Coal companies take hit on Australian coal port: Glencore and five other coal companies are facing an extra US$114 million a year in costs on the US$2 billion Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal in Queensland. Two of the original joint-venture companies, Cockatoo Coal and Bandanna Energy, entered into take-or-pay contracts on 27 million tonnes a year capacity. With the collapse of the two companies the remaining partners have to cover the cost of the unused capacity. (Reuters)
US power plant stockpiles climb:Stockpiles of thermal coal at US power plants climbed to 179 million tonnes by the end of 2015, the highest end-of-year inventory in at least 25 years. In the last three months of the year the stockpiles grew by 36 million tonnes. The US Energy Information Administration attributes the dramatic increase in coal stockpiles to declining coal power generation and a warmer than normal winter. (Energy Information Administration)
Polish utilities press for capacity market subsidies: With increasing write-offs on coal plants and falling share prices, Polish power utilities are stepping up pressure on the government to introduce a ‘capacity market’ subsidy scheme to keep loss-making coal power plants online. ZE PAK, the worst performing utility, which faces the need to retire 4000 MW of coal and gas-plants by 2018, complained its plan for a new lignite plant would not proceed without further support. (Bloomberg, Bloomberg) | 
