The Power Ministry recently intervened to address the widening gap between domestic coal consumption and receipts, which posed a critical threat of depleting coal stocks in thermal power plants. Power Minister R K Singh highlighted the severity of the situation, stating that failure to import coal for blending would have led to a complete depletion of coal stocks by September 2022, resulting in extensive power cuts and blackouts.

During the period of April-September 2022 (H1 FY23), domestic coal receipt stood at approximately 355 million tonnes (mt) while consumption reached around 385 mt (domestic: 359 mt; Imported: 26.46 mt). The gap between domestic coal supply and consumption averaged about 1.6 lakh tonnes per day.

The situation persisted from September 2022 to January 2023, with the daily gap between coal consumption and arrival of domestic coal ranging between 2.65 lakh tonnes and 0.5 lakh tonnes. Consequently, the Ministry of Power directed power generators - Central, State Gencos, and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) - on January 9, 2023, to import coal for blending at 6% by weight through a transparent competitive procurement process. This directive aimed to ensure adequate coal stocks for smooth power plant operations until September 2023.

In FY24, the Ministry continued to monitor the power supply situation and noted a consistent rise in power demand alongside inadequate supply of domestic coal, resulting in a rapid depletion of coal stocks at Domestic Coal Based (DCB) plants nationwide. The average growth in coal-based generation during April-October 2023 was 8.6% compared to FY23, while DCB plant stocks depleted by 15.3 mt.

Furthermore, decreased hydro power generation, recording a 14% decline in H1 FY24 due to variable monsoon rainfall and approximately 2 GW of hydro capacity affected by floods in Sikkim, added pressure on coal-based power generation.

In light of these challenges, the Ministry of Power, through a directive dated October 25, 2023, instructed all GENCOs (Central, State, and IPPs) to continue importing coal for blending at a minimum of 6% by weight until March 2024, aiming to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the country.