India’s coal minister, Pralhad Joshi, took stock of India’s coal production and dispatch on Tuesday after the country’s peak power demand hit 226 gigawatts (GW) on the day, but the peak shortfall was 9.1 GW, The previous day’s generation outage was 51.65 GW.
“Coal production and sales were taken stock at meeting with senior @CoalMinistry officials in light of surging electricity demand across the country. The country has ample coal stocks with nearly 80 tonnes of coal supplied by thermal power plants & @CoalIndiaHQ,” Joshi tweeted road.
Pan-India coal stocks at domestic coal-fired (DCB) plants stood at 29.7 million tonnes (mt), enough for 11.4 days, according to the National Power Portal. As of August 21, the inventory of imported coal-based (ICB) plants was 1.95 tons, enough to last 11.5 days. On the same day, the number of DCB factories with critical inventory was 28, while that of ICB factories was 8.
A senior government official said there was a shortage of coal at power plants and that the 80 metric tons (power plant and CIL pitheads) were not “readily available” to power plants. Suitable coal reserves are about 32-35 tons. “The ministries of power, coal and railways are coordinating to ensure there is no shortage,” the official added.
The promotion of coal transportation on the Railway Sea Railway (RCR) line was also discussed during the meeting. The minister added that strategic infrastructure development in view of the increased demand for the RCR coal supply model.
India’s peak electricity demand exceeded the Ministry of Power’s forecast of 229 GW on August 16, August 17 and August 18, with demand rising to 233 GW, 234.1 GW and 231.6 GW on that day, respectively.
energy consumption
India’s August electricity consumption grew more than all previous estimates due to insufficient monsoons, especially in central, southern and northwestern India, and higher humidity leading to a significant increase in average cooling time.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), there was a rainfall deficit of 37% across India in August as of August 21. Central India has a monsoon deficit of 36 percent and Northwest and South India 46 percent. 10% and 64%, respectively.
During the period from August 12 to August 21, the daytime average of India-wide peak demand reached nearly 225 GW, while the peak shortage averaged about 3.80 GW.
A senior government official explained that record-high consumption was reflected by rising heat index combined with wet weather leading to higher cooling demand. Demand is higher in central, northern and southern India.
In addition, days of record consumption have also seen peak shortages. For example, peak demand on August 17 was 234.1 GW, with a peak shortfall of 7.26 GW.
Similarly, on August 16, when peak demand reached 233 GW, the peak gap was 5.92 GW; on August 18, when peak demand reached 231.6 GW, the gap was 4.21 GW.
In addition, the power generation outage capacity across India on August 16 and August 17 was 48.94 GW and 52.22 GW respectively.
Record high consumption and deficits are also reflected in high prices for electricity procured by power exchanges. For example, on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), the average market clearing price was Rs 6.9 per unit on August 20, which rose to around Rs 8 per unit a day later and then rose further to Rs 9.4 per unit in August. twenty two.
