When India’s electricity demand hit an all-time high in April with extreme heat wave conditions plaguing all of northern India, 33 percent of the country’s thermal power plants have 10 percent or less coal reserves compared to the normative limit.
According to the latest daily coal stock report released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), 54 of the total 165 thermal power plants currently in operation have 10 percent or less dry fuel stocks.
Thermal power plants remaining with 0 to 5 percent coal stock compared to the normative stock are 27, while another 27 power plants with 6 to 10 percent coal stock remain.
Therefore, 54 of the 165 stations under CEA’s supervision, or 33 percent of them, still have 10 percent and less coal stocks.
Meanwhile, the country’s electricity demand grew 13.2 percent to 135.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), while electricity demand in the north grew 16 percent to 75 percent, a Reuters analysis of government data found.
Unprecedented electricity consumption led to widespread power outages in April as utilities struggled to contain demand as coal supplies dwindled. Power supply lagged demand by 2.41 billion units, or 1.8 percent, the worst since October 2015.
Power demand in Delhi rose 42 percent in April, with electricity demand in northern states like Punjab and Rajasthan growing 36 percent and 28 percent respectively, government data shows.