Coal stockpiles at 45 Indian coal-fired power plants drop to critical levels

en.Wedoany.com Reported - As of August 25, coal stockpiles at 45 coal-fired power plants in India were at critical levels, an increase of 14 from 31 plants at the end of July. Of these, 40 are plants using domestically produced coal. The statistics classify plants with coal inventories below 25% of required demand levels, or with coal sufficient for less than 3 days of power generation, as being in the critical inventory range.

India's Central Electricity Authority conducts daily monitoring of coal supply and inventory at thermal power plants nationwide and publishes a daily coal report through the National Power Portal. Current coal inventory norms set requirements based on the month and the distance between the plant and coal source, with the August standard set at 13 days for pithead thermal power plants and 21 days for non-pithead plants; daily coal demand is calculated based on an 85% plant load factor.

Since August, heavy rainfall in coal-producing areas of Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh has affected coal production and transportation. An NTPC official stated that some plants require 5 to 6 coal trains per day, but current actual receipts are approximately half of the required amount. A senior official from India's Ministry of Power stated that the power sector has asked some coal-fired units to postpone originally scheduled maintenance.

As of August 26, Coal India's cumulative coal production for the month stood at 39.99 million tonnes, against a corresponding target of 44.06 million tonnes, achieving 90.78% of the target; cumulative coal offtake for the month was 49.85 million tonnes, against a corresponding target of 51.38 million tonnes, achieving 97.02% of the target. Among these, Northern Coalfields recorded cumulative production of 7.29 million tonnes, achieving 78.37% of the corresponding target; Mahanadi Coalfields recorded cumulative production of 11.67 million tonnes, achieving 89.35% of the target; South Eastern Coalfields recorded cumulative production of 8.47 million tonnes, achieving 89.63% of the target.