Half of India’s coal plants run critically low on fuel as power demand surges

Half of India’s 191 coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel stocks due to a surge in power demand amid hotter than usual weather linked to El Niño, government data shows.

The number of power plants with critically low coal stocks — which have enough fuel supply to generate power for less than three days — rose to 96 as of October 19 from 60 plants in mid-September, data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed

The shortages are occurring after India’s coal ministry said last week it has ramped up supplies to power plants

India’s total coal stocks at power stations have fallen by about 5% since the beginning of the month, the data showed

Daily peak electricity demand this year has been running about 45GW to 50GW higher than a year earlier, partly because weaker monsoon rains reduced hydroelectric output and increased reliance on thermal plants.

In September the gap between India’s power demand and electricity supply increased to 560-million kWh,, the highest since August 2023, even as coal-fired plants increased output to meet strong demand

Coal-fired generation rose 13.3% in September from a year earlier, while hydropower generation fell 20% from a year ago, the CEA data showed

India is adding renewable energy, with nearly 55% of power generation coming from non-fossil-based sources, but a lack of batteries to save the clean energy is driving the South Asian nation to depend on coal-based power during high demand periods.