Coal India’s supply to power sector in October records all-time high, grows 19%

State-run coal behemoth Coal India on Sunday said its supply to the power sector in October grew around 19 per cent year-on-year to 57.1 million tonnes (MT), recording its highest-ever monthly coal supplies to the sector.

The company, the single largest coal producer in the world, had supplied 48 MT of coal to the power sector in October last year. Its supplies to the sector crossed the 57 MT mark for the first time in the company’s history, demonstrating CIL’s enhanced capacity to respond to the requirements of thermal power plants, the company said in a statement. Earlier, the monthly high of 56.5 MT was recorded in May 2024.

“The achievement assumes greater significance in view of the need to augment coal stocks at thermal power plants amid rising power demand, while disruptions caused by unseasonal rainfall, the Puja festivities and impact of a cyclone-posed challenges to the operational performance,” Coal India said.

Significantly, last week nearly half of domestic coal-based (DCB) power plants had critically-low coal stocks, highlighting supply-side pressures amid sustained electricity demand. Of the 176 DCB power plants, with a combined installed capacity of around 207 GW, 85 had critical coal stocks as of October 25.

CIL recorded the highest-ever monthly coal supplies to the power sector last month backed by the company’s highest-ever levels of coal production for the month of October in any financial year, reflecting a sharp acceleration in mining activity following the monsoon season. The company’s coal production in October FY27 reached 67.2 MT, growing 19.3 per cent y-o-y and setting the new record for the month. The previous October high of 62.47 MT was recorded in October 2024.

According to a stock exchange filing, all the coal-producing subsidiaries of Coal India, except Northern Coalfields (NCL), recorded a strong growth in production last month. NCL’s output in October 2026 fell 4.3 per cent y-o-y at 11.4 MT.

Among CIL’s seven coal-producing subsidiaries, Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) and South Eastern Coalfields (SECL), the largest two in terms of outputs, posted 25.34 per cent and 17.4 per cent y-o-y growth in production at 20.8 MT and 14.3 MT, respectively, for the month.

In the month of October 2026, total coal offtake for the company stood at 70.3 MT, posting a growth of 18.7 per cent y-o-y. In the statement, the miner said its monthly coal supplies crossed the 70 MT mark for the first time, surpassing the previous monthly record of 69.4 MT achieved in March 2026. MCL crossed the 20 MT monthly supply mark for the first time in October, contributing significantly to this landmark achievement. CIL had first reached the 60 MT monthly supply mark in March 2021, and supplies had hovered between 60-69 MT since then.

“With both coal production and offtake gaining momentum, we are on the cusp of seeing stock accretion, both at power plant ends and at pit head,” a senior Coal India official said.

CIL reported strong demand in its e-auction sales for October 2026, allocating 91 per cent of the 129.24 lakh tonnes coal offered under the single-window mode-agnostic (SWMA) route. It allocated 118 lakh tonnes during the month. Its e-auction premium rose to 140 per cent over notified prices.

The coal behemoth said it achieved another historic milestone in railway coal evacuation, with the company recording an average power-sector rake loading of 310 rakes per day during October FY27, the highest-ever monthly average in the company’s history. The 300-rake-per-day mark was last surpassed in March, 2025, when the average loading stood at 302.8 rakes per day.

“What is more remarkable about these achievements is that the previous supply and railway rake records corresponding to the month of March, which happens to be the peak performance month of any fiscal, are being surpassed in the month of October,” the official added.