Power Ministry Extends Imported Coal Blending Timeline To June

The Ministry of Power has extended the deadline for blending imported coal for domestic thermal power plants to June from March, as it expects peak power demand to rise to 250 gigawatts during April–June.

The ministry said in an advisory that logistical constraints related to railway networks will continue to impact domestic supplies in the coming months.

The order further said that to meet power demand during the crucial summer months, adequate reserves in domestic thermal power plants need to be maintained at all the central and state generation companies and independent power producers.

The advisory has directed all generation companies to firm up their imported coal contracts for supplies until June and asked them to continuously review the stock at the domestic plants.

In October 2023, the ministry extended the timeline for blending imported coal at a minimum of 6% by weight till March 2024 due to the depletion of coal stocks at domestic coal-based plants across the country.

The gap between receipt of domestic coal and consumption of coal (domestic plus equivalent imported coal) during Sept. 1–Oct. 9, 2023, was around 12 million tonnes. Besides, there was around 11% fall in hydro generation in H1FY24 due to variable monsoon rainfall, as the earlier order had noted.

In October 2023, the government had already extended the timeline for the imported coal-based power plants to operate at full capacity until June 2024 under Section 11 of the Electricity Act 2003.

The government, according to the section, may specify that a generating company shall, in extraordinary circumstances, operate and maintain power supply in accordance with its directions.