NTPC, CIL see output rise with June quarter growth

NEW DELHI: India’s largest power generator NTPC saw output jump 7.5% in the first quarter of the current financial year on the back of manufacturing activity growing at the strongest pace in June.

Coal India matched the demand-driven generation by pushing up fuel supplies to power stations by15.4% during the April-June period, backed by a 15% growth in loading of rakes and a similar pace of production increase.

Since power cannot be stored, generation is considered a key indicator of economic growth. Coal is the mainstay of the country’s generation capacity. So a sharp rise in both areas reaffirms India’s economic growth story. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) on Monday rose from 51.2 in May to 53.1 in June, registering the fastest improvement since December 2017.

NTPC produced 69 BU (billion units), marking its highest quarterly generation and a substantial improvement over the previous quarterly high of 68.6 BU in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

Higher generation would not have been possible without matching fuel supplies from CIL. The mining behemoth produced 136.87 MT (million tonnes) of coal during the April-June period, an increase of 18 MT from 118.84 MT in the previous corresponding period. Coal offtake also clocked a robust 11.7% growth. All the subsidiaries posted growth in production and supplies in the period under review.

Spurred by higher rake-loading, overall coal offtake rose by 16 MT to 153.43 MT in the first quarter, indicating a growth of 11.7%.

NTPC Limited

Coal India Ltd