Half of India's coal plants run critically low on fuel as power demand surges
NEW DELHI - Half of India's 191 coal-fired power plants are operating with critically low fuel stocks owig to a surge in power demand amid hotter-than-usual weather linked to El Niño, government data showed.
The number of power plants with critically low coal stocks — which only 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 showed.
The shortages are occurring even as India's coal ministry said last week that 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 45 GW to 50 GW 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 kilowatt-hours (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.
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