BHUBANESWAR : Aluminium players in the country have sought government intervention to mitigate the shortage in coal supply, owing to inadequate rail rakes. Drawing the attention of the PMO and others to the issue, the power-intensive industry demanded resumption in regular fuel supply as per their contracted quantity.
The Aluminium Association of India (AAI), which represents companies like Hindalco, Vedanta and NALCO said that there is a critical coal shortage situation after supplies were reduced without notifying the industry in advance. “The sector, which is already struggling due to a shortage of the fuel and availability of rakes, has come to a standstill as we are left out with no time to devise any mitigation plan to continue sustainable operations,” said a senior AAI official.
The increase in the cost of production primarily due to increased power cost and rise in coal prices have added to the woes. The industry, which has set up CPPs of 9,500 MW, is now faced with an “alarming threat” from rising imports, which AAI said is not cost-effective and renders plant operations economically unviable. Of the total 40,000 MW captive power plants (CPP) capacity, 70 per cent CPPs are thermal coal-based and the requirement of coal for the plants are estimated at 190 MT per annum.