Coal India warned government of coal shortage in February, documents show

In a letter dated February 25, the miner said power plants continued to use existing stocks despite requests to buy coal before the monsoon.

Coal India's warned the adviser to the federal power ministry in February of an as utilities tapped inventories and curbed purchases despite rising coal-fired power output, documents reviewed by Reuters show.

India, which has the world's fourth largest coal reserves, is facing a shortage of the fuel and hasas supplies at several plants run low.

State-run Coal India told the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) that it was "evident that a crisis is arising" unless immediate action was taken to increase supply to power plants,according to a February 4 letter reviewed by Reuters.