
On 14th October 2021, the institution that caters for the needs of the Indian Aluminium Industry, the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) pleaded to the Indian government-owned coal mining and refining corporation, Coal India Limited (CIL) for prompt resumption of coal supplies for the domestic aluminium industry stating that the ongoing severe crisis of the fossil fuel due to several factors has developed insecure circumstances.

The statement has emerged at a situation when multiple power plants in the nation are encountering a scarcity of coal.
The AAI in its letter to Pramod Agrawal, Chairman of CIL said: “Despite untiring efforts of MoC (Ministry of Coal) and CIL (Coal India Ltd) to support the industry, the current acute coal crunch due to various factors has created an immensely precarious situation, majorly for the highly power-intensive industries like aluminium, wherein coal accounts for 40% of the production cost.”
The letter said: “The recent decision to stop secured coal supplies and rakes for non-power industries is detrimental for the aluminium industry.”
“It will jeopardise the sustainability as these continuous process-based plants are not designed for Adhoc shutdown-and-start of operations.”

The industry as a whole has been driven to a halt situation and left with no moment to formulate any mitigation process to pursue sustainable operations.
The stockpiles of coal to functionalize the plants have exhausted to below the ‘red’ level and it can sustain only two three days, from a 15 days stock level in April. The plants are compelled to operate at limited power generation with the peril of shut down delivering warning of scaling down staffs and collapsing of MSMEs.
Furthermore, the happening global aluminium shortfall anticipated to demand-supply discord is also fuelling grief for the sector.
The letter to CIL Chairman also stated: "To save the domestic industry, we earnestly request your kind intervention to normalise the precarious situation arisen due to stoppage of coal supplies and rakes through...immediate resumption of coal supply for aluminium industry CPPs (captive power plants) against secured linkages for economically viable and sustainable industry operations.”
“The rakes allocation should be on priority for the highly power-intensive aluminium industry for optimum coal materialisation,” the letter said.
Responses







