India Power Companies’ Coal Imports May Fall Short of Target.

 March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Indian power companies’ coal imports may fall short of a 47 million metric-ton target in the year ending March 2011, according to a report by a shipbroker.

“This is a stretched target and actual imports in 2010-11 may be only to the tune of around 38-40 million tons,” InterOcean said in a note today.

That compares with targeted purchases of 28.7 million tons in the previous fiscal year, InterOcean said, citing data from the Central Electricity Authority, India’s regulator. Actual imports may be lower at 23 million tons, it said.

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, will import 76 million tons of thermal coal and coking coal for steelmaking in the 2010 fiscal year, according to mjunction Services Ltd., a Web-based trader backed by the country’s biggest steel producers, in January. That’s up from 59 million tons in the previous period. Imports will rise to 110 million tons in 2012.

State utilities including National Thermal Power Corp. and some private units such as Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. may account for as much as 35 million tons of targeted coal purchases in fiscal 2011 while other non-state units including Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., Adani Power Ltd., Torrent Power Ltd. and Lanco Infratech Ltd. may import 12 million tons, according to the report.

National Thermal Power, India’s biggest generator, has a coal import target of 13.9 million tons for fiscal 2011 followed by Maharashtra State Power Generation Ltd. at 3.35 million tons, according to the report.

India’s power sector may consume 452 million tons of coal in fiscal 2011 of which about 388 million will be supplied from domestic mines, it said.

Source : businessweek.com