Coal stocks sufficient to meet rising demand, says Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Thermal power plants and Coal India Ltd. have enough coal on hand, according to coal minister Pralhad Joshi. At factories and with the state-owned miner, there are over 80 million tonnes of coal available. The minister's remarks follow an increase in irrigation due to dry periods in some regions and an increase in electrical use caused by the humid weather. Joshi stressed the importance of increasing the transportation of the fuel over the rail-sea-rail line at a conference held to ensure the production and supply of coal to power plants.

August saw a new high for electricity demand in India, reaching 234 GW on August 17. The dry spell in some areas of the country and the humid weather, according to experts, are to blame for the unexpected increase in demand. Power plant coal reserves have been reduced slightly more quickly than in prior months, although they are still adequate. In the first 20 days of August, the stocks decreased from 34.9 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes. This is due to the fact that, on average, between March and May of this year, there was a lower-than-normal demand for energy and a slower-than-expected decline in coal reserves at power plants. 

Closing supplies at plants have been sufficient so far throughout the monsoon, when coal supply generally slows. According to a government official, the power and coal ministries have been working to guarantee that the depletion is adequately covered by supply.

The ministries mandated that imported coal-based power plants run at full capacity, asked generation companies to blend imported coal, and made sure there were enough rakes available to transport fuel in order to prepare for the higher demand during the summer months.