Nearly one-third of India’s coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel inventories as prolonged hot weather keeps electricity demand near record levels across the country.
Key Highlights
- Surging Power Demand: Electricity demand has consistently hovered around 267 GW in recent days—close to the record high of 270.70 GW reached in May—driven by intense cooling needs during an El Niño weather pattern.
- Sharp Rise in Low Stock Facilities: As of September 9, the number of power plants reporting critical coal stocks (less than 25% of required inventory or under three days of supply remaining) rose to 59, up from 45 at the end of August.
- Grid Pressure Points: While solar energy helps meet daytime power needs, insufficient battery storage and reduced hydroelectric reservoir levels are putting heavy strain on coal-fired generation.
Government & Industry Response
- Boosting Rail Transport: Authorities increased coal delivery trains from 370 rakes on September 3 to 444 rakes by September 6 to clear supply bottlenecks.
- Alternative Transport: Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries are also ramping up road transport to deliver fuel directly from pitheads, where overall reserves remain at a healthy 76 million metric tons.
Energy analysts caution that maintaining a steady flow of coal shipments via the rail network will be essential over the coming weeks to stabilize plant inventories and avoid power disruptions.
