2019-2020, to 45mn tonnes per year (tpy) This was a significant increase on imports a
later. year prior, when the number was just 4%™

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