Rebuilding coal inventories ahead of next summer was the "main concern", officials said amid a "neck-to-neck" situation as stocks at domestic coal-based power plants plunged 66% - from around 54.9 million tonnes at the beginning of April to 18.6 million tonnes by end of September.
With rainfall in parts of northern and eastern India, there has already been some moderation in electricity demand and officials maintained they expect demand to further ease as summer heat recedes and country moves into post-summer demand pattern. This will ease some pressure on coal-based power plants and allow them to rebuild inventory by March.
“The concern is not for this year but for next year. Things will be neck-to-neck as there is a lot of pressure on thermal power in the absence of hydro-power due to rainfall deficit. The main concern is rebuilding stock by March before onset of next summer,” said a senior official involved in power system operations.
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The depletion is highest in past three years. Fuel stocks at domestic coal-based power plants have declined by around 66% this year, compared with a decline of around 23% during same period last year, when stocks fell from 55.2 million tonnes beginning of April to 42.6 million by end of September. Same was 31.8% in 2024 and 36.8% in 2023.
Officials expect situation to improve with better availability of railway rakes for transporting coal, along with increase in coal production. Coal India Limited, country's largest miner that accounts for about 83% of coal supplied to power sector, also reported 9.18% increase in coal production during September compared to same month last year. Supplies to power sector also registered strong growth of 10.63% during month rising to 48.90 MT from 44.20 MT in previous fiscal, the state owned miner informed exchanges Thursday.
But this year, higher-than-projected demand has already raised concerns over power availability, with government moving to maximise generation from available capacity. Among measures, power ministry has directed around 112 captive coal-based power plants to operate at maximum capacity from October 1 to December 31. Discussion on directing thermal power plants to blend imported coal with domestic supplies, with advisories issued beyond October 15, 2024.
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At same time, push to add more Battery Energy Storage Systems over next six months, particularly at inter-state transmission system level, to address gap between solar day power and night demand. Six major renewable companies planning to add around 10 gigawatts of battery storage capacity by March.
Tags: #CoalCrisis #PowerSector #Coallndia #EnergySecurity #ElectricityDemand #ThermalPower #BESS #RailwayRakes #Summer2027 #MinistryOfPower