Coal Stocks At Thermal Power Plants Continue To Be More Than 45 MT Amid Peak Power Demand

India’s power sector also achieved a record 250 GW demand met on May 30. These achievements, according to the Power Ministry, are a testament to the coordinated efforts of various stakeholders in the power sector, including government agencies, power generation companies, and grid operators. Their commitment to enhancing generation capacity, optimising resource allocation, and implementing policies has been instrumental in meeting the country’s energy needs.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Coal on Saturday said that despite the extremely high power demand, coal stocks at Thermal Power Plants continue to be more than 45 MT, which is 30 per cent higher compared to last year. “The stocks are sufficient to meet the requirement of 19 days. In May 2024, the average daily depletion at the Thermal Power Plant was 10,000 tonnes per day. This has been made possible by ensuring smooth and adequate logistic arrangements for the supply of coal,” the ministry said.

The mechanism of the sub-group comprising representatives from the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Railways and Power Generating companies is playing an effective role in maintaining an efficient supply chain, the Ministry said.

Stating that the coal production growth is more than eight per cent in 2023, the Ministry said, “The stock at the mine pit-head is over 100 MT resulting in adequate coal to the power sector. The Ministry of Railways has ensured a nine per cent average growth in the daily availability of railway rakes. Evacuation through coastal shipping has also seen significant growth as traditionally coal was transported via Paradip port only. Now under proper coordination as per coal logistics policy, it has resulted in the evacuation of coal through Dhamra and Gangavaran ports also.”

It said that the infrastructural augmentation in the railway network has significantly contributed to the faster movement of rakes from Sonnagar to Dadri. Therefore, it has seen more than 100 per cent improvement in turnaround time.

The Ministry of Coal is geared up to ensure adequate availability of coal at Thermal Power Plants during monsoon. “It is expected that on July 1, 2024, more than 42MT coal would be kept available at Thermal Power Plant end,” the ministry said.

According to the Power Ministry, India’s daily peak power requirement at present is 226209 MW against which 226091 MW of peak demand is met with a shortage of 118.00 MW of power. However, on Thursday, the Ministry of Power said that India’s power sector achieved a record 250 GW demand met on May 30.

“The all India non-solar demand met an all-time high of 234.3 GW on May 29, reflecting the combined impact of weather-related loads and growing industrial and residential power consumption in these areas,” the Power Ministry has said.

On Thursday, the Northern region also achieved a record demand met, reaching an all-time high of 86.7 GW, while the Western region also touched its maximum demand of 74.8 GW, the ministry said.

“Additionally, all-India thermal generation hit an all-time high, achieving a peak of 176 GW, especially during non-solar hours. A key contributor to this has been the strategic implementation of Section 11, which facilitated the maximisation of generation from imported coal-based plants as well as gas-based plants.

This surge further underscores the significant capacity and operational efficiency of India's thermal power plants, which continue to be a backbone of the nation’s energy mix,” the Ministry said. Support from renewable energy sources especially solar during solar hours and wind during non solar hours is also very significant in meeting the demand, it said.