New Delhi: Coal despatch to the power sector slid 2.23 percent in the April-August period on account of a subdued power demand and a growth in power generation from renewable energy sources. According to government data, 329.63 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal went to the power sector during this period as opposed to 337.15 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. In addition, the share of coal-based power generation saw a growth of just 1.56 percent, while renewable energy generation increased 22.69 percent between July 2024 and July 2025.
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As more coal was available, coal despatch to the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) was up 6.19 percent, growing from 77.29 MT in FY2024-25 (April-August) to 82.08 MT in the current financial year, data showed.
In the April-August period, coal despatch to the steel sector went up 38.31 percent from 5.32 MT in 2024 to 7.36 MT in 2025. Similarly, the cement sector also received 4.29 MT of coal in the said period of the current year as opposed to 3.32 MT in the previous year, which marks a growth of 29.24 percent. Coal despatch to Captive Power Plants (CPPs) increased from 27.31 MT in April-August 2024 to 33.36 MT in April-August 2025, registering a growth of 22.14 percent. Coal supplies to the sponge iron industry, however, dropped by 46.99 percent in the five-month period in comparison to the year-ago period.
As far as the monthly data is concerned, coal offtake to the power sector has registered a growth of 8.51 percent over the last year, while coal supplies to the NRS has also improved by 15.55 percent year-on-year, showing improved availability of coal in the market. While coal offtake by CPPs went up steeply by 47 percent in August, supplies to the cement industry increased by 2.68 percent. Coal offtake by steel sector dipped 8.81 percent in August, while despatch to the sponge iron industry was down by 42.40 percent.
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Most of the coal produced in India is suitable for power generation only, and therefore, the bulk of it is supplied to thermal power plants. Due to early arrival of monsoon across India, the power demand has remained subdued during the first five months of the current fiscal. While earlier, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) projected a peak power demand of 270 GW, the actual peak power demand met during summer months was 250 GW (on May 30). Due to tepid power demand, coal offtake by the power sector has remained low.
