The Coal Ministry said on Friday that coal dispatch to thermal power plants rose in October, helping slow down stock depletion. While supplies increased by 9 per cent compared to September, rebuilding reserves at 176 plants will take time. The Ministry added, "The position is therefore stabilising, although stock rebuilding is yet to commence."
The Coal Ministry said on Friday that dispatch to thermal power plants (TPPs) has increased with supply in October averaging about 9 per cent higher than last month helping to bring down the depletion in reserves at plant end.
However, rebuilding of stocks at 176 domestic coal-based (DCB) power plants with a capacity of around 207 GW will take time. On October 8th, DCB plants had a stock of 18.25 million tonnes (mt) with 79 plants having critical stocks.
The coal reserves at power plants are utilised when daily supply does not meet the requirement. For instance, the Coal Ministry on October 5 said that 1.75 mt, 1.87 mt and 1.81 mt were dispatched by Coal India (CIL) on October 1-3, respectively, averaging at 1.81 MT. However, the daily requirement of the DCB plants is around 2.95 mt per day.
Coal stock position needs to be viewed alongside the improvement since the September trough in supplies, Coal Ministry said in a statement.
"Daily supplies to the power sector have risen by around 36 per cent from the September low, with October averaging about 9 per cent higher than September. The rate of stock depletion has also moderated significantly," it added.
Rail loading has strengthened correspondingly, averaging at over 465 rakes per day in October, with the 470-rake target achieved on three consecutive days. Supplies through other modes, including road, have also improved, it emphasised.
"Stock depletion has slowed sharply, with the daily drawdown falling by more than half from 0.243 mt per day in September to 0.116 mt daily in October. The position is therefore stabilising, although stock rebuilding is yet to commence," the Ministry said.
Critical stocks
The rise in plants with critical stocks is being closely monitored, with requirement-based redistribution of coal to vulnerable stations to ensure adequate supplies and uninterrupted power generation, it said.
"With the monsoon receding and peak demand expected to moderate by mid-October (as per historical trends) sustained loading of 465-475 rakes per day should support further stabilisation and enable stock rebuilding ahead of the festive, winter and subsequent summer demand periods, thereby reducing the number of plants in the critical category," the Ministry assured.
TPPs are burning more coal as electricity demand is high due to higher temperatures, particularly during non-solar hours. For instance, while coal receipts rose by 3.3 per cent Y-o-Y in April-August FY27, consumption rose by 9.2 per cent Y-o-Y during the same period.
During July to September, India's energy consumption rose by 11.5 per cent Y-o-Y to roughly 502 billion units (BU). The consumption last month was at 162 BU, higher by 11 per cent on an annual basis.