Barely six months have passed and India is facing yet another coal crisis. In more than 100 thermal power plants in India, coal stock has fallen below the critical mark (<25% of the required stock) and in over 50 plants, it has fallen below the 10% mark. Due to low levels of coal inventories, power generated from thermal plants has significantly declined. This had led to power shortages in several States such as Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. Planned power outages due to coal shortages have become a norm. More worryingly, the coal crisis has hit at a time when power demand has peaked due to summer months.
Critical situation
The chart plots the stock required (horizontal axis) against the % of actual stock maintained (vertical axis) as of April 18 across 173 thermal power plants. Of the 173 power plants, 101 have been labeled critical, while 51 have less than 10% of the required stock
