Coal Transport Meeting Set for Friday to Ensure Power Plants Are Ready for Demand

An inter-ministerial committee made up of officials from the coal, power, and railways departments will meet on October 11 to discuss and finalize the plan for transporting coal to power plants for the second half of the financial year.

During this meeting, they may decide on coal blending and set requirements for imported coal-based power plants to operate at full capacity. In April, the government mandated that these plants run under section 11 of the Electricity Act until mid-October, anticipating a rise in electricity demand.

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The government has also directed all thermal power plants to import 4% of their coal needs by October 15.

Power demand surged by 11% to 15% from April to June due to extreme heat, but since July, demand has fluctuated, with year-on-year changes ranging from a decline of 5% to an increase of 3.5%.

As of October 4, coal stock at power plants stood at about 36 million tonnes, including 3.6 million tonnes at plants using imported coal. The last quarter saw a 21% drop in coal stocks, mainly due to seasonal declines in coal transport and reduced wind power generation, leading to increased reliance on coal-based power. In contrast, the first quarter, which also faced high summer demand, recorded a smaller depletion of 7.8%.

Former coal secretary Amrit Lal Meena had previously indicated that the ministry expected 34 million tonnes of coal to be available at domestic coal-based power plants by the end of September, but only 32.8 million tonnes were recorded on that date.