India’s coal production and despatch fell to their lowest in over a year and a half, and the growth rate slipped into negative territory for the first time in as many months during August 2024 as widespread and above-normal precipitation impacted mining and mobility.
According to Coal Ministry data, coal production fell by 7.5 per cent Y-o-Y and more than 15 per cent M-o-M to 62.76 million tonnes, the lowest since March 2023.
Similarly, despatch or supply of coal—mostly to thermal power plants (TPPs)—declined 6.35 per cent Y-o-Y and 13 per cent M-o-M to 70.39 MT, which is also the lowest in over 18 months, barring September 2023, when despatch for the month stood at 70.31 MT.
Historically, the monsoon months of June-September result in subdued mining and transportation activities as rains hinder mobility. Widespread and heavy to very heavy rains across eastern India impacted mining and movement this year.
However, coal production during April-August in FY25 rose by 6.5 per cent Y-o-Y to 384.08 MT on a provisional basis. Despatch of the critical commodity rose by 5.14 per cent Y-o-Y to 412.07 MT.
Coal stocks at domestic coal-based (DCB) power plants (189 Gigawatts capacity) stood at 36.50 MT against a daily requirement of 2.67 MT, as of September 5. It stood at 36.78 MT on August 31 and 43.15 MT on July 31.
Widespread monsoons
August this year was wetter-than-usual receiving 16 per cent more rainfall than average. Rainfall in Northwest India was the second highest since 2001. Overall, India received 287.1 mm of rainfall last month against the normal of 248.1 mm.
The above-normal rains during August brought down the mercury, which hovered at record temperatures from April to June 2024, thereby leading to lower power demand. Consequently, the requirement for coal at TPPs declined.
As per the National Power Portal, India’s coal-based power plants with a monitored capacity of almost 211 gigawatts (GW) generated 98,975.94 GW hours (GWh) electricity last month, a decline of almost 5 per cent Y-o-Y.
Plant load factor (PLF), or capacity utilisation by TPPs stood at 63.22 per cent in August 2024 compared to 67.86 per cent a year-ago.
According to JM Financial, all India peak demand and energy demand moderated by nearly 5 per cent Y-o-Y in August 2024 on account of multiple factors including extended holidays (Independence Day and long weekend) and heavy rains in some parts of the country.
The decline in transport activity during August was also reflected in the consumption of diesel, a mainstay of the transport sector.
India’s diesel consumption, accounting for over 40 per cent of India’s refined production usage, slipped to a 15-month low in August 2024 due to favourable rains which lead to a lower requirement for mechanised irrigation and subdued manufacturing activity.
According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), India’s diesel consumption declined by around 3 percent Y-o-Y and 10 per cent M-o-M to 6.48 million tonnes (MT) last month.