The Hindu Business Line : CIL devises new marketing strategy

Senior executives of Coal India Ltd (CIL), after an in-depth discussions today, devised a new marketing strategy under which the company will move gross calorific value (GCV)-based coal pricing from the existing useful heat value (UHV) regime by April.

Necessary steps will be initiated to put in place the required infrastructure facilities, such as bomb calorimeters, auto samplers, etc, wherever possible.

The Union Minister of State for Coal, Dr Dasari Narayana Rao, the Coal Secretary Mr H.C. Gupta, and the CIL Chairman Mr P.S. Bhattacherjee, among other executives, participated in the discussion.

Later, clarifying the demand-supply scenario of coal to newspersons, Dr Rao said that it has been decided to supply only washed coal to various categories of consumers other than for pithead power plants.

CIL will soon come out with a timeframe and detailed plan to supplement this decision.

The Minister said that CIL has plans to make fresh investment of about Rs 15,600 crore during the 11th Plan period (2007-12) to raise coal production, as the projected demand is expected to touch 473 million tonnes (mt) in 2006-07 and about 2,500 mt by 2031-32.

Senior CIL executives deliberated on various issues for over six hours.

It was decided that CIL would give top priority to produce more washed coal and also raise production from underground coalmines.

The Minister said that CIL would directly invest about Rs 8,000 crore to produce washed coal of nearly 400 mt by 2025, while the underground production would be raised to 75 mt by 2011-12 from the current level of about 45 mt.

To further improve CIL's safety performance, it was decided that a proposal would be formulated to empower the Mines Safety Departments with a separate line of command under Executive Director (Safety) at CIL and in subsidiaries.

Moreover, a high-level committee would be set up to draw up long-term production strategies for CIL so as to enable the country meet future coal requirement as per projections made in the Integrated Energy Policy.

Dr Rao said that a total of 81 new coal blocks with combined reserves of about 200 billion tonnes have been identified for captive mining.

Of this, 15 blocks would be offered to independent power producers, 16 to ultra mega power projects, 25 to non-power producing companies and the rest to Government companies. About 140 mt of coal is expected to be produced by captive power producers by 2011-12.