India's Coal Plants With Critical Stocks Rise to 96 of 191

Fuel stocks at 96 of India's 191 monitored coal-fired power plants were in a critical category as of Oct. 19, amid higher coal generation and weaker hydropower output.

About 60 plants were in the category in mid-September. The designation is an early warning tied to prescribed inventory levels. It does not, by itself, mean a plant is about to shut down or has stopped generating electricity.

Coal-fired electricity generation rose 13.3% from a year earlier in September, while hydropower generation fell 20%. Daily peak electricity demand has also been higher this year, increasing pressure on the power system.

Deliveries to the power sector accelerated in early October. They averaged 2.49 million metric tons a day from Oct. 1 to Oct. 10, compared with 2.21 million metric tons a day in September. Even so, stocks at domestic coal-based plants declined to 18.205 million metric tons on Oct. 10 from 18.932 million metric tons on Sept. 29. Coal was redistributed toward stations with thinner inventories.

For 2026 as a whole, India's total coal demand is projected to rise 4.2% to 1.353 billion metric tons. Seaborne thermal-coal imports, which include purchases by utilities and industry, are projected at about 160 million metric tons, down from 167 million in 2025.

The inventory squeeze comes as India considers its longer-term coal-power needs. A senior power official has raised two possible figures for planned coal additions: 105 gigawatts or 150 gigawatts. Neither figure has been adopted as a revision to the existing 97-gigawatt planning framework.