Nalco hopes coal supply would improve soon

BHUBANESWAR: National Aluminium Company (Naalco) hopes to see its coal supply in Angul improve soon and help its captive power plants maximize their performance. Coal shortage forced the Navratna company to shut down one of its eight 120 MW power units. Of the 840 pots in the smelter plant, 835 are functioning, though the company maintained that they are under the "scheduled maintenance". To sustain its Angul system, Nalco needs nearly 15,000 tonnes of coal daily. The trouble started about 10 days ago when supply from MCL began to slack. The current supply is about 12,000 tonnes. "Disturbed logistics because of heavy rain and dampness of coal led to shortfall in power generation," said a Nalco official. Sources said MCL was helpless and had to cut down on production. Rainwater gushed into some of its mines, affecting production. As a matter of business strategy, Nalco has also other channels to supply imported and washed coals. But that was also affected in view of rains, affecting works at stock yards and movement of rakes. "We have taken up the matter with MCL to improve coal supply. A high-level meeting was convened for the purpose. They have assured us to look into the problems would soon end, restoring supply of the required amount," the official said. He pointed out that rakes have, meanwhile, arrived with imported and washed coals. "We had placed the orders to strengthen our buffer stock. source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com