Reforms in coal sector, on which India’s power generation is heavily dependent, have seen a faint light on the distant horizon courtesy reform proposals in this budget. B&E’s anchal gupta argues that the steps may be too small considering the delay and a lot more needs to be done, quickly.
“Not a penny off the pay, not a second on the day.” This blunt reply by the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), the national union of mine workers to coal mine owners was a spark that ignited the chain reaction culminating in the famous 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom. Mine owners, under the veil of a soaring pound, hurting exports and low productivity of mines decided on wage cuts to normalise profits. Despite massive subsidies to the coal mine owners, the wage cuts were implemented. The strike began on May 3 and lasted for 10 days. In the aftermath, coal mining was forever transformed in UK with the extra labour being sucked out and productivity rocketing from below 100 tonne per miner per annum to over 300 tonne by the World War II.
Swivel back to the present and India’s coal mining output still hovers at less than 200 tonne for some of its mines while the average productivity is less than one tenth of mining giants in US and Australia. And despite a new glimmer of hope in the form of proposals to reform the sector in this years’ budget, the pertinent question remains: Is it too little… too late? But for all the hype surrounding renewable energy and efficient usage, India stands tall among the planet’s most un-efficient energy user (read massive wasters). And, till date, more than 53% of our electricity is generated in power plants fueled by the black treasure hidden deep below our rocky terrains. Estimates suggest that by 2012, India will stare at more than 100 million metric tonnes (MMT) of coal shortage and around 250 MMT by 2025. Ironically, we have the world’s largest coal miner Coal India Ltd. (CIL), a Navratna PSU. The repercussions are perilous.
According to Girish Solanki, Energy analyst, Religare, “The coal mined in India has not been enough to meet the demand. The shortage has resulted in loss of electricity generation in power plants. The power companies in India imported coal in FY2009 to keep the plants running. Coal India, for the first time in history, resorted to import of coal in FY2009. Further the calorific value of coal mined in India is at 4,000-5,000 kcal/kg. substantially lower than the coal mined in countries like Indonesia which have calorific value in excess of 6,500 kcal/kg.” The impending entry of mining giant, Trimex to strike long term coal supply contracts with Indian power producers is just the beginning of the dark tunnel. Courtesy archaic laws and divided authority over every link of the value chain, much of the coal remains buried and much of India remains dark.
In fact not just power, other core sectors dependent on coal feel strangled too. As per Ashok Jainani, Analyst, Khandavala Securities, “India largely depends on imported metallurgical coal for steel making. Our met-coke imports are as high as 80% of requirements and the situation is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. As regards thermal coke, it still remains highly protected business within government control.”
“Not a penny off the pay, not a second on the day.” This blunt reply by the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain (MFGB), the national union of mine workers to coal mine owners was a spark that ignited the chain reaction culminating in the famous 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom. Mine owners, under the veil of a soaring pound, hurting exports and low productivity of mines decided on wage cuts to normalise profits. Despite massive subsidies to the coal mine owners, the wage cuts were implemented. The strike began on May 3 and lasted for 10 days. In the aftermath, coal mining was forever transformed in UK with the extra labour being sucked out and productivity rocketing from below 100 tonne per miner per annum to over 300 tonne by the World War II.
Swivel back to the present and India’s coal mining output still hovers at less than 200 tonne for some of its mines while the average productivity is less than one tenth of mining giants in US and Australia. And despite a new glimmer of hope in the form of proposals to reform the sector in this years’ budget, the pertinent question remains: Is it too little… too late? But for all the hype surrounding renewable energy and efficient usage, India stands tall among the planet’s most un-efficient energy user (read massive wasters). And, till date, more than 53% of our electricity is generated in power plants fueled by the black treasure hidden deep below our rocky terrains. Estimates suggest that by 2012, India will stare at more than 100 million metric tonnes (MMT) of coal shortage and around 250 MMT by 2025. Ironically, we have the world’s largest coal miner Coal India Ltd. (CIL), a Navratna PSU. The repercussions are perilous.
According to Girish Solanki, Energy analyst, Religare, “The coal mined in India has not been enough to meet the demand. The shortage has resulted in loss of electricity generation in power plants. The power companies in India imported coal in FY2009 to keep the plants running. Coal India, for the first time in history, resorted to import of coal in FY2009. Further the calorific value of coal mined in India is at 4,000-5,000 kcal/kg. substantially lower than the coal mined in countries like Indonesia which have calorific value in excess of 6,500 kcal/kg.” The impending entry of mining giant, Trimex to strike long term coal supply contracts with Indian power producers is just the beginning of the dark tunnel. Courtesy archaic laws and divided authority over every link of the value chain, much of the coal remains buried and much of India remains dark.
In fact not just power, other core sectors dependent on coal feel strangled too. As per Ashok Jainani, Analyst, Khandavala Securities, “India largely depends on imported metallurgical coal for steel making. Our met-coke imports are as high as 80% of requirements and the situation is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. As regards thermal coke, it still remains highly protected business within government control.”
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