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The outstanding dues to Coal India (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL), who account for over 90 per cent of India’s coal production, rose by 2.4 per cent on a monthly basis to ₹21,680.59 crore in September 2023 from ₹21,182.4 crore in August.
Dues payable by thermal power plants (TPPs) to CIL fell 2 per cent m-o-m to ₹15,315.57 crore in September from ₹15,655.26 crore in August.
The uptick in the outstanding dues to SCCL was a little steeper at 3 per cent on a monthly basis in September at ₹6,365.02 crore from ₹6,168.54 crore in August the year.
Dues rise on peak demand
FY24 began on a positive note for the two state-run coal miners as their total outstanding dues fell by 15 per cent m-o-m to ₹17,240.44 crore at the end of March 2023 compared to ₹20,343 crore at the end of February 2023.
The April-June quarter, which is also the peak coal demand season for the TPPs due to higher electricity consumption, witnessed an increase in the outstanding dues payable to the coal mining PSUs.
The dues of the Power sector rose in April, compared to March 2023, to ₹20,737.87 crore, which further went north to ₹21,797.92 crore in May and ₹22,075.44 crore in June 2023, before declining in July. CIL’s outstanding dues after slipping to ₹13,915.04 crore in March 2023 began inching up during April and May to ₹16,012.28 crore and ₹16,330.15 crore, respectively, in line with rising demand for the key commodity.
The amount payable by the power sector to the mining behemoth fell in June to ₹15,783.33 crore and then further to ₹15,512.30 crore in July this year. In the case of SCCL, after declining to ₹3,325.40 crore in March 2023, the monthly outstanding rose consistently for the next three months— from ₹4,725.59 crore in April to ₹5,467.77 crore in May and ₹6,292.09 crore in June.
The outstanding dues of the Telangana-headquartered coal miner fell in July to ₹5,621.13 crore from the high witnessed in June.
Production and despatch
The overall domestic coal production in September 2023 stood at 67.27 million tonnes (mt) as against 58.07 mt in September 2022, which is a growth of about 15.84 per cent. It includes coal production of 51.44 mt by CIL, 4.90 mt by SCCL and 10.93 mt by captive and other mines.
The cumulative domestic coal dispatch during September was 70.31 mt against 61.02 mt in September, 2022, a growth of about 15.22 per cent. It includes a dispatch of 55.07 mt by CIL, 4.97 mt by SCCL and 10.27 mt by Captive and other mines.
The overall domestic coal supply to Power sector in September, 2023 by CIL and SCCL was 50.37 mt as against 45.58 mt in September 2022.
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