India’s coal production hit an all-time high last year, led by an uptick in utility demand and a broader government push to boost domestic output.
Combined coal output from domestic sources such as state-controlled Coal India (CIL), Singareni Collieries (SCCL) and captive blocks reached 1.04bn t in calendar year 2024, up by 7pc or 70.4mn t from a year earlier, according to Argus calculations based on coal ministry data.
This supported overall supplies, including supplies to utilities and the non-power sector, which reached 1.01bn t, from 950.2mn t in 2023.
The steady increase in domestic coal output and supplies was also led by demand from utilities, as the country’s coal-fired generation rose last year, and generators continued to replenish stocks to meet the rising power demand. The strong output also followed India’s broader goal to raise local coal production, with an aim to trim imports and meet its broader energy security objective. Delhi has been pushing CIL to ramp up its output, while also seeking higher production from blocks allocated to utilities and the non-power sector.
The growth in production and supplies likely weighed on thermal coal imports in 2024, with seaborne receipts estimated to have dropped last year, a first annual decline since 2021. The dip in India’s demand for seaborne cargoes in a well-supplied market was reflected in recent prices, with the GAR 4,200 kcal/kg market for geared Supramaxes falling to a 44-month low of $49.43/t fob Kalimantan on 27 December, the last assessment of 2024. The market eased further to $49.25/t fob Kalimantan on 10 January.
Output mix
Production at state-controlled CIL stood at 785.2mn t in calendar year 2024, up from 756.1mn t a year earlier, while its supplies totalled 757.4mn t in the 12-month period, up from 738.6mn t in 2023, according to Argus calculations based on the company’s monthly output data.
State-owned SCCL produced 67.12mn t in 2024, down by 4pc or 2.5mn t in 2023, the coal ministry data showed. But this was more than offset by steady growth in coal production at captive coal blocks allocated to industrial coal consumers, state-government mining companies and some utilities. Coal output from the captive blocks rose to about 187mn t last year, up from 143.3mn t in 2023, the data showed.
The higher captive coal production followed an increase in production from coal blocks allocated to state-controlled utility NTPC, which aims to become one of India’s biggest coal producers in coming years. India’s policy to auction coal mines for commercial mining by private companies is also beginning to support the overall captive coal output.
Supply mix
Combined domestic coal supplies to utilities from CIL, SCCL and captive blocks reached 831.44mn t, up by 6pc from a year earlier, the coal ministry data showed.
India’s coal-fired generation — which meets most of its power requirements — reached 1,293.19TWh last year, up by 5pc from a year earlier, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data show.
Overall domestic coal supplies to non-power consumers such as steel and cement totalled about 179mn t last year, up by 13pc from 2023, according to the coal ministry data. Supplies to captive power units fall under non-power sector as per the data.
By Saurabh Chaturvedi
