Coal miners raise inventories as power plants face low supplies | Today’s news
India is ramping up coal supplies to thermal power plants as inventories at dozens of stations fall to low levels, with state producers loading 444 rail rakes for the power sector on Sunday.
The increase comes as 58 thermal power plants have coal reserves below 25% of their required coal reserves, prompting the Coal Ministry to keep a close watch on the plants and implement supply corrective measures. The number of power plants with critical supplies rose from 45 in early September, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority.
“The power sector load has shown a consistent upward trend over the last four days, from 370 bps on 03/09/2026 to 444 bps on 06/09/2026, a net increase of 74 bps/day, including a sustained improvement of 31 bps in India alone on 06/02/2026 (CIL), its subsidiaries, SCCL and operators involuntary mines to increase the supply of coal to the power sector.”
According to data from the Grid Controller of India, the surge in coal supplies comes as India’s power deficit remains elevated in recent days, with shortages particularly pronounced in northern and western regions. The deficit stood at 20.06 million units on Sunday, while it crossed 27 million units on September 4.
Higher demand for electricity caused further pressure on the electricity system this year. Weaker monsoon rains increased the use of irrigation pumps in agricultural areas, while warmer conditions encouraged more demand for air conditioning.
Coal mining, shipping increase
The coal ministry said the improvement in supplies reflected the efforts of Coal India Ltd’s subsidiaries. and non-voluntary mine operators to increase supplies to the energy sector.
Coal India also saw output pick up as rainfall eased in its mining areas, the ministry said. Average daily output from state miners rose 35% to 1.83 million tonnes on September 6 from around 1.36 million tonnes in the first three days of the month.
The improvement in production translates into higher dispatch. Average daily coal shipments to the power industry rose about 24% to 1.7 million tons as of Sept. 6 from 1.37 million tons in the first three days of September, the ministry said.
