India Has Enough Coal to Meet Power Plant Demand, Ministry Says

(Bloomberg) -- India’s coal ministry said there is sufficient amount of the fuel to meet the demand of power plants and concerns about electricity disruption are misplaced, pushing back after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi of an energy shortage in the capital.

The coal dispatches were constrained due to a prolonged monsoon, the ministry said in a statement Sunday. Power plants have 7.2 million tons of coal reserves that can last four days and Coal India Ltd., a supplier to such stations, has a stock of 40 million tons, the ministry said.

The average coal requirement at power plants is about 1.9 million tons per day, compared with supply of around 1.8 million tons a day, it said. Coal-based power generation in India this year rose by almost 24% as of last month, helped by “robust supply” from companies providing the resource, according to the government. 

“Any fear of coal stocks depleting at the power plant end is erroneous,” the ministry said. “Domestic coal supplies have supported power generation in a major way despite heavy monsoons, low coal imports and a steep hike in power demand due to economic recovery.”

Kejriwal on Saturday said in a letter to Modi that at least one power station has run out of coal stock, while others have reserves of one to four days as of Oct. 5. The electricity regulatory body mandates stations to maintain a stock of 10 to 20 days, he said.

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