Coal, Railway and Power Minister's huddle overstock in plants

The meeting comes against the backdrop of power plants grappling with coal shortages. “Held virtual meeting with Ministers @AshwiniVaishnaw ji & @RajKSinghIndia ji, along with officers of @CoalMinistry, CMDs & officials of coal companies. We discussed improving coal stock at thermal power plants & resolved our commitment to fulfill energy demands of the country,” Joshi said in a tweet.

The Coal Minister also reviewed the performance of Coal India arm Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) and directed it to ramp up production and load at least 34 rakes of the dry fuel daily.

“Reviewed @NCL_SINGRAULI today, with the company CMD. Directed NCL to ramp up coal production and load at least 34 rakes per day. After this, will be visiting coal mines of NCL to interact with employees & motivate them to scale up coal excavation & dispatch,” Joshi said.

Meanwhile, government data showed the coal stock situation at thermal power projects has improved further as the number of non-pit head projects having less than four days of coal (supercritical stock) reduced to 58 on Monday from 69 a week ago. According to latest coal stock data of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the number of non-pit head projects having less than four days of coal was 58 on October 18 and 69 on October 11.

The data showed that the number of plants with supercritical stock was 61 this Sunday (October 17). Thus, the coal stock situation is inching towards normalcy.