Coal stocks in India continue to decline as the country experiences a peak in power demand, reaching well above 200 GW this week. Thermal power plants in India now have coal stocks to last just 7.5 days, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

This drop in stocks is attributed to various factors, including increased demand, supply constraints, and logistical issues. On October 10, peak power demand reached 221.62 GW, with a peak shortage of 5.36 GW. There was also a generation outage, with unoperational power generation capacity totaling 43.754 GW.

Regarding coal supply, there is a gap in the daily receipt of coal by plants, which stood at 296,000 tonnes on October 10. While supplies reached nearly 2.1 million tonnes, consumption was nearly 2.4 million tonnes. This gap was filled from reserve stocks and imported coal.

The average daily supply gap this month has been 377,000 tonnes, compared to 287,000 tonnes in September. Experts suggest that recent heavy rains in eastern India have impacted coal production and supplies.

Out of 188 plants under the CEA's purview, around 84 are operating with critical stock levels, which means they have less than 25% of the required coal stocks. Rain not only affects coal production but also diminishes the efficiency of stocked coal, further impacting power generation.

Production is typically expected to increase with the withdrawal of the southwest monsoons. To address supply and logistical concerns, the government is working to meet the rising demand. The Union Coal Secretary's secretary, Amrit Lal Meena, met with Jaya Verma Sinha, Chairperson of the Railway Board, to discuss issues related to improving rail-coal coordination for enhanced coal supply to power plants.

The highest peak power demand in India this year, recorded on September 1, was 239.9 GW, surpassing the projected peak demand of 230 GW. While it's unlikely to exceed this new high, demand this month has remained elevated, especially with the festive season.

To address the coal shortage, the government has mandated domestic coal-based power plants to blend 4% imported coal until March next year. In January, power generation companies were required to blend 6% imported coal until September. The ministry stated that the gap between consumption and supply at domestic coal-based plants was about 200,000 tonnes per day. Furthermore, the Union Ministry of Power directed imported coal-based (ICB) power plants to operate at full capacity until the end of October. The original directive was issued in February when ICB plants were asked to run at full capacity until June 15, which was later extended until September. With the mandate for ICB plants to operate at full capacity ending last month, three out of the seven ICB plants have nearly run out of stock.