Govt denies acute shortage of coal for utilities

New Delhi, Feb 28 (UNI) The Government has decided to import 20 million metric tonnes of coal, Minister of State for Coal Dasari Naryana Rao today said, denying acute shortage of coal for power utilities in the country.

On the steps the Government proposed to take to overcome any coal shortage, Dr Rao told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that against the Annual Action Plan target of supply of 249.97 million tonnes of coal to power utilities by Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries from April 2007 to January 2008, the actual supply was 255.71 million tonnes, showing materialisation of about 102 per cent.

However, due to lesser materialisation of coal on account of loading/unloading, movement constraints, depletion of stocks at power plants, increase in plant load factor and growth in coal consumption, the Power Ministry had decided to import coal for 2008-09 also, he said.

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