New Delhi: The number of thermal power plants carrying critical coal stocks has risen to 61 as on September 7, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said in its daily coal stock report published on Tuesday. Its report for September 5 had put the figure at 58. Of the 61, 55 run on domestic coal and five on imported coal, and one operates on washery rejects. The CEA classifies a plant as critical when its coal stock falls below 25 percent of its normative requirement.
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Across the 190 stations the authority monitors, together accounting for 223.87 GW, stocks stood at 26.4 Million Tonnes (MT) on September 7. That is 45 percent of the normative requirement of 57.7 million tonnes. Two days earlier the same stations were holding 26.9 million tonnes, or 46 percent.
The daily flow figures show consumption running ahead of deliveries on both days covered by the two reports. Stations received 2,296.9 thousand tonnes on September 7 and consumed 2,604.1 thousand tonnes. On September 5, they had taken in 2,263.2 thousand tonnes against consumption of 2,527.3 thousand tonnes. The CEA calculates the sector's normative daily requirement at 3,117.1 thousand tonnes at 85 percent plant load factor.
The shortage is concentrated rather than general. Plants located at the pithead were holding 61 percent of their normative stock on September 7, while non-pithead stations running on domestic coal were at 40 percent. Stations designed for imported coal were the most comfortable, at 79 percent.
Rajasthan is the sharpest case among the states. Seven of the eight RRVUNL stations listed were flagged critical, and the utility's stock across them came to 16 percent of normative. Against those entries, the CEA records that some plants are to augment supplies from their captive mines, while Coal India subsidiaries Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) and South-Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) are to ensure supply as per the subgroup plan.
The Coal Ministry has been increasing despatches to the sector over the same period. Rake loading to power plants rose to 444 rakes on September 6 from 370 on September 3, an increase of 20 percent across four days. The ministry has said corrective supply measures are in place and that plants with critical stocks are being monitored closely.
Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Tuesday that the country was holding 123 million tonnes of coal, enough to meet 51 days of demand. "We have 123 million tonnes of coal available with us, which is sufficient for 51 days in the country. Therefore, there is no problem with power plants having critical coal stock," Reddy said.
He put around 100 million tonnes of that total with the coal-producing companies or in transit, and said power producers were separately holding stocks that would last 23 days. Reddy also said monsoon rainfall had disrupted production for roughly 10 days before operations normalised, and that output was running 4.5 percent higher year-on-year.
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The two sets of figures measure different things. The minister's 123 million tonnes covers coal across the system, including what is lying at the mines and moving in transit. The CEA's 26.4 million tonnes is what the power stations themselves are holding.
