Coal India misses June production target

State-owned Coal India Ltd said it has produced 44.88 million tonnes of coal in June, missing the production target by 7.9 MT. The coal production target for June was 52.79 MT, the firm said in a filing to the BSE. Coal India produced 136.87 million tonnes of coal in April-June period of fiscal year 2018-19, against the output target of 150.77 MT.Coal India accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production. The shortfall has come at a time when some regions, including New Delhi, are facing power shortage due to fast depleting coal stockpiles at power plants. In a letter to the Centre recently, Delhi power minister Satyender Jain stated that thermal power stations Dadri I & II, Jhajjar and Badarpur were facing an “acute coal shortage” for several days now due to non-availability of transportation rakes. According to the Central Electricity Authority data, 16 state-run thermal power plants were facing critical stocks or had coal stocks of less than seven days, as of 28 June.