NEW DELHI: As power demand is expected to touch a new high next year, coal ministry is planning to increase stocks at the beginning of the next financial year to 50 million tonne.
According to a ministry official, with an average daily demand of 272,000 tonne, a stockpile of 50 million tonne would be sufficient to run power plants for nearly 18 days.
“We are planning to have 50 million tonne at the start of the fiscal year, and we are confident of meeting the target as we have ramped up production. Given the expected rise in power demand next financial year, the government is focused on building up coal stock to meet the daily requirement of 272,000 tonnes per day,” said the official.
India’s power demand is rising year-year-on-year due to weather-related factors and increased industrial and residential consumption.
According to the official data, power demand peaked at a record 250 gigawatts (GW) on May 30, 2024. In 2023, the peak power demand reached 243 GW in September. As per Central Electricity Authority, peak demand is expected to grow at 7% in the next five years.
The Central Electricity Authority of India (CEA) has projected the country’s peak demand to touch 270 GW in the next financial year (2025-26) and reach 446 GW by 2030.
The projected peak is on account of rising economic activity and adverse climatic conditions. Coal is expected to remain the baseload for the power sector and the country is planning to add 80 GW of coal-based power capacity by 2032.
Currently, the stock of coal at domestic coal-based thermal power plants stands at 37.61 million tonne. Meanwhile, coal production has increased by 8.07% annually, from 731 million tonne to 997 million tonne over the past four years.