Shrinking coal stocks and escalating power crisis in India set alarm bells ringing 

The prolonged monsoon has also played a role in reduced production due to flooding at some places and disruption in transportation. Another possible reason could be soaring international prices of coal.

India is facing an unprecedented shortage of coal stocks across thermal plants in the country, and subsequently, staring at an impending power crisis. As per Central Electricity Authority of India data, on October 5, out of 135 thermal plants that use coal for power generation, 106 or nearly 80 per cent are either in critical or super critical stage, i.e. they have stocks only for the next 6-7 days. The combined power capacity of these 106 power projects is 1,33,849 MW.

Many factors have led to this growing crisis. With Covid cases declining steadily, lives and economic activities are returning to normalcy. This has led to a spike in demand. For instance, in the first week of September, the demand for power increased by more than 5 per cent compared to the same period last year.