Amid falling coal stocks, gencos told to blend 4% imported coal
NEW DELHI : With thermal power plants left with just 10 days of coal stock even as power demand soars, the union ministry of power has directed all domestic coal-based power plants to blend 4% imported coal till March 2024. In January, power generation companies (gencos) were asked to blend 6% imported coal till September in order to meet high demand during the summer. In a recent notification the power ministry noted that Grid India has projected continuation of high power demand through FY24 because of which there is a need to continue blending imported coal.
“The central, state gencos and IPPs (independent power producers) are directed to take necessary actions/plan to import coal for blending at the rate of 4% (by weight) through a transparent competitive bidding process till 31 March, 2024, so as to have comfortable coal stocks at their power plants for smooth operations," said the notification. The ministry said shortfalls in domestic coal supply will be shared by all gencos on a pro-rata basis. The directive comes at a time when peak power demand has reached a record 239.9 GW, against the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) estimate of 230 GW this year.
On 1 September, when the peak power demand neared 240 GW, the peak shortage had shot up to 10.75 GW. The ministry in its letter to gencos also acknowledged that despite the increase in domestic coal supply during the first quarter of FY24, it fell short of meeting the requirement. In August, the gap between coal consumption at these domestic coal-based plants and the receipt of domestic coal was about 200,000 tonnes per day.
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