New Delhi: State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) has registered a 3.5 percent decline in coal production in the April-August period of the current financial year mostly due to a tepid demand from the power sector. The coal miner produced 280.2 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal during the first eight months of FY2025-26 as opposed to 290.4 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, provisional data showed. Around 80 percent of the coal excavated by CIL and its subsidiaries goes to the power sector. This year, due to the early arrival of monsoon across India, peak power demand has remained subdued at 241 GW, much lower than the 277 GW projected by government agencies for summer months.
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However, coal stock position at thermal power plants remains high at around 50 MT at the end of August, official data shows. In line with coal production, coal offtake was also low during the eight-month period at 301.9 MT, down 3.3 percent in comparison to 312.1 MT a year-ago.
Data showed that Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) recorded the biggest drop in coal production in April-August period at 18.1 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively. Interestingly, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), which contributes the lion’s share to CIL’s overall coal production also saw a drop of 2.8 percent in its output. In addition, Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and Easter Coalfields Limited (ECL) also witnessed a drop of 3.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, in coal production.
As far as coal offtake is concerned, CCL again accounted for the biggest drop during April-August at 21.8 percent. Other subsidiaries that recorded a decline include BCCL (9.6 percent), MCL (0.5 percent), WCL (3.1 percent), and ECL (7 percent).
Monthly data showed at both coal production and coal offtake at Coal India went up in August. While the coal miner saw a 9.4 percent growth in coal production (50.4 MT), coal offtake was up by 7.6 percent (52.7 MT). The biggest bump in coal production came from NCL, at 33.1 percent, and South-Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), at 29.8 percent. BCCL and CCL recorded the biggest drop in coal production — 2.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
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The highest growth in coal offtake was recorded by NCL at 25.9 percent and SECL at 22.7 percent. CCL again accounted for the biggest degrowth in coal offtake at 22.8 percent followed by ECL at 11 percent.