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NEW DELHI, July 20 (Reuters) - India's coal-fired power plants have sufficient coal stocks to run for about two weeks at higher operating rates, easing concerns about fuel shortages amid rising electricity demand and below-average monsoon rainfall.
• Coal stocks at power plants stood at 42.8 million tonnes as of July 12, enough for 14 days of operation at an 85% plant load factor, the power ministry said in a reply to parliament on Monday.
• Utilities are also getting sufficient coal supplies to meet their daily requirements, it added.
• India's peak power demand surged last week to nearly 270.1 gigawatts (GW), driven by higher cooling demand as an El Nino pattern contributed to weaker rainfall.
• India's peak power demand had reached 270.2 GW in May, and the government expects it to touch 280 GW this year due to the absence of stronger monsoon rains.
• Coal remains the backbone of India's power system despite the country's aggressive renewable energy expansion.
• Coal and lignite-fired plants accounted for 69.5% of electricity supplied during April-June and generated about 75% of power during non-solar peak-demand hours, according to the ministry.
• The government has intensified coordination among the coal, power and railway ministries to monitor supplies and prioritize coal transportation to power stations, the power ministry said.
• India added 9.47 GW of coal-fired generation capacity in 2025-26 and a further 2.26 GW between April and July, helping support record electricity demand, the government said.
(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Susan Fenton)
