Coal India boosts coal dispatches to power plants amid rising generation

By Staff Report 1 October 9, 2026 4:42 pm IST

Coal India increased coal supplies to power plants in September and early October, supported by higher dispatches, improved evacuation and pithead stock utilisation.

Coal India Limited (CIL) increased coal supplies to power plants during the first three days of October 2026, continuing the stronger distribution trend recorded in September, according to the Ministry of Coal. Daily supplies to the power sector stood at 1.75 million tonnes (MT), 1.87 MT and 1.81 MT from 1 to 3 October. Between 28 and 30 September, daily supplies were 1.74 MT, 1.79 MT and 1.71 MT, respectively.

CIL’s coal supplies to the power sector rose 10.6 per cent year-on-year to 48.9 MT in September 2026, compared with 44.2 MT in September 2025. Overall coal supplies increased 12.5 per cent to 61.2 MT during the month. During the first six months of FY2026-27, CIL supplied 302.8 MT of coal to the power sector, up from 285.4 MT in the corresponding period a year earlier. This represented an increase of 17.4 MT, or 6.1 per cent. Supplies during the second quarter rose 11 per cent to 148.2 MT from 133.5 MT.

CIL used 63 MT of accumulated pithead coal stocks during the first half of FY27 to support supplies. Its overall coal offtake reached 384.2 MT, compared with 357 MT in the corresponding period last year, marking growth of 7.6 per cent. The power sector accounted for nearly 79 per cent of total offtake. The increase in coal supplies coincided with higher domestic coal-based power generation, which rose to 640.05 billion units (BU) in the first half of FY27 from 582.5 BU a year earlier, an increase of approximately 9.9 per cent.

The Ministry of Coal attributed the improvement to enhanced evacuation, better coordination between production and dispatch, and the use of pithead inventories. CIL primarily supplies coal to power plants through fuel supply agreements and linkage mechanisms, while short-term requirements can be met through market-based channels.

CIL operates 46 coal handling plants-cum-silos with a combined mechanised, closed-loop evacuation capacity of 432 MT. The company is considering additional facilities at upcoming greenfield mines.

Source: Construction World