NEW DELHI: Coal production and dispatch to
power plants rose more than 10% in May from a year ago, allowing thermal generators to do the heavy lifting in meeting record electricity demand during the extended heat wave sweeping the northern and western regions.
The sharp uptick in production and despatch has ensured power stations have 30% more fuel than May 2023, with the coal ministry putting fuel inventories at 45 MT as on June 1, sufficient to meet the requirement of 19 days.It said the average daily inventory depletion at the plants during May has been only 10,000 tonnes per day.
On Monday, ministry data pegged the total domestic production during May at 83.9 MT (million tonnes) against a little over 76 MT in the same month of 2023. Output of state-run Coal India, which supplies bulk of the fuel for producing power, increased 7.4% to 64.4 MT 59.9 MT in the year-ago period. Production from captive mines and other entities jumped 32.7% to 13.7 MT against 10.3 MT in May 2023.
Similarly, overall dispatch of 90.8 MT, reflects a 10.3% increase compared to 82.3 MT in the same period last year. Coal India’s dispatches totalled over 69 MT, a growth of 8.5% from 63.6% a year ago. Coal despatches by captive mines and other entities rose to 16 MT, a 29.3% annual growth over 12.3 MT. Higher build-up of fuel stocks will stand power plants in good stead during the rainy season when mining gets disrupted, while humidity and farm sector needs push up electricity demand.
The ministry put the total coal stock with coal companies at 96.4 MT. Coal India is carrying a stock of 83 MT, while captive and other miners are holding 8.2 MT. Power demand, which has been rising since May 16-17 when the heatwave struck large parts of the country, hit an unprecedented 250 gigawatts on May 30.