India boosts coal use to stop power outages as hydroelectricity output falls
use of coal to generate electricity as an increase in renewables is struggling to keep pace with record power demand, according to Reuters reports. India's electricity demand typically peaks in May when people crank up air-conditioners to beat the heat. It is unusual for India's electricity use to spike in August when temperatures are lower due to the annual monsoon.
Hence, the driest August has resulted in power generation surging to a record 162.7 billion kilowatt hours (units), a Reuters analysis of data from the federal grid operator Grid India showed. The data shows that coal's share in power output rose to 66.7% in August, the highest in six years. Lower rainfall led to the share of hydropower in overall output plunging to 14.8%, compared with 18.1% in the same period last year.
The Indian government has repeatedly defended the use of coal citing lower per capita emissions compared with richer nations, and rising renewable energy. The government data showed that power plants have slashed imports by 24% on 17.85 million metric tons during the first four months of the fiscal year ending in March 2024 due to a 10.7% increase in production by state-run Coal India. Lower imports by the world's second-largest importer of the polluting fuel behind China have kept global thermal coal prices depressed in recent months, Reuters reported.
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