The Power Ministry is expected to direct thermal power plants (TPPs) to continue importing coal for blending with domestic supplies by a month till October this year.
In January, the Ministry directed Central, State Gencos and IPPs to take necessary action and plan to import coal through a transparent competitive procurement for blending at the rate of 6 per cent by weight so as to have coal stocks at their power plants for smooth operations till September 2023.
Rising demand
Sources said that the Ministry in a meeting earlier this week decided to extend the deadline by a month on account of rising demand for power in the country led by a hot and humid August, which has spiked electricity consumption to hit an all time high of 234.1 gigawatts (GW) on August 17.
Besides, between August 12 and August 21, the pan-India peak demand met during the day averaged at almost 225 GW, while the peak shortage averaged at around 3.80 GW.
Weather
“Sultry weather has increased the cooling hours leading to more demand. Considering the power demand scenario, it was felt that imports be allowed for another month, October 2023, to meet any requirements,” said one of the sources.
The Power sector imported 14.21 million tonnes (mt) of coal during the April-June quarter in FY24, which is 13 per cent lower than the quantity imported a year-ago.
During the current fiscal year till July 2023, rose to 292.12 mt (on a provisional basis) in FY24 compared with 265.94 mt during the same period in FY23 with a growth of 9.84 per cent, while dispatch rose 7.79 per cent y-o-y to 314.30 mt from 291.59 mt during the same period.