The power ministry on Friday directed domestic coal-based power plants to continue the blending of imported coal with local variant till October 15, 2024, while revising the blending percentage to 4%, from 6% now. The move is in the wake of the rising demand and apprehensions of supply constraints as the monsoon season progresses.
The government noted that while the domestic availability of coal has improved in the current fiscal year, there still lies a gap between the receipt and consumption of the dry fuel at 130,000 tonnes per day in the domestic coal-based plants. “This gap is partly made up with the import of coal,” the government said.
Moreover, the railway ministry has informed that the availability of rakes for transportation of coal in the second quarter of the current fiscal is estimated to decline to 403 rakes per day compared to 432 rakes per day in Q1FY25 till date due to various supply issues in the monsoon.
Realty has Rs 14 trillion finance opportunity between 2024-26, says report
ITC on a green high! Achieves 2030 target of 50% renewable energy use 7 years ahead
Electronics, chip firms line up Rs 3-trillion kitty over five years
India as the rising giant in the supply chain industry: Emerging opportunities and challenges
“In order to meet the power demand during the crucial monsoon months and to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the country, adequate coal reserves in domestic coal based plants (DCBs) need to be maintained by all the central and state GENCOs and IPPs (independent power producers),” the government said.
Additionally, the government has also asked all generating companies to firm up their imported coal contracts to ensure adequate supply and review coal stocks from time to time.
Further, gencos must also continuously review the stock positions of their domestic coal based plants and opt for blending as per the requirements so that the adequate coal stocks are maintained at the thermal power plants,” it said. The advisory will not be applicable to domestic coal based plants located within a radius of 200 kms from the linked mine.
The government had reviewed the position of coal stocks at domestic power plants on June 13 after the country’s peak demand for power touched 250 gigawatt (GW) in May. For this year’s summer season, the power ministry has projected the peak demand to touch 260 GW against last year’s peak of 243 GW.
While the peak demand was recorded in September last year, this level has already been breached in May this fiscal. The demand is expected to increase further in the coming months.
India registered a growth of 11% in its power demand in the first quarter of the current financial year 2024-25 due to extreme temperatures across the country and a favorable base, as per Icra.
To meet the growing demand amid lower hydropower generation, S&P Global Commodity Insights further expects the country’s imports of coal to increase in the first half of FY25.
“The first half of 2024 could potentially show stronger coal imports than the second half amid a likely lower hydropower generation because of the impact of El Nino,” said Pat See Khoo, Senior Analyst (Global Power and Renewables), S&P Commodity Insights.
The country’s coal production stood at 207.48 million tonnes as of June 16 this fiscal, marking a growth of 9.27% from the same period of last year when the country had produced 189.87 million tonnes of coal.
For FY25, the power sector has placed a demand of 874 million tonnes of coal to the coal ministry for supply to its thermal power plants and be able to meet the increasing demand for power. In FY24, the coal demand by the power sector stood at 821 million tonnes.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
