Coal India halts supply to non-power users, hitting industry
State-run Coal India Ltd on Thursday said it had temporarily stopped supplying non-power customers, potentially hurting companies in other industries as India battles one of its worst power supply deficits in years.
India is the world’s second largest coal producer, with the world’s fourth largest reserves, but a surge in power demand to above pre-pandemic levels means supplies from state-run Coal India, the world’s biggest coal miner, are no longer enough.
The company said in a statement that it had stopped all online auctions of coal except those meant for the power sector.
“This is only a temporary prioritisation, in the interest of the Nation, to tide over the low coal stock situation at the stressed power plants and scale up supplies to them,” it said.
