Clear dues to coal cos: Govt to four states with low stock, high thermal capacities

On October 10, Uttar Pradesh had 2,000 MW of capacity that had zero days of coal stock, Maharashtra had 1,920 MW of capacity with zero stock. Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan had 1,500 MW and 500 MW of capacity with zero days of stock, respectively.

Thermal power plants across the nation are currently facing a shortage of coal due to a sharp uptick in power demand, restricted supplies due to heavy rainfall in September, low accumulation of stock in April-June, and a huge spike in the price of imported coal. India’s coal fired power plants currently have about 4 days of coal inventory as against the recommended level of 15-30 days based on distance of the plant from the source of coal.

A total of 17 power plants with a capacity of 16,430 MW had zero days of coal stock on October 10, while a further 48 plants with 62,255 MW capacity had one or two days of coal stock remaining. of the 135 thermal power plants monitored daily, 115 had coal stocks of under 7 days.

Coal-fired thermal power plants account for 208.8 GW (54 per cent) of India’s 388 GW installed generation capacity. The share of coal-based power in India’s power mix has risen to 66.4 per cent from 61.9 per cent in 2019. States like Delhi and Punjab have written to the Centre asking that coal shipments to their thermal power plants be expedited for fear of power cuts.