Coal imports would have been 1.5 times higher if not for Centre’s interventions: Goyal

Coal imports would have been 1.5 times higher at nearly 380 million tonnes (mt) for financial year 2017-18 if not for the Centre’s intervention, according to the Minister for Coal and Railways, Piyush Goyal.

At a press conference to highlight the five-year achievements of his ministries, Goyal said that due to the Centre’s initiatives, coal imports have been limited to 200 mt, annually.

“In the coal sector, I have recently reviewed the performance of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, the cost of power, production, generation and supply to DISCOMs (power distribution companies) has fallen by nearly 20 per cent because of better efficiency and outcome. Overall, if one assesses the cost of power generation in the country, there must be a comparison with the cost escalations over five years that have taken place in the earlier governments,” Goyal told BusinessLine .

“The Gross Calorific Value of Coal has improved over the past five years, leading to a dip in the coal requirement per unit of electricity generated. Coal availability has also improved for State power generators. You will have to see the improvements in the power sector from the perspective of how things were moving in the earlier regimes,” he added.

A Coal Ministry statement said that the amount of coal required to generate one unit of electricity (specific coal consumption) has been reduced by 8 per cent since 2014.

Coal India Limited has also enhanced drilling, production and offtake of coal. CIL’s production during financial year 2017-18 stood at 580 mt against 471 mt in 2013-2014, the statement added.

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