CIL imports around 5 LT coal so far this fiscal

New Delhi: State-run CIL has imported about five lakh tonnes of coal so far in the current fiscal for the power producers as their response has not been encouraging.

The government had earlier said the coal imports in the April-October period dropped by 4.56 percent over the same period in 2014.

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"Coal India (CIL) has not got very encouraging response from the power producers as a result, so far in the current fiscal, the PSU has just imported 5 lakh tonnes of coal," an official said.

The coal PSU received import orders from only two to three producers, including Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corp Limited (APGENCO), the official said.

It had earlier asked power firms to contact its supplying firms in case they need to import coal through them for FY16.

In the last fiscal, CIL had imported 0.48 million tonnes of coal for power plants.

"In order to make necessary arrangements for supply of imported coal, interested and eligible power utilities are requested to approach the supplying coal companies immediately with whom they have signed for further course of action," Coal India (CIL) had earlier said in a notice.

The PSU had also said it offers to supply imported coal for the year 2015-16, under the provisions of fuel supply agreement (FSA) entered with the power utilities "in the post 2009 FSA model".

In terms of the Presidential Directives issued in 2012 and 2013, CIL board had earlier decided that under fuel supply pacts for new power plants commissioned after 2009, out of the minimum assured quantity (80 percent of Annual Contracted quantity), 15 percent shall be supplied from imported coal.

It was decided that such imported coal supply was to be made through a PSU importing agency under a back-to-back supply agreement with power plants opting to take imported supply from CIL.

Coal India accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal production.