India's power generators' thermal coal imports saw notable month-on-month increases in August, but were still lower than the year-ago level, according to official data.
Power producers imported 4.35 million tonnes of thermal coal in August, falling 23.43% from 5.69 million tonnes in the same month last year but rising 19.68% from 3.64 million tonnes in July, showed data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
Among all imported by power companies last month, 3.07 million tonnes were directly burned, surging 189.48% year on year and 26.08% month on month, and 1.29 million tonnes were blended with domestic coal, diving 72.16% year on year but up 6.8% from a month ago.
Among power utilities blending imported coal with the domestic resources, 6 state-owned power enterprises imported 820,500 tonnes and 8 private enterprises imported 467,900 tonnes; among those directing burning imported coal for power generation, one state-run company purchased 24,000 tonnes and 12 private power enterprises imported 3.04 million tonnes.
In August, Mundra of Tata Power Group imported most thermal coal, at 960,500 tonnes, followed by Mundra of Adani Group, at 901,800 tonnes.
In the first five months of this fiscal (April-August 2023), Indian power companies imported 222 million tonnes of thermal coal, down 24.15% from 293 million tonnes a year ago. About 13.19 million tonnes were directly burned in this period, and 9.01 million tonnes were blended with domestic supplies.
Source: sxcoal