Explained | India’s coal shortage and its effect on power supply

Seventy per cent of India’s power demand is met by coal-fired power plants.

As per the latest data, coal stocks at more than 100 thermal power plants in India have fallen below 25% of the required stock (critical mark). In more than 50 thermal plants, the stock has fallen below the 10% mark, leading to States seeking additional coal supplies from India’s sole coal producer Coal India Ltd (CIL). Seventy per cent of India’s power demand is met by thermal power plants, which are mostly powered by coal.

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data shows that as of April 19, 2022, India’s power generation via thermal plants using domestic coal stood at 182.39 GW with an average of 34% coal stock in them. Meanwhile, 16.73 GW was generated by power plants using imported coal with an average coal stock of 34%. Nine thermal plants with the capacity to generate 3.56 GW are currently non-functional.

Of the 173 thermal power plants, 85 plants fired by domestic coal have less than 25% stock while 11 plants running on imported coal have hit critical levels.

The biggest reason for coal shortage is the increasing power demand. In 2021, demand increased to 124.2 BU per month from 106.6 BU per month in 2019. In 2022, the demand has further increased to 132 BU.

In October 2021, when India faced a major coal crisis due to shipping delays with stocks dropping to just four days, the Centre’s core management team (CMT) analysed the reasons for the shortage in supply.

The CMT stated that the heavy rains in coal mining areas like Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Tamil Nadu had resulted in lesser coal production. Moreover, prior to the monsoon season, there was inadequate coal stock build-up in most thermal plants, pushing them below critical levels.

The Centre also stated that there was a 43.6% reduction in power generation from imported coal, which led to extra demand of 17.4 MT of domestic coal, further depleting coal reserves.