September 08, 2008

CIL to sell 15 million tonne coal in forward e auction

Reuters reported that Coal India Limited is planning to sell 15 million tonnes of its targeted 405 million tonnes of coal production in 2008-09 through forward electronic auction to be introduced in March 2008.

Mr K Ranganath marketing director of CIL said that the scheme is aimed at meeting the long term fuel requirements for cement and steel firms on a quarter to quarter basis. He added that the new system follows the introduction of spot electronic auction of coal through which the firm proposes to sell 25 million tonnes of its produce in 2008-09.

Ranganath said that Coal India Limited, which supplies 90% of its produce at a fixed price to power firms in India, will finalize fuel supply agreements with existing users by May 2008. He added that it has earmarked 140 million tonnes of coal for new units and 8 million tonnes of coal through state-run firms to meet demand from small industries.

CIL has a target to produce 380 million tonnes of coal in the current financial year and will offer better quality coal through forward e auction.