India's power generators' thermal coal imports saw notable year-on-year and month-on-month decreases in July, hitting the lowest in five months, according to official data.
Power producers imported 3.64 million tonnes of thermal coal in July, falling 49.61% from 7.22 million tonnes in the same month last year and 23.62% from 4.76 million tonnes in June, showed data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
Among all imported by power companies last month, 2.43 million tonnes were directly burned, up 31.04% year on year yet down 17.65% month on month, and 1.21 million tonnes were blended with domestic coal, diving 77.51% year on year and 33.35% from a month ago.
Among power utilities blending imported coal with the domestic resources, 6 state-owned power enterprises imported 569,800 tonnes and 9 private enterprises imported 636,500 tonnes; among those directing burning imported coal for power generation, 12 private power enterprises imported 2.43 million tonnes.
In July, Mundra of Tata Power Group imported most thermal coal, at 605,800 tonnes, followed by Mundra of Adani Group, at 543,800 tonnes.
In the first four months of this fiscal (April-July 2023), Indian power companies imported 178 million tonnes of thermal coal, down 24% from 236 million tonnes a year ago. About 10.12 million tonnes were directly burned in this period, and 7.72 million tonnes were blended with domestic supplies.
Source: sxcoal