Lok Sabha Question No. 526 (STARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: Coal Supplies to Power Plants
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: G. HARI

## *526. SHRI G. HARI:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  up  a  series  of  measures  to  improve  coal supplies  to  power  plants  after  electricity  prices  crossed  Rs.11  per  unit  at  energy exchanges during last September;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government has decided to use dedicated rail transportation for coal movements; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.526 for answered on 04.04.2018 asked by Shri G. Hari.

- (a) & (b): A number of important steps have been taken in the Government, in the Coal India  Limited  (CIL)  and  Singareni  Collieries  Company  Limited  (SCCL)  to  monitor  and augment coal dispatches to the power houses. Some of the steps taken are:
- i. Coal stocks at the power plants are monitored constantly on the basis of daily CEA reports, which form the basis for CIL to advice its subsidiary companies to plan the movement of rakes, with specific reference to critical/supercritical plants, in coordination with the Zonal railways.
- ii. In  addition  to  the  monitoring  mechanism  available  at  coal  companies  and  CIL, coal supplies to Power Utility Sector is monitored regularly by an inter-ministerial sub-group  comprising  representatives  of  Ministry  of  Power,  Ministry  of  Coal, Ministry  of  Railways,  Central  Electricity  Authority,  Ministry  of  Shipping,  NITI Aayog,  CIL  etc.  This  sub-group  has  been  meeting  periodically,  at  times  twice every  week,  in  order  to  take  various  operational  decisions  for  meeting  any

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.526

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 4.4.2018

## Coal Supplies to Power Plants

contingent situations relating to Power Sector including critical coal stock position for power plants.

- iii. A  committee  of  Secretary  (Coal),  Secretary  (Power)  and  Member  (Traffic), Railway Board has been jointly reviewing the coal transportation and supply on a regular basis.
- iv. Comprehensive  monitoring  has  been  done  for  coal  movement  through  rakes from CIL sidings, Washery sidings and Goods sheds.
- v. There has been close monitoring of turnaround time of rakes at the loading and unloading ends.
- vi. An Innovative Monitoring Control Cell has been established in order to monitor supply related issues of the Power Houses and provide regular feedback to the MoC/CIL authorities.
- vii. In order to meet the coal requirement of thermal Power Plants, CIL has offered coal through road mode from the available pithead stock to those Plants which are located within 50 Kms to 60 Kms from the nearest mines. As a result, power plants located within 50 Kms to 60 Kms have taken coal to fulfill their immediate coal requirement.
- viii. Coal supplies to Power Sector from CIL have grown by 20%, 19%, 17%, 9% and 3% during the months of August-2017, September-2017, October-2017, November-2017  and  December-2017  respectively  over  coal  supplies  during corresponding months of the last year.

(c) & (d): To improve coal supplies to power plants, Indian Railways have augmented rakes availability for loading of coal to power plants. Turnaround time of rakes at loading end has improved. These efforts and close monitoring have resulted in increase in coal supplies  to  power  plants  from  the  level  of  219  rakes  per  day  from  CIL  sidings  in September, 2017 to 270.6 rakes per day in March, 2018. Besides the rail projects which have been undertaken by the Railways, CIL has collaborated with the Indian Railways to  undertake  construction  of  railway  lines  on  deposit  basis  and  in  the  States  of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh by formation of Joint Ventures. There are 14 rail projects  which  will  augment  coal  evacuation  and  these are  regularly  monitored  in  the Ministry.

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