Indian coal stocks remain high

Coal stocks at Indian power plants remain high at 38.96 million t, according to figures from the Central Electricity Authority, rising from 37.2 million on last month.

Stocks would cover 26 days of average coal burn in the country, which required 1.478 million tpd of coal to keep its power plants operational.

The figures are also in stark contrast to the same time last year when coal stocks totaled 27.133 million and a number of power plants were down to critical levels of the fuel.

Coal imports accounted for about 2.6 million t of coal stocks with domestic coal making up the rest. India has been pushing its domestic coal production in an attempt to stabilise and grow the country’s often-unreliable electricity production.

In February, the Economic Times reported that India’s coal imports for the financial year to April 2016 would be around 155 – 160 million t compared to around 185 million t in the previous financial year because of increased domestic coal production.

The 101 power plants covered by the data have a combined generating capacity of 122.8 GW.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/12042016/indian-coal-stocks-remain-high-2016-605/