CIL builds 175.5 MT coal buffer ahead of summer 2026

Coal India Limited (CIL) has put in place a three-layer coal reserve of about 175.5 million tonnes as electricity demand begins to rise ahead of the summer of 2026. The company said the stock position is designed to ensure an uninterrupted domestic supply during the peak consumption period.

CIL stated that power demand started increasing in January, an early indicator of higher summer requirements. In response, the company highlighted the scale of coal available across its supply chain.

As of February 26, 2026, pithead stocks with CIL’s producing subsidiaries stood at 115 million tonnes (MT). These are quantities kept at the mine end and ready for dispatch. The company indicated that this figure is expected to increase further before the financial year closes at the end of March.

Power plants using domestic coal held around 55 MT as of February 25, the highest level recorded for that point in the calendar year, according to CIL. In addition, 5.5 MT was in transit at goods sheds, washeries and ports. Together, these volumes take the total readily accessible coal to approximately 175.5 MT.

CIL also referred to in-situ coal reserves, which consist of material already exposed after overburden removal and available for rapid extraction. At mines contributing 90% of its annual output, exposed in-situ reserves stood at 60.2 MT as of mid-February 2026. The company said this provides the ability to scale up supplies at short notice if demand rises sharply.

A senior CIL official said the combined strength of pithead stocks, power plant inventories and in-situ reserves offers strong operational assurance against any demand surge from the power sector or other industries. The company added that higher domestic availability could help curb coal imports, particularly as international coal prices have been rising as of February 2026.

Provisional production data submitted to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) on March 1, 2026, showed that CIL produced 74.7 MT in February 2026, up 0.7% year-on-year. Cumulative production for April 2025 to February 2026 reached 683.7 MT, down 1.7% compared to the same period last year.

February 2026 offtake was 62.0 MT, compared to 62.9 MT in the corresponding month of the previous year, reflecting a 1.5% decline. Cumulative offtake for the eleven-month period stood at 674.6 MT, 2.8% lower year-on-year.

Among subsidiaries, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) recorded 11.0% growth in February offtake and 4.3% cumulative growth during the period. Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) reported marginal production increases in February. Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) registered the sharpest year-on-year declines.

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