With indications that the country’s peak power demand is expected to grow in the range of 8-10 per cent y-o-y, the Coal Ministry has set a target of producing 1,017 million tonnes (MT) of coal in the next financial year, beginning April 2023.

Sources said that the Coal Ministry is coordinating with the Ministries of Power and Railways to ensure adequate reserves at the power plants.

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“Coal demand in FY22 grew to 1,027.92 MT from 906.13 MT in FY21. For FY23, the demand is expected to be around 1,087 MT. The Ministry is, therefore, working with other ministries to ensure adequate supplies at plants ahead of the peak summer months,” one of the sources said.

The official added, “As on January 11, the 183 gigawatt (GW) domestic coal-based capacity requires around 2.55 MT daily. The reserves at plants are around 31.33 MT. We are working with others to ensure 40-45 MT reserves by March 2023.”

The target of all India coal production has been fixed at 1,017 MT for FY24. During the April-December period in FY23, the power demand has grown by around 10 per cent y-o-y.

Robust post-pandemic recovery

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the robust post-pandemic recovery continued to support strong electricity demand of over 8.4 per cent in 2022, which was substantially higher than the average annual growth rate of 5.3 per cent seen in the 2015-2019 period.

Furthermore, the hot season arrived earlier than usual, resulting in the hottest March in over a century. Electricity demand from April to July was 14 per cent higher y-o-y and heat waves led to a record peak power demand of 211 gigawatts (GW) on June 10, 2022.

The power demand data published by the National Load Dispatch Center shows that energy met in the country in January 2023 was at 126 billion units (BU), which is an annual growth of 13 per cent.

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