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The coal ministry of India has unveiled a comprehensive plan to ramp up coal output and meet the country's ambitious targets for thermal power expansion by 2030 amidst domestic surging energy demand, local media reported.
With plans to add 80 GW of thermal capacity, the ministry is preparing to fulfill an expected 400 million tonnes of coal demand, assuming an 85% capacity utilization for new power plants.
The country's coal production will be boosted through the opening of new mines, the expansion of existing mine capacities, and the operation of captive and commercial mines. This production ramp-up is poised to exceed the projected coal requirements for India's thermal power facilities.
Cumulative production for the fiscal year up to October 2023 reached 507.02 million tonnes, compared to 448.49 million tonnes in the same period of FY2021-22, marking a 13.05% rise. Domestic coal supply to power plants reached 821 million tonnes in the current fiscal year, while coal dispatches from Coal India Ltd. reached 541.73 million tonnes during April-October, up 11.98% from a year earlier.
However, India's increasing coal production has not yet been sufficient to meet the growing demand for coal-fired power generation at power plants.
The ministry highlighted a significant rise in power generation from coal-based plants, registering a nearly 9% increase. Moreover, thermal power demand has surged over 20% in the past three months compared to the previous year, underscoring the importance of coal supply in meeting the escalating demand for thermal power.
Coal-based generation, which accounts for the majority of India's power needs, climbed to 111.13 TWh in October, higher than 83.59 TWh last year and September's 103.34 TWh, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
The surge in power demand resulted in higher daily consumption at power utilities, leading to a steep decline in coal inventories. As of November 13, combined coal inventories at Indian power plants stood at 23.1 million tonnes, equivalent to 8.24 days of usage.
Despite rising from the lowest on October 16, the figure remained at a relatively low level, dropping from 23.53 million tonnes at the end of September and 29.99 million tonnes at the end of August. This prompted authorities to urge utilities to increase coal imports.
Notably, coal stocks have started building up, with mining sites holding a coal reserve of 41.59 million tonnes. The total coal stocks, including transit and captive mines, amounted to 73.56 million tonnes, marking a 12% increase year on year.
India's power ministry has directed domestic coal-fired power plants to raise the share of imported coal in their blends from the previous 4% to 6%, effective until March 2024. The ministry has also instructed imported-coal based power plants, with a combined capacity of 17.5GW, to increase power generation until June 30, 2024.
India's coal imports posted a year-on-year growth in September, following three consecutive months of yearly declines, thanks to robust coal consumption by the power sector.
India imported 20.61 million tonnes of coal in September, up 4.3% from 19.75 million tonnes a year ago, India's largest B2B e-commerce platform mjunction said in its report. During the first two quarters of the current fiscal, coal imports fell 8.2% from 135.7 million tonnes over the same period last year to 124.5 million tonnes.
(Writing by Riley Liang Editing by Emma Yang)
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