Kolkata: Coal India’s e-auction prices rose about 53% in the December quarter, when the company offered half the quantity it did a year ago after diverting supplies to power plants.
It offered 14.65 million tonnes of coal during the quarter against 30.8 million tonnes a year earlier. As a result, average prices rose to Rs 2,847 per tonne from
Rs 1,859 per tonne. Coal IndiaNSE 0.47 % increased supplies to power, its priority sector, at the cost of other customers.
“Non-power companies including captive power plants were thus hard pressed for coal, raising demand and its prices at auctions,” a company executive said.
