Coal India hopes to clear its supply backlog to some sectors by March, with power plants stocked adequately with the fuel.
The public sector miner in 2017-18 and 2018-19 had diverted coal from the non-regulated sectors such as aluminium, iron and steel and cement to meet the demand of the power plants, creating a backlog.
According to Coal India officials, the arrears to the non-power sector at the start of 2019-20 was around 5,143 rakes. “It has been brought down to 1,116 and we are hopeful of clearing the rest by the end of the current fiscal,” a Coal India official said. A rake can carry around 3,800 tonnes of coal. Coal India has stepped up production after the monsoon season and has increased the supply to the power sector.
