Coal Stocks at Power Plants Fall to 68% of Normal Levels Amid Heatwave-Driven Power Demand Surge

Coal Stocks at Thermal Power Plants Decline Amid Rising Power Demand

As of May 20, coal stocks at thermal power plants in India stood at 68% of the normative level, down from 80% recorded in the same period of last year. The decline in stocks comes as the country grapples with soaring temperatures, which have pushed the peak power demand to 270.82 gigawatt (GW) on May 21. The government has estimated peak power demand to reach 271 GW this year.

According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, the stocks at domestic and imported coal-based plants stood at 51.23 million tonnes, down by 10.7% from 57.39 million tonnes on May 20, 2025. This decline is a concern for the country's power sector, as the ideal or "normative" requirement for this time of the year is around 75.2 million tonnes.

Of the 189 thermal plants with a total generation capacity of 222.7 gigawatt (GW), 21 reported to have a critical stock level. Of these, 11 were domestic coal-based plants. A plant is said to have a critical stock situation when the dry fuel is less than 25% of the normative level. During the same period of last year, 23 plants had a critical stock level.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

Domestic coal-based thermal plants, including pithead and non-pithead, with a total capacity of 203.9 GW had 69% of the normative coal stock at 48.66 million tonnes. The normative level of stocks required at these plants is 70.19 million tonnes for this time of the year. The 17 imported coal-based non-pithead plants with a total generation capacity of 18.7 GW had coal stocks of 51% of the required level, with a total coal stock of 2.6 million tonnes against a normative stock requirement of 5.0 million tonnes.

The country's peak power demand touched 243 GW in June 2025, while in 2024, the peak demand for power reached 250 GW in May. India has set a target of 1.31 billion tonnes (BT) of coal production for the FY27, as it seeks to reduce import dependence amid rising energy needs. State-run Coal India is expected to produce a record 1 BT, while captive players are to produce 228 million tonnes in FY27. Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL), jointly owned by Telangana and the Union government, will produce the remaining 79 million tonnes.

In FY25, India's coal production increased 4.98 percent over the previous year to 1.05 BT, the highest ever.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline