Russia-Ukraine conflict will hinder further coal supply to CPPs, aluminium among other industries to suffer: ICPPA

On 25^th February 2022, the Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA) stated that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine military strife, which has propelled the global energy prices to scale up, will diminish the proclivity to import coal by power plants and will further disrupt the supply of fuel to the captive power plants that support by supplying energy to industries like aluminium among others from state-owned Coal India.

The CPP industries while finding themselves on the wrong side of abrupt changes in the policy implementation curtailing coal supplies, established an industry body in 2005, Indian Captive Power Producers Association (ICPPA).

“Amid rising energy prices globally, electricity producers will pressure the government for domestic coal to fulfil their demand, which will adversely affect fuel supply to the non-power sector”, ICPPA further added.

Rajiv Agarwal, the Secretary-General of ICPPA said, “This (Russia-Ukraine) crisis has increased energy prices globally, and that reduces the propensity to import coal and coke. And it will further complicate the matter, and it is going to hamper supplies to both Captive Power Plants and industries from Coal India.”

Energy-intensive industries like aluminium and other industries such as steel, sponge iron, cement, paper, fertiliser, chemical, rayon and their captive power plants (CPPs) are primarily predominant on domestic coal supply.

"From the last six-seven months, we (CPPs) have been getting a meagre supply of coal. Because of this crisis, power plants will have a lower propensity to import and hence they will pressure the system to give more and more coal to them by rail mode. That will stop or delay operationalisation of normalcy in rake supply to CPPs and industries," Agarwal added.

However, it has been notified that the yearly supply of coal to the non-power sector is just only 8% but still the non-regulated sector (NRS) is encountering a fuel crisis.